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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0813.PDF
22 June 1956 Students from all over the world come to Hamble: here some of them examine a sectioned Mamba in the School of Aircraft Engineering. Whirworth control until 1940, when A.S.T. activities underwenta complete change. In a sense, the change had been fore- shadowed as early as 1934 when the company became a memberof the newly-formed Hawker Siddeley Group and began to widen its scope. In the following year, it extended its syllabus to include blindflying instruction, of which, with the C.F.S., it had been a pioneer, and began the job of convening Imperial Airways pilotsto fly the Empire flying boats, using Calcuttas to supplement its smaller Cutty Sark amphibians. But the most significant movewas the opening on January 6, 1936, of a new training school at Ansty, near Coventry, as A.S.T.'s contribution to the R.A.F.expansion scheme. Less than two years later, in December 1937, Hamble became No. 3 Elementary and Reserve Flying TrainingSchool and Ansty No. 9 E and R.F.T.S., under war organization. Within two more years, war had become reality and by August1940 all flying training had ended at Hamble. During the later war years, A.S.T. operated No. 9 B.F.T.S.at Ansty, No. 1 Beam Approach School at Watchfield, No. 3 E.F.T.S. at Shellingford and the R.A.F. School of Air TrafficControl at Watchfield. But over 2,000 of its employees in 1941 were busy on Spitfire repair in the ex-Armstrong Whitworthfactory at Hamble and a satellite works at Exeter. Together, they returned to service nearly 3,400 Spitfires aspart of the Civilian Organization under Supermarine's and, when the Allied armies invaded Europe in 1944, set up a Spitfire RepairDepot in France which remained in operation until the end of the war. In addition, A.S.T. converted Spitfires into Seafires,modified a Fortress for anti-submarine work, converted Yorks for service with B.O.A.C. and modified large numbers of U.S. air-craft to make them suitable for service with the R.A.F. and the Fleet Air Arm. After the war, the Training School returned to the northside of the road, but A.S.T. retained control of the factory on the south side and the two became the Training Division andAircraft Division respectively. Under the Hawker Siddeley Group system of sharing production contracts, the factory wassoon filled with the manufacture and assembly of Meteor com- ponents for Glosters. At the same time, A.S.T. took on thejob of designing all flying test-bed installations for the Group and making the necessary airframe modifications. Aircraftconvened in this way included a Mamba-Lancaster, Sapphire- Lancastrian, Sapphire-Meteor, Derwent-Lincoln, a Dovern-Lancaster for Sweden and an Atar-Meteor for S.N.E.C.M.A. of France. Today, instead of Meteor components, large pieces of Javelinare being built in very satisfactory quantities by about 1,850 Aircraft Division employees at Hamble. The old wooden-flooredAvro factory of 1917 is still recognizable; but large extensions have been added and these are filled with jigs for Javelin inner wings,tail units, rear fuselages and other components that make up some 30 per cent of the complete airframe. In addition, A.S.T.are making all the Javelin under-fuselage drop fuel tanks, as a follow-on to production of more than five thousand Meteortanks. Nor is that all, for a very able design office of about 100draughtsmen, stressmen and loftsmen has been built up by the Director of the Aircraft Division, Mr. H. W. Sidwell, O.B.E.,A.F.R.Ae.S., who has been with the Group for over 30 years and with A.S.T. since the Armstrong Whitworth factory wastaken over in 1940. This D.O. was entrusted with the task of producing all the design drawings necessary for building atandem-seat trainer conversion of the Javelin, and the first trainer is now taking shape in the experimental shop at Hamble. Another interesting conversion that will soon emerge from thisshop is a Hunter that has been modified to carry and fire Fairey Fireflash air-to-air guided weapons. The intention of flighttesting the Hunter-Fireflash combination, as a potential weapon for NATO air forces, was announced some time ago. It wasstated that the conversion would be relatively simple, and this claim does not appear to be optimistic as the necessary radarscanner has gone quite easily into the Hunter's nose without spoiling its aerodynamic shape. Looking to the future, the Aircraft Division has its ownprivate training schemes to ensure a steady flow of the skilled men that are needed even more urgently now that aeroplanesare becoming increasingly complex. Already a new Apprentice School, containing the most up-to-date equipment, has beenopened by Sir Arnold Hall, technical director of the Hawker Siddeley Group. Flying and study over for the day, students relax in their comfortable lounge, catching up on the world's news. 815 Three overseas students study the 3ft by 2ft wind tunnel. Nor are the activities of Air Service Training restricted anylonger to the U.K. The company helped the Indian Govern- ment to open an Indian Air Force Technical College at Banga-lore in 1949, with a staff of about 60 A.S.T. employees, headed by G/C. J. Beaumont, O.B.E., A.F.C. It has proved highlysuccessful and is being handed over to the I.A.F. next month. A similar school opened at Korangi Creek, Karachi, for appren-
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