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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 0992.PDF
138 FLIGHT FROM ALL QUARTERS Royal Visits to the R.A.F. T^HE Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited R.A.F. Station•*• Marham last Monday, July 23, and during their five-hour tour spent ten minutes in the special storage area, where theywere shown an atomic bomb. Details of its manufacture, ex- plosive power and release were given to them. Earlier the royalvisitors had seen the Valiant simulator and inspected radar equip- ment, the principal features of which were explained to themby Mr. A. I. Llewellyn, chief research officer at Bomber Com- mand H.Q., who said that neither the Russians nor the Americanscould match our present radar capability. The Queen presented a squadron standard to No. 207 Sqn.and the royal party watched a fly-past of 72 Canberras and 20 Valiants. During their visit, the Queen and the Duke wereaccompanied by the Secretary of State for Air, Mr. Nigel Birch; the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Dermot Boyle;and the A.O.C-in-C. Bomber Command, Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst. The Queen and the Duke had travelled from LondonAirport in a Viking of the Queen's Flight. Today (Friday, July 27) Princess Margaret is due to visitR.A.F. Station Horsham St. Faith, near Norwich. A fly-past of 48 aircraft from four Fighter Command wings is scheduled totake place, preceded by a display by No. 43 Sqn. Hunter aero- batic team. Capital Order Comets LAST Tuesday, July 24, the following historic statement wasJ made jointly by de Havilland and Capital Airlines: "Mr. A. F. Burke, managing director of the de Havilland Aircraft Co.,Ltd., Hatfield, England, and Mr. J. H. Carmichael, president of Capital Airlines Inc., Washington D.C., U.S.A., announce todaythat Capital Airlines have arranged to purchase 14 de Havilland Comet jet airliners (Rolls-Royce Avon engines) at a cost, includingspare parts and related inventory, of $53m (about £19m). Deliveries are to commence late in 1958. Four Comet 4s will besupplied, to be followed in the second half of 1959 by ten 4As, the latter version being intended more particularly for medium-stageand short-stage operations." Mr. Carmichael added: "The decision to purchase the Comethas been made after a most comprehensive and detailed study of all flight equipment either in production or projected, both in theUnited States and England. The economic and operating characteristics of the Comet 4A are ideally suited to the Capital system. The Comets will go into service on our major and most competitive routes." Editorial comment: p. 137. Background to the Comet 4A: pages 167 and 168. R.C.A.F. Comet lAs' Future THE R.CA.F.'s two Comet lAs which have been in storage atthe de Havilland Toronto establishment since April 1954 have been flown to Hatfield for pressure-cabin modifications. The second aircraft was due to be ferried back by John Cunningham last Tuesday. The cost of the modifications is estimated at £142,000. Brough Milestone ONE of the most significant landmarks in the development ofthe Blackburn integrated range of small gas turbines—based on the original designs of Turbomeca—is the successful completionof a Ministry 150-hour type test on the Palouste. The Palouste is an air-compressor unit used in the Fairey Ultra-light helicopter,and also under development for various industrial applications. M.o.S. Appointment IT was announced last week that the Minister of Supply, withthe agreement of the Secretary of State for Air, has appointed A. V-M. P. S. Blockey, C.B., C.B.E., B.A., to be Deputy Director-General of Aircraft Research and Development (R.A.F.) in succes- sion to A.V-M. W. A. Opie, C.B., C.B.E. A.V-M. Blockey, who is 51, joined the R.A.F. in 1924 and in1938 commanded No. 80 Squadron in the Middle East. He went to the Directorate of Maintenance, Air Ministry, a year later, andin 1940 to die Ministry of Aircraft Production. Later in the war he served in India and the Far East, and in 1946 became CO. ofR.A.F. Cosford. He was promoted A.V-M. earlier this year. English Electric's New Managing Director "THE English Electric Co., Ltd., announced recently that Sir•*- George H. Nelson, chairman and managing director, has relinquished the position of managing director in order to devotethe whole of his time to the duties of executive chairman. The Board has appointed his son, Mr. H. G. Nelson, deputy managingdirector, to succeed him as managing director. Sir George H. Nelson, Bt., F.C.G.I., M.I.Mech.E., M.I.E.E.,has been chairman of the company since 1933, and he celebrated his silver jubilee as managing director in October last year.Mr. H. G. Nelson, M.Inst.CE., M.I.Mech.E., M.I.E.E., the new managing director, was appointed deputy managing directorin 1949. He is an Honours graduate in Mechanical Science at Cambridge and was an Exhibitioner of King's College. Subse-quently he had 2\ years' experience in France, Germany and Switzerland before taking an executive position with EnglishElectric. From 1942 to 1949 he was managing director of D. Napier and Son, Ltd., joining their Board, of which he is stilla member, when English Electric acquired control. In 1943 he became a director of the latter company. He was made a director of the Marconi companies in 1949,and was responsible for their re-organization upon their joining the English Electric Group. He has been responsible for thedevelopment of the Group's aviation work and many other major activities. Skeeters for A.O.P. IN a slightly involved statement last week, it was announced that"Skeeter helicopters are being ordered by the Ministry of Supply for the Air Observation Post squadrons provided by theR.A.F. for operation with the Army." It is understood that the Skeeters, when they start to becomeavailable in approximately a year's time, will be integrated with existing fixed-wing A.O.P. flights and that the pilots will be Armyofficers trained by the R.A.F.—ultimately, if not at once, in Skeeters. This is a new departure for the Army and it is not yetdecided whether all the pilots in a given flight will be qualified in both fixed-wing and rotary-wing machines or whether the two willbe kept separate for flying purposes. It is pointed out that while die Services have had experienceof light helicopters, they have not previously had sufficient quantities to enable them to employ them as a piece of regularService equipment. It is further remarked that small helicopters CELEBRATION: As described in a news item opposite, the first Boeing KC-135A jet tanker was recently "rolled out" from the com- pany's factory at Renton. It is seen here with the last of 888 piston- engined KC-97s, and approaching in salute are the 707 and a B-52.
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