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Aviation History
1956
1956 - 1506.PDF
662 FLIGHT, 19 October 1956 SERVICE AVIATION . . . seats were at that period manuallyoperated). The pupil pilot on the rumble seatthen tried to get out through the entrance door, but got stuck. While he tried toget back on board, S/L. Hewitt was push- ing with his foot to help him out. Thenit was noticed that F/O. Bates' parachute ; harness had caught round the handle ofthe emergency hydraulic hand-pump. This was cleared and Bates successfullybaled out. Hewitt then ejected with his kneepressed against the control column to hold it forward against the trim force till thelast second. He cleared the aircraft easily, but through the stress of the precedingefforts to clear Bates, he made the mistake of pulling his parachute rip-cord beforereleasing his seat harness. The seat drogue-line at once became entangled inthe parachute rigging lines. Hewitt drew his knife and cut the drogue line, butthe main canopy had been torn and he then had to cut away a piece of parachutewhich was covering his face. Finally, very late in the descent, he was clear and fall-ing fast under the torn parachute. He The Station Chaplain, the Rev. R. L. W. Pratt, consecrates the standard presented to No. 9 Sqn. at Binbrook on October 9. landed heavily in a ploughed field butsustained no serious injury. Meanwhile, Taylor's descent had notbeen entirely trouble-free; after releasing his seat harness, he found the seat fallingclose alongside him. By kicking hard he managed to move it away enough to allowsafe opening of his parachute. Bates' descent was normal. Leigh failedto release himself from the seat and lost his life. S/L. Hewitt later received a Bar to hisA.F.C., the citation commending his "leadership in this dire emergency, and hisdisplay of coolness and exceptional courage in the face of grave danger . . ." Equerry to the Duke A PPOINTED as equerry to the Duke of** Edinburgh during his visit to Aus- tralia for the Olympic Games is W/C.L. H. Williamson, D.F.C., R.A.A.F. He at present commands the Air Trials Unitat Woomera, and will return to this post after the Duke's departure. Votes for KangaroosT HE recent decision to adopt a kangaroomotif in the insignia of R.A.A.F. was the outcome of a poll taken throughoutthe Service. Voters were asked to say whether or not the standard R.A.F.insignia should be amended to include the Australian kangaroo emblem and, if so,what form it should take. No fewer than 81 per cent of all R.A.A.F. personnel votedin favour of a leaping kangaroo, seven per cent favoured an erect kangaroo and eightper cent wanted to retain the existing plain red spot in the centre of the roundel.The leaping kangaroo was accordingly adopted officially. By Comet to Woomera TT is proposed to introduce de HavillandA Comet 2s of Transport Command on a route between Britain and the weaponstesting establishment at Woomera, Aus- tralia, early next year. No. 216 Sqn., atLyneham, Wilts, who will operate the aircraft, have already begun training. U.S.A.F. and St. Clement Danes A BARBECUE and an air display were**• features which helped to attract some 90,000 people to the "autumn festival" atthe U.S.A.F. base at Molesworth, Hunts, last weekend. The event was part of awidespread U.S.A.F. effort to raise 75,000 dollars (about £28,000) to buy an organfor the R.A.F. church of St. Clement Danes. This will form a memorial to U.S. airmen who lost their lives during WorldWar 2 in the European fighting. Another fund-raising event will be the U.S.A.F.European football championship to be held at Wembley Stadium on December 1. Silver Jubilee Gift /~\N the occasion of No. 500 (County of^-^ Kent) Squadron's 25 th anniversary dinner on October 27, Sir Roy Dobson,managing director of A. V. Roe and Co., Ltd., will present the squadron with asilver model of an Avro Anson. This gift commemorates the part played by thesquadron with its 170 m.p.h. reconnais- sance and escort Ansons during the Dun-kirk retreat and the Battle of Britain, when they shot down six Messerschmitt 109s(top speed: 350 m.p.h.). This great achievement was partly due to the addedpotency of the Ansons, which carried an extra gun on either side of the fuselage (afeature which will also be included on the model). The CO. of the squadron at that time,S/L. W. K. Le May (now group captain and president of the squadron associa-tion), fitted a 20 mm Hispano cannon on a movable mounting on the floor, foruse against E-boats. This presentation by Avros is but oneof many honours bestowed on No. 500 Sqn., who, as previously reported, hasreceived the freedom of Maidstone and has been "adopted" by the town ofFolkestone. P.R. Trophy HPHIS year, competition for the Sir•*- Philip Sassoon Photographic Recon- naissance Trophy will, for the first time,take place among reconnaissance squad- rons of 2nd A.T.A.F. The trophy waspresented by Sir Philip in 1932 for com- petition among regular units of R.A.F.home commands engaged in air photo- graphic duties. Since the war, when theaward was suspended, it has been held by Bomber Command for competitionamong its P.R. squadrons. The present holders of the trophy are No. 540 (P.R.)Sqn. who won it in 1953 for the most accurate high-altitude photographic coverof selected targets. By transferring the award to 2nd A.T.A.F. it is hoped toincrease the scope of the competition. Minesweeping Exercise Ends CLEAR passage for shipping was main-tained throughout the NATO mine- sweeping exercise "Cut Loose," firstannounced on this page in our issue of September 21. Although under attackfrom air and sea, minesweepers cleared hundreds of mines to keep the routesopen until the end of the exercise on October 11. These CF-100 Mk 4s, tor service with R.C.A.F. squadrons in Europe, are seen taking off from Avro's Malton airfield in their NATO camou- flage finish.
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