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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0167.PDF
169 (Above) One of the earliest Sunderlands, a Mk I (Bristol Pegasus engines). (Left) John Lankester Parker, who as Short's chief test pilot flew theprototypeSunder- land, watching the disbandment parade. (Right) Air Marshal Sir Bryan Reynolds, A.O.C-in-C. Coastal Command, inspects some of the aircrew of No. 230 Sqn. were Air Marshal Sir Alick C. Stevens, a former (1951-53)A.O.C-in-C. Coastal Command; A.V-M. G. I. L. Saye, A.O.C. No. 19 Group; and A.V-M. P. L. Cracroft, A.O.C. No. 18 Group.Commanding the Wing parade was W/C. J. M. Helme, and each of the squadrons was in the charge of its commanding officers:S/L. D. Baird (No. 201) and S/L. P. Adams (No. 230). After the inspection Sir Bryan addressed the parade. Of thedisbandment he said: "I want you all to know that I, most of my staff at Coastal Command Headquarters, and I am sure those atAir Ministry are rather sad today, for two reasons: firstly because of the era of the flying-boat ending here today in the United King-dom, and secondly because the number-plates of two of the oldest squadrons of Coastal Command, Nos. 201 and 230, are to be'hung up.' "My staff have been working on ways to retain the numbersof your squadrons, but so far have not found other operational units suitable to be called No. 201 or No. 230 squadrons. How- Picture gallery in A-Able's galley: Left, Fit. Sub-Lt. Warneford, V.C.; centre, Major Barker, V.C.; right, the Queen with A.V-M. G. W. Tuttle during her visit to Pembroke in 7955; and the same Sunderland on the water in Milford Haven. ever, as you know from the histories of the squadrons, they arefrom time to time disbanded and re-established sometime later. We shall see that when numbers are re-allocated they are givento units worthy of such renowned squadron titles." The A.O.C-in-C. ended by giving some extracts from thesquadrons' histories. No. 201 Squadron was, of course, derived from the originalNo. 1 Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service, which, in common with other Naval air units, had 200 added to its number whentransferred to the Royal Air Force in 1918. This was done to avoid confusion with squadrons of the same number belongingto the Royal Flying Corps. In the First World War the squadron won two Victoria Crosses—by Fit. Sub-Lt. Warneford and MajorBarker—and had a wonderful active service record in World War 2. It was disbanded from 1919 to 1929. A history of thesquadron appeared in Flight for April 11 and April 18, 1952. By a curious chain of circumstances No. 230 became the stepfatherof No. 201. In 1922 No. 230 moved with its F.5 boats from Felixstowe to Calshot and amalgamated with the Naval Co-opera-tion Flight stationed there. Later this combined unit became No. 480 Flight and later again changed to No. 201. No. 230, in the 1914-18 war, served from 1917 as the FlyingBoat War Flight, getting its squadron number in 1918. After the amalgamation recorded above No. 230 remained disbandeduntil, equipped with Short Singapore 3 flying-boats, it was re-formed at Pembroke Dock in 1934. Nearly the whole of its warlife was spent in the Middle and Far East. The highlights of its more recent peace-time career were, the part it took in the BerlinAir Lift in 1948 and the ferrying of supplies and personnel for the British North Greenland Expedition in 1952 and 1954. At last week's parade it had been intended to fly one Sunder-land for the last time and to have the crews standing on the wings of their aircraft while the A.O.C-in-C. took the salute froma launch. Unfortunately, even the weather at Pembroke Dock was in tearful mood; the rain teemed down and the wind gustedup to 70 kt. But not to be entirely defeated, the two squadrons marched out of the hangar in which the parade had been held,crossed the rainswept apron, and paid a last tribute to the Sunderlands by passing in front of 201s A-Able parked by anopen hangar door. The parade dismissed at the double; and our last sight of thelast marine aircraft of the R.A.F. in Britain was a line of Sunder- lands—still, after 21 years, looking curiously modern—riding attheir buoys and obscured eyery now and then by flurries of wind and rain. A great and heroic epoch was ended.
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