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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0203.PDF
PLIGHT, 15 February 1957 205 "Endymion" on a Fighter Com- mand station "somewhere in England" on June 24, 1940. Note the R.A.F. roundel and rudder stripes characteristic of the markings worn by British aircraft in France at that time. ENSIGN CLASS . the IXc, gave a take-off power of 935 h.p., 55 h.p. more than before, and D.H. constant-speed propellers proved outstandingly successful. Various small internal modifications were also carried out and the controls lightened. Re-delivery began in the follow- ing June and all later machines were similarly modified before delivery. G-ADSV was delivered at Croydon by Turner-Hughes on July 18. The following day she was flown by Captain White to Abingdon* for inspection by A.V-M. Playfair and other senior R.A.F. officers, who were investigating the suitability of various airliners for transporting advance parties in time of emergency. Initially, Ensigns were none too popular with certain of I.A.L.'s captains, mainly because of the heavier controls already referred to; but it is significant that Turner-Hughes regards them as the finest he has ever handled. The late Captain F. Dismore, when he took up a party of officials, found them sensitive rather than heavy. Anxious to make a good impression and to show the right way to get an Ensign off the deck, he treated the trimming wheel as vigorously as he was accustomed to treating the heavier H.P.42 gear-wheel. The immediate result was that the nose went right down, to counteract which he pulled the stick back, and the nose went up at an alarming angle. Observers on Croydon's tarmac were horrified to see the Ensign sink behind the trees along For- resters' Drive; but the unfortunate officials must have felt very grateful that Redhill Valley happened to be just where it was. . . . It was originally planned to operate four Ensigns with Indian Trans-Continental Airways on Empire routes from Calcutta, but owing to the delays and modifications in 1939 these aircraft never reached India; and by 1940 all hope of their doing so was aban- doned. New registrations and fleet names were allotted in 1937, but only one of the Indian markings, VT-AJG, was actually painted on, for a short period before the first flight. Although Endytnion emerged as G-ADTC, it is possible that the letters VT-AJH were painted on while the aircraft was still in the final stages of construction and before being camouflaged. Oddly enough, the Indian certificates of registration for these two Ensigns were not cancelled until April 12, 1946. The other markings, VT-AJE and VT-AJF, were not used, while none of the new names were taken up. The aircraft involved were: — British Reg. Indian Reg. New Fleet Name G-ADSS VT-AJE Ellora G-ADSU VT-AJF EverestG-ADTA VT-AJG Ernakular G-ADTC VT-AJH Etah (Lett) In for modifi- cation in 1939—the first Ensigns (dwarfed, an R.A.F. Magister). (Below) "Euryalus" with the Indian mark- ings which were re- moved before the first flight. September 1, 1939, found eleven Ensigns in service. War was expected at any moment and the eastern half of England was temporarily closed to civilian aircraft. This meant that Imperial Airways and British Airways had to find new accommodation immediately. They set up a joint headquarters at Whitchurch Airport, near Bristol. Two old timers, Scylla and Syrinx, carried the advance party. Meanwhile, the Ensigns were moved to Baginton to prevent congestion, while a few were employed in ferrying troops to France. On September 15th Euterpe flew the first consignment of equipment and personnel of No. 615(F) Sqn. from Croydon to Merville, with Captain Ballantyne in command and a fighter escort provided by the squadron's Gladiators. G-ADTB Echo served another Gladiator squadron, No. 607, during their transfer. On arrival at Whitchurch a few weeks later the Ensigns received green-brown-yellow camouflage; although attempts had been made at Baginton, the results were rather crude. The late Captain H. J. Horsey decided to make a thorough job of Ensign: to make the wings look more like a green field, he painted a flock of sheep on the top surfaces! Twelve Ensigns were on charge when Imperial Airways and British Airways merged into a single corporation on November 24, 1939. The undertakings of the two companies were formally handed over on April 1, 1940, and from then on they were known as the British Overseas Airways Corporation. Many of their air- craft were impressed into service with the R.A.F. for liaison duties; but the Ensigns retained their civilian status while flying for National Air Communications during 1939-40. With the invasion of Holland and Belgium all available British and refugee airliners were concentrated by N.A.C. to deliver food and ammunition to our forces in France (one Ensign was loaded from floor to ceiling with toilet-rolls!). Many crossed the Channel several times a day, frequently flying through flak thrown up by our own ships. Occasionally, Ensign crews found themselves in the thick of combats between Hurricanes and German bombers; and they frequently landed at airfields whose occupants were on the verge of panic, and had a struggle to obtain enough fuel for their return. Captain Cripps flew to Nantes to pick up a party, only to find the airfield deserted except for burning aircraft. His flight engineer jumped out to salvage an abandoned bicycle; then, not wishing to return empty, Cripps headed for Jersey, where he found Jersey Airways organized for evacuating the island. Overloading the Ensign with evacuees, he brought them safely over to Exeter. One of the Ensigns which arrived 19 refuel at Bordeaux, the most northerly French airfield still serviceable on the morning of June 17th, was piloted by Captain L. V. Messenger, who was on his way back to England from Madrid, where he had flown Sir Samuel Hoare to assume his post as Ambassador. Spending the night at Lisbon, Captain Messenger took off the following morn- ing with a normal complement of passengers and without any knowledge of the impending French capitulation. Arriving at Bordeaux during the height of the confusion he learned with dis- may of France's surrender; but, managing somehow to obtain petrol, and filling up the remaining cabin space with R.A.F. personnel, he promptly took off and returned home safely. During the whole of this period Ensigns gave 100 per cent service and were frequently away from base for weeks at a time, with only their flight engineers available to administer mainten- *Or possibly Northolt, as one Ensign and two H.P.42s were seen therethe same month.
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