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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0355.PDF
22 March 1957 357 RECUPERATED: The Egyptian Air Force is reported to have been brought up to the strength it possessed before the Suez operation last year. Here pictured at a military airfield near Cairo a few days ago are Mig-17s—a type never before seen in such a detailed photograph. the South Pole for the first time, with Bernt Balchen as co-pilot,Harold June as wireless operator and Ashley McKinley as photo- grapher, in a Ford Trimotor. He made his second flight across itduring 1946-47—when he headed an expedition equipped with Dakotas, Martin Mariners, helicopters and 13 vessels—and histhird and last (in a Skymaster) only fourteen months ago. The Boscombe Dinner /^ONCERN, hope and humour were intermingled in the speeches^-' at the Aircraft Constructors' Annual Dinner, held at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment, BoscombeDown, on March 15. Welcoming the Controller of Aircraft, Air Marshal Sir ClaudePelly, the Air Commodore Commanding, A. Cdre. Ramsey Rae, remarked that many Boscombe facilities had been initiated by AirMarshal Pelly and by Mr. E. T. Jones; but he wistfully observed that still there was no new mess. When he took over commandhe was amazed by the enthusiasm and sense of purpose of the industry's technicians and specialists, and he hoped that thesemen would not now be thrown aside. It having been suggested that he himself must be something of an expert, he ruefullydeclared that the ex meant that one had had it—while a spurt was just a drip under pressure. Sir Roy Dobson said that, in spite of rows, the industry andBoscombe had a healthy respect for each other. During the past fortnight he had been told that what was needed now was notfast aircraft but slow ones; so he proposed a return to the 504. There was a certain amount of gloom, he said, because politicianswere behaving like a bull in a china shop. The aircraft industry had developed more new techniques than any other in the country,and was largely responsible for an electronic industry; but still we could not buy electronic gadgets off the shelf, as in the U.S.A.For stall-warning devices and auto-stabilizers "we ought to be able to go to Woolworths." Sir Roy concluded by recalling thatthere was a time when the industry, coupled with the Air Force, saved the world. "And if we don't mind," he added, "we shallhave to do it again." Air Marshal Sir Claude Pelly referred to Sir Roy as a TV starowning large slices of Canada. In more serious vein, he declared that we were facing very difficult times, and that the future was"thick with unreasonable possibilities." He thought that changes AWARD FOR MERIT: Mr. Aubrey Jones, Minister of Supply, presents the Segrave Trophy to Fairey test pilot Peter Twiss in recognition of his 1,132 m.p.h. record in the Delta 2. In memory of the late Sir Henry Segrave, the Trophy is periodically awarded by the Royal Automobile Club to "the British subject who has accomplished the most outstanding demonstration of the possibilities of transport by land, air or water ..." The presentation was made at the R.A.C. on March 12. would be right and inevitable, for we must keep ahead technically;and if we meant to keep up our deterrent policy, we should have to shape our plans accordingly. He protested strongly against thecurrent "catchphrase approach." Sir George Edwards, who had just "burst into the U.K." afterten days in the U.S.A., enumerated massive tribulations which confronted him on his return, and prescribed hearty laughter. Ithad been implied that, in view of his civil commitments, he had no need to care what the Minister of Defence did. This Sir Georgestoutly denied; he would welcome any "crumbs" from Transport Command. One day, he said, we were told that we led the world;another day that it was a matter of too little and too late; another that it was "too much and too late"; and now it was "too much."Of slow aeroplanes he said that he had been trying to make them, without too much luck; and of missiles he remarked that robotsbeing swallowed by robots reminded him of a certain fabulous bird (evidently well known to the assembly). He envisaged theBoscombe dinner becoming a Friday-night dining club, with members talking of "the happy days of the M.o.S." Sir George concluded with a rendering of the following: Aglint were all the tnegatrons,The jittered clystons too, With static splits and conical scanThe S.A.M.s were few. But negative was the feedbackIn the infra-seeking group, For to add to the terror they'd made the errorOf forgetting to close the loop. Boeing Intentions HEN it was suggested in America earlier this month that theConvair B-58 might be an intercontinental B-52 replace- ment (a view promoted by Convair), the market value of Boeingstock slumped. It rallied when the U.S.A.F. emphasized that at least 603 B-52s, and over 400 KC-135 tankers, were certain tobe delivered. Boeing Seattle are now engaged on an engine-conversion onthe original XB-52. Under a £693,009 U.S.A.F. contract two pairs of Pratt and Whitney J57s are being replaced by one pairof the much larger J75s. A retroactive modification to produc- tion B-52s is most unlikely: the work is aimed at accelerating thehigh-altitude flight development of the J75. Meanwhile, the company have received a follow-on contractfor about £1,160,000 for "an advanced-type bombardment air- plane." This is believed (by the Seattle Times) to be WS-110A(referred to on p.334 of last week's issue), which is stated to be "a chemically fuelled airplane capable of Mach three or four." It has not yet been revealed which types of air-to-ground missilecan be carried by the B-52, but the earlier B-47 is now equipped to carry the Bell GAM-63 Rascal. The Rascal-carrying machinesare re-designated DB-47 (picture, p. 278, Flight, March 1). W/C. Macmillan on the A.T.C. SPEAKING of the place in society of the Air Training Corps,W/C. Norman Macmillan, commander of the Cornwall Wing A.T.C., said in a paper read before the Royal Society of Arts onMarch 13 that its great virtue was its capacity to train young men educationally, physically and in discipline and loyalty—and it was"important both to the R.A.F. and to the Merchant Air Force that a considerable body of air-minded and air-educated youthshould form a good cross-section of the younger generation each year." Whatever the tendency towards "military robots andballistic missiles" might be, there must be a period during which manned aircraft would still be required. W/C. Macmillan said that one secret of A.T.C. success wasthe immense pride cadets took in their performance of parades. He had heard the c.o. of an Air Force station say he could alwaystell when an airman had been an A.T.C. cadet; there was an "indefinable polish" about his bearing which marked him out ashaving received pre-Service training during formative years. We hope to give a more detailed account of the lecture in aforthcoming issue.
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