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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1763.PDF
2<- November 1957 SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Forces and Naval Aviation News N.Z. Air Board Appointment PREVIOUSLY Director of Technicali Services in the R.N.Z.A.F., G/C. G. C. Hunter has been appointed to theNew Zealand Air Board as Member for Supply. He succeeds A. Cdre. I. G.Morrison, who was due to leave for the U.K. this month to join a course at theImperial Defence College. AAFCE Appointment NEXT month G/C. Leslie Fox, DeputyA.O.A. at H.Q. Fighter Command, takes over the appointment of AssistantChief of Staff for Operations and Train- ing at H.Q. AAFCE with the acting rankof air commodore. He succeeds A. Cdre. A. Foord-Kelcey, who has been selectedto attend the Imperial Defence College. Since the war, during which he wasawarded the D.S.O. and D.F.C., G/C. Fox has served at Air Ministry, com-manded R.A.F. Horsham St. Faith, been S.A.S.O. of No. 2 Group in Germany andcommanded R.A.F. Colerne. In 1941 he was chosen to captain one of the twoaircraft used to take the British Mission to Russia and bring the Soviet Mission tothis country, and the following year he took part in the original survey of thedirect air route between Ceylon and Australia. v - ' Air Physiology in 2nd T.A.F. INCREASED facilities for training air-•*• crew in the use of their survival equip- ment, and for studying human factors inhigh-speed and high-altitude flying, are being made available in the 2nd T.A.F.Aviation Medical Centre at R.A.F. Wildenrath. A night vision room is underconstruction (as an addition to the exist- ing premises); equipment has beeninstalled for aircrew to test ventilated flying suits; and two more research pro-jects—following the one recently com- pleted on the toxic effects of certain fuels—have been put forward for approval by Air Ministry. The chief purposes of A.M.C. work(which was fully described in a Flight article for August 9) are to educate air-crew in the use of their survival equip- ment and to train them to recognize symp-toms which may occur at high altitudes. (As the CO., S/L. P. Norris, who him-self trained as a Hunter pilot after gain- ing his medical qualifications, puts it:"Aircrew used to flying in pressurized cabins have no idea how unfriendly theatmosphere is at 5O,OOOft.") Thus the use of oxygen equipment and the effects ofanoxya are demonstrated in a decompres- sion chamber; in a specially equipped test-room, where the temperature can be raised to 150 deg F with 100 per cent humidity,^ efficiency of a ventilated flying-suit is shown; and the night-vision room, whencompleted, will enable tests to be carried out in the sighting of moving objects with-°utth e usual daylight points of reference.This room has been planned to a design 7 F/L. E. R. J. Emery, one of theA-M.C. staff, who based it on his study ™ similar equipment used by the Royalfatherlands Air Force at Soesterberg. It 18 about 8ft wide at the entrance, which is raised some 3ft above ground level, and^jpewhat narrower at the opposite wall— *"« away—where a white screen is to be painted. In front of the screen is a railed-off "pit" about 4ft wide where a panorama can be placed. Night-vision tests, andinstruction in the protection of the eyes, will be included in aircrew courses at theCentre when the room has been com- pleted—which will probably be in twomonths' time. At present, owing to the defence cutsand consequent disbandment of several 2nd T.A.F. squadrons, fewer aircrew areattending courses. With the establish- ment of the West German Air Force, itsmembers also may in future receive instruction at the A.M.C. No. 11 Sqn. Disbands ""TOMORROW No. 11 Squadron, which-*• was formed at Netheravon in Novem- ber 1914, is to be disbanded at R.A.F.Wunstorf in West Germany. At its final parade there last Friday the C-in-C. 2ndT.A.F., Air Marshal Sir Humphrey 853 Edwardes Jones, and the A.O.C. No. 2Group, A-V.M. S. R. Ubee, bid the squad- ron farewell as a unit of 2nd T.A.F. During its long history No. 11 Sqn.has achieved several distinctions. In 1915, after being inspected by KingGeorge V at Upavon, it provided what is believed to have been the first air escortever given to royalty when six of the squadron flew above the king's car as hedrove to Bulford. Then in November that year G/C. G. S. M. Insall won theV.C. while serving with No. 11 as a 2nd Lt.; and in 1916 2nd Lt. Albert Ball-later also to be awarded the V.C.—gained his first decoration, the M.C., whilst amember of the squadron. (Three of his combat reports are now among its proudpossessions.) One of No. 11 's more dubious distinctions is that of having pro-vided von Richthofen with his first victim. In the First World War period of itsexistence, No. 11 Sqn. flew the Vickers Fighter (the Gun Bus), Nieuport Scouts,F.E. 2bs and Bristol Fighters. It was disbanded in 1919 then re-formed in 1923at Andover and after five years' home ser- vice posted to India, where it remained—operating with Westland Wapitis and Hawker Harts—until moving to Burmaand thence to Aden shortly before the Proud of their claim to be the only aerobatic team from an R.A.F. night fighter squadron, and the Service's sole eight-man four-aircraft aerobatic formation, "The Moonrakers" of No. 68 Sqn. —mounted on Meteor N.F.lls—here show off their combined prowess. A 2nd T.A.F. unit, the squadron is based at R.A.F. Laarbruch.
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