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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1879.PDF
FLIGHT, 20 December 1957 967 Hunters of No. 79 Sqn., based at Church Fen- ton, astride Yorkshire skies. The nearer air- craft is flown by the CO., Maj. R. G. Newell, who is on exchange posting from the U.S.A.F. SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Forces and Naval Flying News Dental Services Director "pROM February next year A. Cdre. RoyA Scoggins is to be Director of Dental Services, R.A.F., with the acting rank ofair vice-marshal. He will succeed A.V-M. M. J. Pigott, who is retiring from theService. A. Cdre. Scoggins has been DeputyDirector of Dental Services since last May and before then was Principal DentalOfficer at Technical Training Command. During the war he was Inspecting DentalOfficer in R.A.F. Middle East until August 1941 and then until September 1944 helda similar appointment with the Mediter- ranean Allied Air Forces. He was madeC.B.E. in the 1953 New Year Honours. Operation "JumP Moat" r)ELIVERY of 14 of the 53 Avro•L/ CF-lOOs being provided for the Belgian Air Force under joint Canadian-U.S. Mutual Aid arrangements was to be undertaken by the R.C.A.F. this monthunder Operation "Jump Moat." Using the same route as that employed in therecent "Nimble Bat" operation—Goose Bay, Labrador, and Keflavik, Iceland—the aircraft were due to be flown from Uplands Airport, Ontario, to Marville inFrance by crews of Nos. 428 and 410 Squadrons under the command of W/C.D. P. Hall, CO. of No. 428 Sqn. Maintenance personnel from the BelgianAir Force are being trained by the R.C.A.F. Field Technical Training Unit at Zweibrucken in Germany, and fiveBelgian crews selected for conversion courses on CF-lOOs in Canada have nownearly completed their training and will return to Belgium to convert other crewsand take part in the final stage of Opera- tion "Jump Moat," from Marville toBeauvechain. R.A.A.F. Airfield Development CJIX Australian airfields are to be recon-" structed or re-surfaced for R.A.A.F. jet aircraft operations. Those at AliceSprings in Central Australia, and at Lear- month on Exmouth Gulf on the north-westcoast, will be reconstructed; and the air- strips at Williamtown in N.S.W., East Salein Victoria, Pearce in Western Australia and Amberley in Queensland are to beoverlaid with bituminous concrete. The Minister for Air, Mr. F. M. Os-borne, said recently that the programme would cost little less than £A2m and wasthe latest stage in the R.A.A.F.'s post-war development of a chain of strategic air-fields throughout the Commonwealth. He added that a 13,000ft strip is nowbeing constructed at Darwin by the R.A.A.F.'s No. 5 Airfield ConstructionSquadron; in recent years extensive work has been completed at Manus and is underway at Townsville; while other develop- ments included the construction of an air-field on the Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean and reconstruction by No. 2 Air-field Construction Squadron of the R.A.A.F. of the R.A.F. base at Butter-worth in .Malaya. N.Z. Gift to CranwellW HEN a silver figure of a Maoriwarrior was presented to the R.A.F. College at Cranwell recently on behalf ofthe R.N.Z.A.F. by A. Cdre. R. J. Cohen, A.O.C. at the R.N.Z.A.F. Overseas H.Q.in London, the commandant, A. Cdre. T. A. B. Parselle, spoke of the close linkbetween the College and New Zealand. He said that during the last seven yearsthe 13 R.N.Z.A.F. cadets who had passed through had between them produced threewinners of the Sword of Honour, three Queen's Medallists and three winners ofthe Graves Memorial Prize. They had also captured 13 other prizes; and one ofthem had achieved the unique feat of winning the Sword of Honour andQueen's Medal, the Groves Memorial Prize and three other prizes. The silver figure, representing a G/O. Felicity Hill, Inspector, V/.R.A.F., seen with the C-in-C. M.E.A.F., Air Marshal Sir Hubert Patch, during her recent visit to W.R.A.F. personnel serving with units in M.E.A.F. and F.E.A.F. warrior in the traditional "challenging"position, is to be presented for Common- wealth and War Studies to a cadet fromeach entry. Service at The Hook TOOTHING tests man-made organiza-*-* tion and human patience quite so regularly and thoroughly as military em-barkation and disembarkation. It can be a chilly, morale-lowering and largely in-human procedure, with individualism reduced to the lowest common denomi-nator; or difficulties may be eased by good sense and the stiff grind of routinelubricated by thoughtfulness. Dealing with Service movements—theomnibus term covering leave, postings and all other reasons for military travel—requires a blend of humour, common- sense, psychology, tact, patience, mother-craft and policemanship. That no one possesses all these abilities in one framewould be admitted by S/L. H. R. Walton, who commands No. 110 Movements Unitat The Hook of Holland. As he puts it, "This is a 'flair' job—either you've got itor you haven't." But what he would not admit is that such comprehensive perfec-tion is unattainable; and on the assump- tion that it is desirable he sets a continu-ous example of enthusiasm and bonhomie both in the world of Nissen huts thathouses the unit and on the bleak Dutch quayside where its work is chiefly done. No. 110, like most other R.A.F. move-ment units, operates in close liaison with its Army counterpart at The Hook andthere is a good deal of integration; but as each Service has its own language andparticular problems, the best practical policy is to avoid overlapping and wasteof manpower (though no charge on the latter count could be laid at the door ofNo. 110 Movements Unit, which has a very small establishment). S/L. Walton took over command lastDecember, shortly after fire destroyed an embarkation shed. This has necessitateda good deal of improvisation, though it is hoped that a plan for a suitable replace-ment will soon be approved. The CO. describes his unit as "a completely happyfamily." He takes a keen interest in each member, and a fortnightly meeting is heldat which any grievances may be aired. Every other day there roll into The Hookthree troop trains from Germany, the blue (from Hamburg) and the red and green(from Hanover by different routes); their total passenger complement averages1,000. All the travellers—Servicemen, wives and families, and civilians employedby the British forces—have to be "docu- mented" and allotted ship accommodation.Generally the process is straightforward; but 110 M.U. is alert to unforeseen
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