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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0587.PDF
2 May 1958 AIRCR^? SUBMARINE "Fliflht" 2: The West land Whirlwind Helicopters of the Royal Navy WITHIN a few miles of R.A.F. Station Ballykelly, home ofthe veteran long-range Shackletons whose anti-submarinework was described in these pages last week, the Royal Navy is developing a new aspect of anti-submarine operations.The place is R.N.A.S. Eglinton, the general development is the swing to helicopters, and the particular unit concerned is No. 820Squadron, commanded by Lt-Cdr. F. W. Wilcox, R.N. Just over twelve months ago, when Flight visited the majorityof Fleet Air Arm units in connection with its special Naval Aviation issue, Eglinton was the home of 820 Squadron, at thattime operating Gannets; while the Navy's only operational heli- copter squadron, No. 845, was embarked in Albion and was busywith anti-submarine exercises in the Mediterranean. The much- travelled 845 was in fact the pioneer of naval anti-submarineoperations by helicopter. This squadron was equipped first with M.D.A.P. Sikorsky S.55s; then (at the time of our visit last year)with a mixture of S.55s and early marks of Westland-buik Whirl- winds; and finally with Whirlwind HAS. 7s. Between March and October last year, intensive flying trials ofWhirlwind 7s were carried out by a helicopter flight of 700 Squadron, commanded by Lt-Cdr. J. S. Sproule and based firstat Yeovil and then at Lee-on-Solent. This unit logged a total of 750 flying hours. The original 820 Squadron was formed in 1933 from No. 450Flight of the R.A.F. Equipped first with Fairey IIIF aircraft, and in 1934 with Fairey Seals, the squadron included anti-submarineduties in its operational role. Until 1937 the squadron was attached to H.M.S. Courageous, re-equipping with Blackburn Sharks atAboukir in 1936. At this time the squadron personnel comprised a mixture of R.A.F. maintenance crews; Naval, Marine andR.A.F. pilots; and Naval observers and telegraphists. In 1937 aircraft of 820 Squadron took pan in the fly-past onthe occasion of the coronation of King George VI, and in the autumn of that year re-equipped with Swordfish. In November1938 the squadron transferred to H.M.S. Ark Royal for what proved to be a three-year association. The last months of 1939 and early 1940 were devoted to anti-submarine and shipping searches in the Atlantic, and April to June 1940 were occupied in carrying out attacks on aerodromesand railways in Norway. July found the squadron at Gibraltar taking part in operations against the French fleet, ?.n the courseof which the battleships Strasbourg and Dunkerque were hit by torpedoes. In early 1941 the squadron operated in the Mediterranean, andduring March and April its aircraft were occupied on convoy pro- tection in mid-Atlantic. The greater part of May and June werespent escorting Malta convoys, but in the last days of May 820 Squadron joined the search for and the attack on Bismarck. After transferring to H.M.S. Victorious in June 1941, thesquadron rearmed with Albacores and later joined Formidable. From this ship 820 operated in support of the Madagascar Expedi-tionary Force and later in support of the allied landings in North Africa. The first half of 1943 was spent in the Western Mediter-ranean and support was given to the Salerno and Sicily landings before Formidable rejoined the Home Fleet. In January 1944 the Albacores were exchanged for Barracudasand, after working-up, the squadron embarked in H.M.S. Indefatigable in June. During July, August and September PRINCIPLES OF SUBMARINE DETECTION A BRIEF general review of the methods of detecting and attack-ing submarines may serve as a useful link between the first andsecond parts of this article. Apart from equipment which may not be specified at present, the main means of detection arc search radar,active and passive sonics equipment, and magnetic detectors. Each type is best suited to particular ranges and conditions. Search radar, as carried in the Shackletons whose work wasdescribed last week, is an important method of long-range detection, but its effectiveness is reduced when the submarine is submerged.For locating underwater submarines whose engines are running, passive sonics equipment, e.g., sonobuoys, are effective; while activesonar (U.S.) or asdic (British) gear and magnetic detectors—essen- tially a magnetometer registering the nearness of the metallic vessel—can be used against all submarines whether moving or silent. The detection equipment used by the Royal Navy's helicopters isan airborne version of the asdic gear as used by surface ships. A concise account of the way in which sonar works was given recentlyin the General Electric Review in an article tracing the development of the acoustic homing torpedo. This stated:— "Both sonar and an acoustic torpedo work in essentially the samemanner: a short burst of supersonic sound (a 'ping' about 0.1 second in duration and 25 kc/s in frequency for sonar) is trans-mitted into the water. Immediately the system switches to receiving, and the transducer acts as a microphone (or hydrophone, to beexact) to pick up any supersonic signals in the water. What it wants to pick up in particular is an echo (reflection) of the outgoing signal.The information received is amplified and can be used to give visual and audio indications of the bearing and range of the object (echo-ranging) for sonar. Or it can be resolved into steering information for the torpedo. This is, of course, essentially the process by whichradar operates. A torpedo that sends out its own signal, or 'ping,' and then listens for the echo is referred to as the active type." The passive type of sonar refers to the above equipment whenused solely to listen for the cavitation effect of the submarine's propellers: another example of this, as mentioned, is the sonobuoy.Turning from detection to attack, the two main types of weapon used against submarines are depth-charges and homing torpedoes.While no details of modern British anti-submarine weapons are available, it is known that the U.S. Navy's armament has includedair-launched rocket-assisted acoustic homing torpedoes for many years. A current U.S. Navy project is Subroc, or submarine-launchedrocket, designed as an underwater-to-air-to-underwater weapon. Launched under water, it breaks surface and flies, using inertialguidance, and then re-enters the water; whereupon its acoustic homing system completes the guidance to target. The warhead is saidto be nuclear or thermonuclear.
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