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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 0973.PDF
482 FLIGHT, 10 April 1959 Prime Ministerial Visit > * #: CRANWELL AND COTTESMORE AT HOME TO MR. MACMILLAN •* ' •< *•:••>:• ILLUSTRATED WITH "FLIGHT" PHOTOGRAPHS TO mark the 41st anniversary of the Royal Air Force thePrime Minister paid a visit on Wednesday of last week totwo of its most important institutions, the R.A.F. College and a V-force station. At Cranwell he took the salute at a cere-monial parade which for disciplined precision rivalled anything by the Brigade of Guards; and at Cottesmore he set in motion thatdistinctively R.A.F. operation a V-bomber scramble, seeing four Victors of Nos. 10 and XV Squadrons get airborne in the recordtime of 3 min 57 sec. When Mr. Macmillan arrived at Cranwell from Gatwick byComet 2 of Transport Command, there was some low frontal cloud and a chill in the air. But as he walked on to the parade groundaccompanied by the Commandant (A. Cdre. D. F. Spotswood) and the Assistant Commandant (G/C. H. N. G. Wheeler) the sunburst through and shone with comforting brightness; and the 16 Vampire T.I Is of the Advanced Flying Wing which came in from the east in boxes of four at 350ft could hardly have neededthe sodium lights on the College tower. Mr. Macmillanj who as a military man obviously enjoyed thecadets' brisk manoeuvres, said at luncheon how moved he had been to hear his own regimental march The British Grenadiers) playedas accompaniment to the quick march-past. He had been intro- duced by the Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the R.A.F. SirDermot Boyle, who said what a tribute it was to his Service and to the College that the Prime Minister (the first to visit Cranwell)should have found time to come "in the midst of his great endeavours." The Prime Minister put into words what many perhaps werethinking as they watched the parade that morning, when in refer- ring to 1940 as the greatest year in the history of the R.A.F. headded that most of the marching cadets had not then been born. War, he said, was a bad thing; but in the last resort freedomdepended on men being willing to die for it. The last war had crystallized our trust in the R.A.F.; qualities which had beenshown then were the ones needed today. In its short history the R.A.F. had created unequalled traditions. Referring to the C.A.S.'s comment that he was the first PrimeMinister to come to Cranwell, Mr. Macmillan added that he was perhaps only just in time—"one never knows." Responsibilities which the R.A.F. had assumed would not growless, but more. It had a vital part to play in the deterrent force, in providing forces for local wars, in the job of showing the flag.It would play as great a role in the future as in the past. Methods and weapons were changing rapidly, but basic military principlesdid not change. For as far ahead as we could see, pilots and crews had a future. If the space age should come, there was no doubtthat the R.A.F. would supply the manpower. Mr. Macmillan gave the College two bits of encouraging newsfor itself, that it was to have a permanent instructional block and that the main building was to be completed by adding a fourthwing, "for which you have been waiting so long." After paying tribute to the R.A.F., which by the quality of itsflying had done much to help the aircraft industry, and saying he was quite sure they were right to make it an all-regular force,Mr. Macmillan said it was our task to give the R.A.F. the best equipment: he wished all its members Godspeed and the bestof luck. Then, haying planted a tree as a tangible and lasting reminder of his visit, the Prime Minister was whisked over toCottesmore in his Comet 2. Thus, after seeing the R.A.F.'s chief training establishment, hewent straight into its front line, so to speak—at the base of two of the Victor squadrons, Nos. 10 and XV, of the V-force. He waswelcomed by the A.O.C-in-C. Bomber Command, Air Chief On his arrival at Cranwell for the ceremonial parade (picture at left, above) the Prime Minister is greeted by a low-level fly-past by sixteen Vampire 7". 77s flown by College instructors With feet barely touching the ground, W/C. 0. Green and his crew (at left) make for their aircraft after Mr. Macmillan had initi ated a Victor "scramble' at Cottesmore
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