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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1302.PDF
8 May 1959 :'-~.\* 629 THE FAR EAST AIR FORCE Varied and Valuable Peace-Time Tasks By NORMAN MACMILLAN FAR EAST AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS are about 181flying hours by Comet 2 from Lyneham airfield. The elapsedtime depends on the mode of flight, whether by double air- crews, slip crews along the route, or one crew night-stopping.There is a sun-time loss of 1\ hr when flying east, an equal gain when flying west. Reckoning solar time at each terminal, thefastest eastward journey takes about 30 hr, the fastest westward about 15 to 16. V-bombers with their longer range and fastercruise can clip some hours off these times. The Hastings, good old workhorse though it be, takes twice as long; that is why it is to bereplaced on the longer routes of R.A.F. Transport Command. Moreover, the greater noise-level of its piston engines is far morefatiguing, an important factor on a route between two strategic reserve centres. H.Q. F.E.A.F. is at Changi, at the eastern end of SingaporeIsland. It combines the Command headquarters and the tactical H.Q. controlling the three air bases on the island, since AirHeadquarters Singapore was abolished in accordance with the recommendations of the Hollinghurjt report for economies in theR.A.F. The headquarters are delightfully situated on a slight eminenceoverlooking the eastern channel leading to the Johore Strait and the estuary of the Johore River. The grounds are pleasantly laidout with tropical trees—the red-blossomed flame of the forest, the yellow-flowering cassia, the handsomely tall, laurel-like-leavedgarcinia, the drooping and less brilliantly yellow-blossomed casuarina, banana and papaya trees; and for shrubs the purplebougainvillea, delicate oleander, jasmine and deep-scented frangi- pani. The air is hot and the atmosphere sticky with the humidityof a rainy, low-level tropical island. Diurnal temperature varies from about 93 to 78; perhaps one feels the absence of cool nightsmore than the higher day temperature, which is low relative to parts of India, Pakistan, Iraq or even Cyprus in the summer.Singapore has much the same climate and temperatures all the year round, so that there is no let-up unless one can go up to thetwo hill stations in Malaya or on leave to Hong Kong, where there is a recognizable summer and winter solstice. The tour at Singa-pore and Malaya is 2\ years and most of the R.A.F. personnel posted there find that enough, though some love it and wouldwillingly stay longer. Within the headquarters building the air is cooler because thefans are turning in every room and the windows are all wide open. The local pigeons (like those in Trafalgar Sauare) would roost andnest on the window ledges if allowed. Outside the windows brilliant birds flit from tree to tree—the black-naped oriole withbright yellow plumage, the magpie robin who sings like our home thrush, the Javanese myna whose song is like our blackbird's butwith a descending trill at the end, and many others. F.E.A.F. has the most attractively situated R.A.F. Command headquarters Ihave ever seen, but not the most attractive building. Singapore and Ma'ava lie below the atmospheric intertropicalconvergence zone. While I was there they appeared to have a fairlv regular weather seauence, althoueh its timing was alwaysuncertain: a clear morning with sunshine, clouds beginning to build up about eleven, perhacs thunder and rain then, or a con-tinuance of the build-up until the afternoon; then at about four or five there would come a delude, followed by an evening ofthunder muttering in the distance or oerhaps a final rainstorm before the night became fine and clear. That is the seauence whenone is stationary. When flvine throueh this weather there is often more bad than trood. The height of the cloud upper level mav be45.000 or 50,000ft. I have flown throueh cirrus stratus at 42,000ft and seen the cupola-shaoed tons of cumulo-nimbus risine some5,000ft higher on one side and the rarer anvil cloud yet hieher on the other. Aircraft flying in these conditions reauire and ought tocarry search raHar, whose green blips display the presence of cu-nim and of island eroups. thus providing simultaneously an aid*ornavieation and against collision. The officers' mess at Fairy Point is the best apoointed R.A.F.rness I have ever visited. It is spacious, comfortable, beautifully situated and admirablv run. The food is excellent, with a mixtureof English, Chinese and Malav dishes which provides the variety so necessary in a relaxing climate. Every Sunday evening after Canberra B.2s of No. 45 Sqn. fly past Singapore's waterfront dinner a newsreel and feature film are shown in the grounds, withseats set out on the lawn. Dress on that occasion is a white dinner jacket, black tie and black trousers; ladies wear evening gowns.On ordinary evenings officers wear white shirt, long tie and lounge trousers. Working dress is open-neck khaki shirt with No. 6 khakidrill uniform; the jacket may be slipped off for greater comfort in the heat. The one discomfort I found was the ceaselessly twirlingreflection of the rotating fans in the polish of the dining tables. A.V-M. A. A. Adams, C.B., D.F.C., the Chief of Staff, describedF.E.A.F. to me as "a big parish but an interesting one." Its com- position as a Commonwealth Air Force makes it doubly interesting,for its staff and operational units alike are drawn from the R.A.F., R.A.A.F. and R.N.Z.A.F. Of course Britain, Australia and NewZealand are all members of SEATO and F.E.A.F. is part of the SEATO defence. But I believe the principle of the Common-wealth Air Force is intrinsically sound and might profitably be extended to other areas. F.E.A.F. differs from the R.A.F. home commands (which arefunctional) by being fully built up as a complete air force—able, if necessary, to operate in isolation for extended periods. It is thusmore like a modern version of the Air Force of the First World War, able to undertake whatever task is necessary. It does not,however, possess its own V-bombers; these are retained within Bomber Command but are able (if required) to operate fromF.E.A.F. bases. There are three F.E.A.F. airfields on Singapore Island—Changi,Tengah and Seletar—and two in Malaya, at Kuala Lumpur and Butterworth. The three Singapore airfields are R.A.F.-controlled.Kuala Lumpur is a joint-user airfield, part R.A.F., part Malayan Air Force and part international airport. Butterworth is anR.A.A.F. station, the most modern of them all and up to full NATO standard. F.E.A.F. is commanded by an R.A.F. air marshal—Air Marshalthe Earl of Bandon—whose staff is drawn from the three Air Forces. No. 224 Group's headquarters at Kuala Lumpur haverecently moved to Singapore, with an R.A.A.F. air vice-marshal currently in command (A.V-M. V. E. Hancock, who is being suc-ceeded by A.V-M. R. A. R. Rae) and again an integrated staff. Lines of Communication. Although it is an independent Com-mand, F.E.A.F. must link up with the three great Commonwealth States which furnish its components, with the SEATO partners,and with other strategically sited British forces overseas. To this end, air communications within its own area of respon-sibility are maintained by F.E.A.F. Within its authority come F.E.A.F. units stationed either temporarily or permanently at KaiTak civil airport, Hong Kong; Labuan; Katunavake (Negombo), Ceylon; and Gan (Maldive Islands). Combined SEATO exerciseshave been carried out at Bangkok to which F.E.A.F. operational and transport aircraft have been flown. Air communication ismaintained with the U.S.A.F. at Clark Field, Manila, and with Edinburgh Field, Adelaide. Casualty evacuation cases are flownto the R.A.F. base hospital at Changi from Malaya and detach- ments farther east. Units operating on the ground in Malayaaeainst the Communist terrorists require air transport and support. There is thus a continuous need for military air transport servicesin F.E.A.F. To meet this overall demand the Command has used Hastings, Valetta, Freighter, Dakota, Pembroke, Auster and morerecently Beverley fixed-wing aircraft, and Whirlwind and Syca- more helicopters.
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