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Aviation History
1959
1959 - 1457.PDF
704 FLIGHT, 22 May 1955 "Fly-bys were made by a KB-50J Super fortress, with Super Sabre, Voodoo anc Destroyer in refuelling positions." In the foreground is a T-33 of the West German Air Force NON-STOP VARIETY AT U.S.A.F. WETHERSFIELD: AND A MACH 1-4 RIDE IN A SUPER SABRE "Open Day" with a NATO Flavour A SPELL of fine weather of several days' duration washappily to give near-perfect flying conditions for this year'sOpen Day held at the U.S.A.F. fighter base at Wethersfield, Essex, on May 9. As well as marking the opening of U.S. Armed Forces Week,this year's display commemorated the tenth anniversary of NATO —and to emphasize this fact the static aircraft park was enhancedby the presence of types from the Royal Canadian Air Force (CF-100 Mk 3), West German Air Force (two F-84F Thunder-streaks and one T-33), Royal Norwegian Air Force (two F-86F Sabres), Royal Netherlands Air Force (S-14 Mach Trainer),Danish Air Force (T-33) and Italian Air Force (two C-119 trans- ports and a Fiat G.91R). The Italians were also strong in theflying programme with their famous aerobatic team "The Black Lancers," and a very lively demonstration of another Fiat G.91. The sonorous "blast-off" of four pairs of F-100D Super Sabresfrom the 55th Tactical Fighter Squadron resident at Wethersfield opened the flying programme exactly on schedule, and these werelater joined by eight more from the 79th T.F.Sqn. for a formation fly-by. Meanwhile an SA-16A Albatross amphibian took the airsteeply with the aid of JATO rockets—followed by a similarly equipped Lockheed T-33. With the U.S.A.F. Skyblazers absent on a visit to Greece, teamaerobatic honours were contested between the four Sea Hawks of the Royal Navy, the six F-86E Sabres of the "Black Lancers,"and the nine Hunters of 111 Sqn. R.A.F. Of these, the Sea Hawks made a very colourful picture with their fluorescent-orange wing-tips and tail "acorns," whilst the Italian Sabres—painted black with spanwise stripes underneath—vied strongly with the all-blackHunters of Fighter Command; and both these teams ended their impeccable formation-changing displays with original variationsof the "bomb-burst" manoeuvre. That of the Italian team pre- cipitated the six Sabres trailing their smoke to equi-distant pointsof the compass, followed by vertical climbs, turns off the top, and simultaneous dives to a quaking six-man cross-over of thefield, perfectly timed, and covering the area with a prolonged smoke-haze. Fighter Command's piece de resistance began with the sheddingof two pairs of Hunters with symmetrical streaming of smoke. The remaining five then executed an orthodox diving bomb-burst—whereupon the four machines previously shed immediately climbed to the source of the burst, duplicating the manoeuvre inan upward direction. These were undoubtedly the two most spectacular moments of the day, completely free as they werefrom the interference of cloud. A highlight of the individual demonstrations was provided byF/L. Goodwin in a Hunter 6, whose brilliantly handled move- ments were rendered all the more impressive by their concentra-tion within a short radius of the field. Other features of the 2^-hour flying programme included asimulation of Army support by Austers, Skeeters, Whirlwinds and an Alouette of 651 Army Air Squadron; a LABS-bombing demon-stration by the 55th Tac. Fighter Sqn.; and low-level aerobatics by two Chipmunks. Fly-bys were made by an R.A.F. Shackletonusing starboard power only, and by a KB-50J Superfortress, with Super Sabre, Voodoo and Destroyer in refuelling positions. R.A.F. contributions to the static park included a Valiant,Javelin, Comet 2 and Beverley (stated by the programme to be a bomber!), whilst among those of the U.S.A.F. were F-101 andRF-101 Voodoos, a B-66 Destroyer (not "Hustler" as programmed) and a C-130 Hercules. A profusion of ground attractions rangedfrom baseball matches to fire-fighting—and an unusual innovation was a speed trial by a Mercedes-Benz 300SL on the main runway. Before the flying display began, Flight's representative wasable to sample supersonic flight in an F-100F Super Sabre. His impressions follow. Super Sabre Sonics To one who is not a pilot, and whose previous flying experiencehas been entirely propeller driven, a Mach-plus flight in a Super Sabre seemed, perhaps, a rather brutal initiation into the realm ofjet travel. However, with medical fitness certified, and with the generous co-operation of Lt. James Houston, Press officer of the20th Tactical Fighter Wing U.S.A.F. at Wethersfield, an "orienta- tion" flight was arranged for the morning of the Open Day. After being introduced to the pilot, Lt. Robert S. Beale,of the resident 77th Tactical Fighter Squadron, we went through a briefing, which promised a Mach-dive from 40,000ft followed byany further activity that this passenger could tolerate. Having visited the equipment store and drawn zip-suit, back-parachute, Mae West, "bone-dome," and oxygen-mask, we drove out to the flight-line of F-100F Super Sabres. These differ fromthe standard F-100D single-seat fighters by a three-foot lengthen- ing of the forward fuselage to accommodate the tandem cockpitswith their common canopy. An external check of all control surfaces and landing-gearproving satisfactory, entrance was made to the rear seat via a wide fuselage-curvature ladder to an estimated ten feet aboveground-level. Once strapped in the ejector seat, intercom, and oxygen "Orbiting high over Laken- heath we made a rendez- vous with another F-100F on a similar mission, and engaged in some mutual photography."
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