FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0572.PDF
572 RAF ON THE ROCK Gibraltar's Peacetime Significance THERE is a curious but charming dichotomy about Gibraltar.English goods and prices in the shops, Spain ten minutes'walk away; red pillar-boxes and English-style policemen, but across the straits the blue outlines of Tangier softly reverberat-ing under the North African sun; Barbary apes and Bournemouth accents; a great rock towering up to 1,394ft at the edge of thewestern Mediterranean, with no room at its foot for an airfield, but a wide 2,000yd runway sticking defiantly out into the sea. Britain has always managed somehow to do the impossible inGibraltar. In 1704 she took it (with Dutch assistance) from the Spaniards, who had made the fortress impregnable, after a threedays' siege; and in the 1780s retained it despite French and Spanish batterings during a three years' siege. At the start of theSecond World War this British outpost on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula had only a minimal airfield, a converted race-course with 200yd run, the RAF operating flying-boats from the harbour; but by 1942 a 1,550yd runway had been built (the race-course disappearing in the process) and 950 aircraft were parked on it when Operation "Torch"—the North Africa landings—wasmounted from Gibraltar, a dramatic justification for Britain's grip on this strategic stronghold. This was the crescendo of Gibraltar's aerial activity during thewar: Hudsons, Wellingtons, Beaufighters, Catalinas and Sunder- lands operated from there; Hurricanes and Spitfires wereassembled there; American aircraft landed on their way from West Africa to the UK, and British aircraft on passage from the UK tothe Middle East and beyond. Because of German control of France, this foothold in Southern Europe played an indispensablepart not only as a staging-post but as a base for the offensive against U-boats and the protection of convoys on sea routes binding theUK to its Commonwealth. Gibraltar's contemporary significance as a staging-post is poten-tially great, for should the troubles in Africa increase it would again prove an invaluable stepping-stone. Its prime importanceat present is as a centre for maritime patrol activities, with operational areas extending westward and eastwards. Operationalcontrol is exercised by Coastal Command through Air Head- quarters Gibraltar, which is responsible for policy and all opera-tions, national and NATO; while day-to-day administration is the responsibility of RAF station North Front. The badges ofboth formations display a key, in one case backed by a turreted castle and in the other by heraldic waves. The Air Officer Commanding, Air Cdre R. B. Thomson, has atriple function to perform. He sees that Coastal Command policy is implemented; he is responsible for the RAF contribution fromGibraltar to the NATO forces; he represents the Royal Air Force in its dealings with civil and Service organizations of the manynations with interests in this key area, and acts as adviser to the Governor on air defence matters. FLIGHT, 22 April l%0 Gibraltar is one of those toeholds on oversea soil, like Ad>-nand Hong Kong, which provide Britain not only with refuelling bases for ships and aircraft but also with centres from which h»rinfluence may be exercised; and the gateway to the Mediterranean a stronghold whose advantages have been proved by history, is nomean vantage-point to possess. Physically, RAF strength at Gibraltar (like that of all theServices there) is small: one squadron of Avro Shackleton MR2s No 224; a marine craft section of three launches; and a peacetime"establishment of about a thousand men to give backing for these and other activities. But the symbolic and potential impor-tance of the base, bestriding Britain's main eastbound shipping routes, is much greater than its size; and its responsibilities arewide—as wide as the range of its aircraft. Operational areas for the Shackletons extend westward into the Atlantic and eastwardsinto the Mediterranean, upholding Gibraltar's responsibilities to EASTLANT and AFMED headquarters in these areas. DuringNATO exercises, co-operation with the air and sea forces of France, Portugal and the United States is practised. Gibraltar airfield, like many of Britain's overseas bases, is usedby both Service and civil aircraft; but it is owned, controlled and administered by the RAF. Shackletons and visiting RAF aircraft,BEA and Tangier Airways and civil and military machines from other countries operate from its runway (which because of itswidth always looks from the air shorter than its 2,000yd length). Movements of RAF aircraft are on the increase and the monthlyfigure has been known to reach 1,000. A handsome new terminal building, equipped to handle both civil and RAF passengers andfreight, was opened about a year ago. For most of the time, Coastal Command aircraft carry out theiractivities unseen and unsung—perhaps even more silently than the Silent Service: they do not demonstrate in formation aero-batic teams, nor have they the V-contours which would put them in the height of fashion; but occasionally a Shackleton—one ofthe most versatile of aircraft—pops into the news, and two recent cases provided by No 224 Sqn are worth recalling. One was itsrelief work for the earthquake-shattered town of Agadir, when the Shackletons carried in blankets, rations, medical supplies andchemicals and brought out survivors, and the squadron made a personal gift to survivors of 10,000 cigarettes; and the other when By HUMPHREY WYNN two of the aircraft on a routine 14-hour training flight duringFebruary dipped in salute over the Capetown Castle and radioed greetings to the Prime Minister, on his way home from SouthAfrica. The aircraft operated by No 224 Sqn are MR2s and it seemsunlikely that under present circumstances they will be replaced by MR3s. The 2 is able to work at full capacity from Gibraltarand capably does all that is required of it. The more sophisticated 3 requires a larger safety margin in runway length and otherfactors, though under wartime circumstances it could be employed operationally from Gibraltar. Winds at the airfield provide unusual hazards with the greatrock on its perimeter acting like a baffle and producing unexpected local currents, the worst effects being when the wind comes fromsouth-easterly or south-westerly quarters. There is also a per- sistent risk of fog, and a local meteorological phenomenon is theLevanter, or east wind, when a cloud formation sits on top of the rock—often for days at a time, producing a depressing effect uponthe population. As well as training for their operational task, location anddestruction of enemy maritime forces, the Shackletons of No 224 Sqn keep an eye on peacetime movements of shipping traversingthe busy mercantile thoroughfares between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. They also maintain a constant standby to carryout air-sea rescue operations, and in this noble task are supported by the North Front marine craft section, one of whose newlaunches can go out for a distance of 325 miles and attain a speed of nearly 40kt. RAF North Front, commanded by Gp Capt A. S. Baker (untilrecently CO of No 224 Sqn, having been succeeded in that appointment by Wg Cdr B. Lewin), is now a well-developed andup-to-date station—greatly different from the wartime airfield with its austere conditions. In recent years much new accom-modation has been built, and this has gone a long way towards making a Gibraltar posting a welcome one. The tour is 2\ years;married men can have their wives out and quite recently members of the WRAF have gone to serve at the Rock for the first time.The mild climate makes life pleasant, and even if the towns physical limits must seem confined, Spain is over the border andNorth Africa across the water. That Gibraltar is not confined culturally was evidenced by a recent edition of the stationmagazine Roundel, which contained a perceptive article on Marcel Proust. The old fortress clearly is alert to the outer world, in botnits past and present manifestations.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
