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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0366.PDF
SERVICE AVIATION Air Force, Naval and Army Flying News Buccaneers at Sea FIRST FRONT-LINE SQUADRON of Blackburn Buccaneers to embark for service at sea, No 801 flew to HMS Ark Royal in the English Channel on February 20. The squadron is commanded by Lt Cdr E. R. ("Ted") Anson, who with many of his squadron's personnel previously operated for several months with 700Z Flight at RNAS Lossiemouth, carrying out intensive flying trials with the Buccaneer. The carrier in which the squadron is embarked is commanded by Capt M. P. Pollock and was recently concerned in the P. 1127 trials conducted for the Ministry of Avia tion. There is a second Buccaneer squa dron (809) at Lossiemouth and a third is to be commissioned later this year. Middle East Movements THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES in the disposition recently of Royal Air Force Fighter squa drons in the Middle East. These were broadly referred to in the Memorandum to the Air Estimates for 1963-64, when under the heading "Air Force Middle East" it was stated: "The Air Defence of the area has been strengthened by the extension of radar cover and by the deployment of an additional Hunter squadron." What has in fact happened is that No 43 Sqn, which has for some time past been based in Cyprus, moved to Aden last week, where it has joined two other Hunter squadrons. Nos 8 and 208, which are also ground-attack units equipped with Hunter FGA.9s. To replace 43 Sqn in Cyprus, a Javelin Squadron, No 29, equipped with FAW.9s, has been moving from Leuchars. RN Aircrew Training ONE OF THE POINTS MADE in the Memo randum accompanying the Navy Estimates in the 1963-64 Statement on Defence 801 Sqn CO Lt Cdr E. R. Anson (right) with Cdr A. R. Rawbone, Commander (Air), HMS "Ark Royal" (left), Mr D. J. Whitehead, Black burn Aircraft chief test pilot, and Cdr R. S. Forrest, the carrier's executive officer (Flight International, last week) is that the Royal Navy are not getting enough fixed- wing pilots in the Aircrew Supplementary List, though there is no shortage of supple mentary list helicopter pilots and observers. Paragraph 72 of the memorandum com ments: "The Aircrew Supplementary List continues to be short of fixed-wing pilots, chiefly because too many entrants still fail in flying training. The task and aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm require young men of high calibre, and every effort is being made to attract enough of them and to ensure that we select the most promising candidates from the large number of applicants who come forward." "Most Fantastic Period..." THIS WINTER, instead of carrying-out iso lated rescue operations, helicopters have been flying such missions daily, and in many parts of the West Country and the North have on occasion provided the only outside link for whole communities. Food supplies, cattle fodder and many of 350 FLIGHT International, 7 March 1963 the services taken for granted in more normal weather have been sustained over a very long period solely by RAF heli copters. From a technical point of view (state Bristol Siddeley Engines), the work of these aircraft has been closely watched as the "Arctic" conditions have provided an admirable test of the value of the new tur bine-powered helicopters which entered service in November 1961. Coastal Command search and rescue units involved have been 22 Sqn, operating from Chivenor in Devon, St Mawgan in Cornwall and Tangmere in Sussex; and 228 Sqn from Acklington in Northumber land, Leconfield in Yorkshire and Horsham St Faith in Norfolk. They have been sup plemented by Odiham-based aircraft of 225 Sqn, Transport Command. A prelude to this winter's rescue opera tions took place in November when the French trawler Jeanne Gougy was blown on to the rocks off Land's End. Reefs and gale force winds prevented the lifeboats from approaching the wreck and a number of crew members, seriously weakened and unable to use a breeches buoy, were in danger of their lives. A Bristol Siddeley Gnome-powered Whirlwind from Chivenor was called to the scene to attempt the tech nically difficult task of hovering above the vessel in high winds, then lowering a winch- man and attempting to lift any survivors who could be found. The mission was com pleted successfully and lives saved. Tasks recently undertaken by RAF Gnome-Whirlwinds have been of an in finite variety. In the words of one Air Ministry spokesman, "it has been the most fantastic period ever known in the search and rescue work of helicopters." Some of the most difficult tasks have been concerned with the repair of electricity grid lines. At times, the helicopters have had to fly at telegraph pole height so that GPO engineers carried aboard could see exactly where the line fault lay. One of the newly embarked Buccaneers (top picture) taking off from "Ark Royal's" flight deck; and below, two of the 801 Sqn aircraft on the flightdeck with the third descending on the lift to the hangar
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