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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 0792.PDF
FLIGHT International, 23 May 1963 SERVICE AVIATION Air Force, Naval and Army Flying News 763 Prides of Reconnaissance FLAGS WERE FLYING at RAF Wildenrath in West Germany last week—on the grass in front of the main airfield parking area, in a straight line opposite No 5 hangar. Facing the flags on the grass (a fluttering NATO unison of Britain, US, West Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark), in what is normally the Air Movements building, a Project Office had been set up; inside No 5 hangar, swept and garnished for the occasion, were ceremonial seating facilities, judges', interpreters' and press rooms, display boards for target photographs and mission reports; and out on the flight line those doughty prides of Allied recon naissance—Canberras, RB-66s, RF-84Fs, Hunters and RF-lOls, each group of air craft facing the green caravans or tents of their photographic processing and inter pretation teams. All this was Royal Flush VIII—eighth edition of the photographic reconnaissance competition sponsored an nually by Allied Air Forces Central Europe and taking its title from a top hand in poker. The RAF, acting as 1963 hosts, had spared no pains to feed, accommodate, transport, entertain and integrate operationally the multi-national force which plans, judges, competes in, umpires and observes these PR contests between 2nd and 4th Allied Tactical Air Forces. Before Wildenrath, 4 ATAF had won four out of seven; and this year's result, posted in No 5 hangar late last Thursday night, showed them vic torious once again—but by only five points out of a total of 7,141 scored, getting 3,573 against 3,568 for 2 ATAF and winning the Gruenther Trophy. By an ironic stroke, one of the Canberra long range sorties for 2 ATAF had been dis qualified, when the pilot did a bigger turn over one of his targets than the rules allow, in an attempt to recover from a navigational error on his run-in. This cost 2 ATAF the whole of his score—293pt. Neither the French (4 ATAF) nor the Dutch (2 ATAF) were competing this year; they will do so again when re-equipped respectively with Mirage IIIRs and F-l04s, samples of which were flown in for a final static display. To get a realistic taste of the competition, Flight International flew on a typical sortie in a Canberra PR.7 of 17 The Eder Dam, a target in the PR competition Royal Flush VIII, photographed from a Canberra PR.7 of 17 Sqn (see "Prides of Reconnaissance") Sqn, who though based at Wildenrath did not take part in Royal Flush VIII but acted as host squadron for the umpires. Our targets were a dam, an airfield and POL (petrol, oil, lubricants) site. With the navigator, Fit Lt W. A. K. Tait, lying prone in the nose we thrust through shower cloud over rising ground to the north-east of Cologne, flattening its contours—in one of the specified low-flying areas—at 250kt, with the pilot, Fg Off D. C. Lott, lifting the nose of WH804 over high-tension cables by practised co-ordination of eye and wrist. Occasionally a farmyard flashed beneath, horses started cantering across fields. Our first target we ran onto with starboard camera operating, Fit Lt Tait making red chinagraph notes on his map: it was the Eder Dam (see picture), scene of the famous 617 Sqn operation exactly twenty years ago and one of the first (short-range) targets in Royal Flush VIII—for Hunter FR.lOs of the RAF and RF-84Fs of the German Air Force. Our second target was a disused airfield, capable of being re-acti vated, our third a fuel dump with two 30ft high tanks and access by road and rail. Within minutes of returning to Wildenrath and switching-off we were studying the relevant photographs. Operational practice and annual Royal Flush competition has helped to sharpen the speed and accuracy of PR squadrons in AAFCE. H. W. Aerobatic Maesrros FG OFF PERRY J. NASH OF NO 6 FTS, flying a Jet Provost T.4, won the Wright Jubilee Trophy—competed for annually by selected instructors from Flying Training Command —at Little Rissington on May 14. The 1961 and '62 winner, Fit Lt David A. Proctor (4 FTS), flying a Vampire Trainer, came second; and Fit Lt Timothy E. Riddihough (1 FTS), also in a Vampire, was third. Plus 215 and 267, Minus 18 AS NO 18 SQN—a Valiant unit based at RAF Finningley—went into disbandment re cently for the third time in its history, two famous squadron numbers were being revived at RAF Benson. These are 215 and 267, the latest Argosy units. When they have been formed, 215 (which was originally 15 Sqn, RNAS, in 1918) will go to Changi, Singapore, in July with Wg Cdr A. Talbot- Williams as CO and 267 (also first formed in 1918) will remain at Benson as part of 38 Group with Wg Cdr A. Steedman as CO. Reference to the formation of these new Argosy squadrons—making five altogether —was made in a colour feature, "Argosies at Work," in Flight International for December 6 last year. THE QUEEN WILL TAKE THE SALUTE On her official birthday (Saturday, June 8) from the balcony of Buckingham Palace during a flypast by Javelins and Lightnings of RAF Fighter Command. CADETS FROM THE USAF ACADEMY at Colorado Springs, Colorado, are visiting Britain from June 6 to 15. There will be 120 in the party. THE FIGHTER COMMAND AEROBATIC TEAM, "The Firebirds," of 56 Sqn (Lightning FAW.ls), are giving displays at next month's Paris Show at Le Bourget. They are seen on pages 744-5 of this issue. NO 139 (JAMAICA) SQN, one of the two Victor B.2 squadrons based at Wittering, was inadvertently referred to as 137 Sqn in last week's feature article "Wittering Cen turions." RAF deck-landing practice on HMS "Albion," by Pioneers of 209 Sqn, based at Seletar, Singapore. Four pilots were engaged—Fit Lts D. Brunger, F. W. 7. Davis and I. Douglas, and Fg Off). MacKenzie—and the trials took f>/oce SO miles out to sea, with the carrier steaming at a steady I5kt
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