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Aviation History
1963
1963 - 1742.PDF
FLIGHT International, 549 26 September 1963 Capt John Crewdson, managing director of Film Aviation Services Ltd, who was responsible for the flying in "633 Squadron"; and at right, "Moviemaker II," the B-25N of Aero Associates Inc used as camera aircraft for this fAirisch Films production been at Dalcross, and in four weeks there had only been about four good flying days, low cloud and rain making conditions impos sible or at best hazardous in that highland region between Inverness and the Island of Skyc. But though my first sortie proved abortive, though exciting, my second was all that could be desired for flying and weather—on the very last day that 633 Squadron was on loca tion at Inverness. This time, I flew with R. J. ("Jeff") Hawke, one of three pilots employed by Capt John Crewdson of Film Aviation Services for Mosquito flying in the film. The third, G. R. ("Taff") Rich, was also on this sortie, in another Mosquito, and we followed him in loose formation south-westwards along the length of Loch Ness. The weather was clear apart from broken strato-cumulus at about 3.000ft, an altitude we were not likely to achieve on these opera tions. Ahead of us had gone the camera aircraft, a modified B-25N Mitchell belonging to Aero Associates Inc of Tucson, Arizona, on charter to Film Aviation Services. We followed the same route as on the previous day, hugging the valley contours in the glen between Loch Arkaig and Loch Morar but this time from choice, not through cloud compulsion. When we got to Loch Morar we flew westwards across it towards the sea. The Mitchell was somewhere in this vicinity: it had camera positions in the nose and tail and on the starboard side and the object of this morning's sortie was to film a Mosquito flying up the side of the loch, and flying in towards land, low over the sea.' It was not certain, at that moment, whether two Mosquitoes or one would be required at a time; but "Taff" Rich was called in and we had to wait in the wings for our cue. * This was far more exhilarating, it proved, than waiting in the wings in Shaftesbury Avenue or Charing Cross Road; we had a gorgeous morning as setting, a lithe Mosquito TT.35, an RAF fighter pilot in command and time to spend till we were called on stage—a time in which to experience what David Ogilvy described D his recent reminiscent article on Mosquitoes in this journal 'July 4) as "flying at its best." "If one felt spirited," he said, "the lighter variants at least provided snappy satisfaction, while in one's "ore staid moments the aircraft would sit steadily on course for nany hours in the best bomber tradition." On that sunny morning in the Western Isles we had something of >oth characteristics, from flying in low (and slow, for a Mosquito) >ehind the Mitchell towards the coast to formation at 50ft over -och Ness on our return journey and a barrel roll over the environs "Inverness ("this aircraft is a fighter, not a bomber," said Hawke lecisively). But it was while waiting for our turn in front of the ameras—which came after Champagne One encountered trans mission trouble and became almost unreadable—that we were able o disport ourselves between the island of Eigg and the mainland. :l 8S has a sheer cliff face on its eastern side, rising to a flat top. wwke pointed the Mosquito at the island, roared along at nought «t over the sea and pulled the nose up the cliff face. We descended 0 the water again and crossed to the mainland in a brief but con- Wtrated low-flying exercise, proving Ogilvy's dictum about the jjosquito "sitting steadily on course for hours"; we swept along the ver Reaches towards Mallaig; then we turned westwards into the "Jg sea inlet north of the town, getting close to the water and olding the Mosquito down until the mainland rose up ahead, kwke pulled up into a steep climbing turn to port, bringing us back 11 a reciprocal at 1,000ft, and we could see the aircraft's wake on 16 calm water below. It was off the island of Eigg that we again w the Mitchell, after Champagne One had been "dismissed" j*ause of his transmission trouble. We were asked to fly behind W below, and made two runs towards the coast in this position, r^S up Slightly just before the mainland to pass over a small ""d- These nms took about 20min, then we rejoined Champagne e > making for Dalcross like two schoolboys homeward bound. We crossed Loch Morar, went through the narrow glen and came out into Loch Arkaig, left into Loch Lochy and along the length of Caledonian Canal which joins it to Loch Ness, then beat it up that long (26-mile) narrow stretch of water on a level with the main road which runs along the north bank. Holidaymaking motorists saw a sight they had not expected and which future holidaymakers there are not likely to see—two Mosquitoes in formation, 50ft above Loch Ness. Within minutes we were rolling our way past Inverness, then joined up with Champagne One for a low pass over the airfield, a break and landing. We had been flying for 2hr lOmin. This was the last flying which the Mosquitoes did from Dalcross for 633 Squadron, which is being made by Mirisch Films Ltd, with flying sequences under the direction of Roy Stephens. But it was not the end of flying for the Mitchell with its camera team, and in the afternoon I boarded Moviemaker II (as the aircraft had been called) with the director, chief cameraman and two cameramen. As far as I was concerned, this was a voyage of discovery: I did not know what the objectives were, nor what techniques were involved; but after two hours and a quarter I was a little more in the picture on both counts. We took off at 1655, into the hazy gold of a beautiful highland afternoon, and flew for about three-quarters of an hour before we reached our first location, the little town of Lochgilphead. This stands at the head of Loch Gilp, which branches off Loch Fyne in a northerly direction, and there is a clear run-in over the sea towards the town. What the director wanted was the pilot's view of a low- level attack on a "Norwegian" town. Twice the Mitchell came in over the sea, at 40ft or less, aiming straight for a white flagpole which stood on the waterfront, at the intersection of two main streets. We were assured that the chief of police had given permis sion for this exercise; but no doubt some of the uninformed towns people were reasonably surprised at the sight of a World War Two bomber coming in at them from low over the sea. Turning Horizon Two other exercises remained to be accomplished on this sortie: a series of peel-offs which would give the rear cameraman a rapidly turning [horizon, the results to be used in back-projecting cockpit pictures; and a flight through a narrow valley (the Lairig Ghru) running between two of the highest mountains in the Cairngorms, which would give the front cameraman the sort of picture seen by Mosquito crews flying through valleys in Norwegian mountains. With Roy Stevens sitting in the co-pilot's seat and the camera operator, Chick Anstiss, giving instructions about lighting from the rear seat in the front compartment, we did half-a-dozen peel-offs. When the rear camera was running, the pilot, Gregory Board, put the starboard wing down to the vertical (or just beyond it, in some cases), then put the nose down, throttled back the Cyclones, eased the wing up and gradually pulled the Mitchell out of its dive. On one occasion he remarked rather sardonically that a Mitchell's wings had been known to fall off. At the Lairig Ghru he got the aircraft well down between the sides of the pass, which initially divides peaks over 3,000ft high then runs between two of over 4,000ft. We could see hard patches of snow still lying in sunless mountain crevices, high up in that bleak world. After it, Dalcross airfield, nine miles north-east of Inverness and only 15min from the Cairngorms as we flew, seemed when we touched down at 1910hr as cosy in its sunset glow as somewhere in Surrey. It was certainly quiet, if not cosy, there by the following after noon when the Mitchell and Mosquitoes had departed for Biggin Hill and left Dalcross to its scheduled BEA Heralds and Viscounts and training RAF Shackletons from Kinloss doing touch-and-go landings. For four weeks the Mosquitoes had flown off as required Concluded at foot of page 555
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