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Aviation History
1971
1971 - 0076.PDF
FLIGHT International, 14 January 1971 Milans," and it makes the comment:— "Although the South African De fence Dept has denied late reports of the deal, the original story was passed for publication by the department. All matters pertaining to the military fall under the South African Official Secrets Act and clearance has to be obtained for publication. Only after the report received wide publicity did the authorities deny that there was any deal." Swiss Hunter Contract A CONTRACT FOR the sale of 30 refur bished Hunters was signed by the Swiss Government and Hawker Sid- deley Aviation in Berne on December ^ 30. The contract is subject to Swiss - Parliamentary approval. Under this order, which does not affect the current Swiss evaluation of a new ground-attack aircraft, the first Hunter is due to be delivered in the autumn of 1972 and the last in the autumn of 1974. Galaxy Dispositions FOUR SQUADRONS OF Lockheed C-5A Galaxies are being formed by Military Airlift Command of the US Air Force. The first has been established at Charleston AFB, South Carolina, since June last year. Its eight aircraft fly regularly to Europe and to the Pacific (by the northern route). This squadron is to have a total of 16 C-5As. A second Galaxy unit is now build ing up at the 60th Military Airlift Wing, Travis AFB, Calif, which received its first aircraft last October. Its task will be to provide transport to and from bases throughout the Pacific and the Far East, mainly via Hawaii—MAC'S "mid-Pac" route. The third and fourth C-5A squadrons will be at Travis (making two at that base) and at Dover AFB, Del. C-5 Weather Assistance SEEDING BY A WC-130 Hercules of the USAF Air Weather Service enabled a C-5A Galaxy of Military Airlift Command to make a successful land ing in fog at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, recently. Recounting this incident, the Air Weather Service newspaper Observer says that the successful fog clearing avoided a costly diversion to an alternate base. The Galaxy was en route from Okinawa to its home base at Charles ton, SC, and only minutes from Elmendorf when the AWS aircraft went into action. The WC-130 of the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squad ron "flew a series of carefully plotted seeding lanes over the base, dis pensing crushed dry ice." Dry ice has been found to trigger a temporary clearing in fog below freezing point. Sixteen minutes after this seeding, visibility increased sufficiently to en able the C-5A to land. During the 1969-70 winter AWS fog seeding operations at Elmendorf enabled more than 140 aircraft to get away and expedited an almost equal number of arrivals. These operations are carried out jointly by the 54th Sqn and the 11th Weather Sqn. The Air Weather Service currently provides fog clearing facilities at six other USAF bases—Fairchild, Hahn, Bitburg, Spangdahlem, Zwiebrucken and Ramstein. The last five-named bases are in Germany. India's New Fighter PLANS TO DEVELOP an advanced- technology combat aircraft, "rivalling the capability of America's Phantom and France's Mirage", were announced in the Indian Parliament recently by the Defence Minister, Mr Jagji- van Ram. He told MPs that the new fighter would enter service with the Indian Air Force in the 1980s. Mr Ram said that the Government had accepted a recommendation from a special aeronautics committee that the aircraft should initially be built round a proved engine—presumably meaning one of foreign design. Hindustan Aeronautics' Bangalore Division, which was responsible for the HF24 Marut (to be superseded by the new fighter), will undertake pre liminary design and technical work, although the Government would seek foreign technical assistance. Peruvian Twin Otters THE SALE OF eight Series 300 Twin Otters to the Peruvian Government, for use by the Peruvian Air Force, has been announced by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada. Deliveries of the aircraft are due to begin in April and the value of the order, including product support, is approximately $5 million (nearly £2 million). The eight aircraft are being acquired by the PAF as part of an extensive plan to modernise and stan dardise its transport fleet. They will be operated by Grupo Aereo No 42, based at Iquitos in the north of Peru. Their acquisition will enable the Government to carry out more effec tively its recently instituted pro grammes of civic action and economic First award of the Sopwith Pup Trophy— for operational readi ness of RN Ships Heli copter Flights — was made recently by the Flag Officer Carriers and Amphibious Ships, Rear Admiral ]. D. Treacher, to the frigate HMS '•Phoebe" (Copt G. I. Pritchard). Re ceiving it is the flight commander, Lt I. D. Mackenzie 70-71 development of the country's eastern interior. Powered by PT6A-27 engines and equipped with floats, the Twin Otters will make use of the many rivers of the upper reaches of the Amazon to provide a modern trans port link between scattered com munities in the area. These routes are currently being flown by three Series 100 Twin Otters which have been in service since 1967 and by six Beavers which have operated over the Peru vian jungle for many years. Tigre-Gato Firing FIRST OPERATIONAL FIRING of a Short Tigercat at the Santa Clara del Mar range, near Mar del Plata, recently has revealed the Argentine Army as one of the five hitherto unspecified overseas customers for the missile— known to the Argentinians as Tigre- Gato. In the firing, one unarmed practice Tigercat was used, and it scored a direct hit on a radio-controlled 12ft- span target drone at a range of 4,900yd, 4,500m. Sir Arthur Longmore A MEMORIAL SERVICE for the late Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, GCB. KCB. DSO, RAF(Ret), who died in December, is being held at the Royal Air Force church, St Clement Danes, Strand, London, on Wednesday, January 27, at 12 noon. Sir Arthur became the first CO of No 1 RNAS Sqn in 1914, and on Jan uary 3 a Nimrod of its successor No 201 Sqn scattered his ashes over the Solent, between Totland Point and the Needles, following a wish expressed before his death. Sir Arthur, born in New South Wales, Australia, filled many senior command and staff appointments in the RAF before becoming an Air Chief Marshal in 1939. In May 1940 he was appointed AOC-in-C Middle East and prepared the air support for General Wavell's advance through Libya in the following December. In March 1941 he was created a GCB, and in July appointed Inspector-General of the RAF. He retired from active service in 1942.
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