NEWS

Newsletter 170, May 2012

"ARK ROYAL" by Cdr Adrian Nance,OBE RN (Rtd), former Captain of HMS "ARK ROYAL"

	For our April talk we were pleased to have on board former Captain of Ark Royal Adrian Nance OBE He made an immediate impact, not only due to being 6'5", by putting all the less senior services in their place with the sense of humour that is recognised by all service people.

 

Although not a pilot, Adrian has had intimate experience of aviation and its power, not least by being on HMS
Sheffield when an Exocet struck her during the Falklands campaign. Five years prior to that on HMS Avenger as
flight deck officer he was involved in "First of class trials" for the Lynx on what was a very low and small flight deck
on the Type 21 Frigate that had previously carried the much smaller Wasp helicopter. Storm weather conditions had
to be found, as well as calm seas, to prove the procedure for handling and we were treated to some heavy weather
pictures when the operation of helicopters was to say the least – challenging – yet in two weeks 270 landings were
achieved.

Another conflict, this time in the warmer seas of the Arabian Gulf for 1991 saw him out front, i.e. ahead of the fleet in
harm’s way, in command of the Type 42 destroyer HMS Cardiff with 500 tons of fuel, 50 tons of munitions amidst
floating mines. The air power scenario was incredibly complex with the slow moving helicopters on the one hand
and fast jet fighters and bombers on the other. Whilst the world's news was focussed on the land battle the sea battle
was less recognised yet remained vital, the analogy being the RAF actions at Dunkirk where an unseen, air battle
was conducted well away from the people who were being fought for.

 

Moving to 2003 saw Adrian's main command HMS Ark Royal. To summarise a few of
the facts – in 600 feet on four decks are 1300 personnel, (approx 10% women) of
which half provide the fighting power and half operate the ship, like the equipment to
make fresh water and bake fresh bread and the ability to be able to feed all in the ship
(canned rations) in 40 mins under action stations. The ship's role would depend on
what aircraft were carried – for sea control a typical aircraft mix could be ASW
helicopters, Airborne Early Warning (AEW) helicopters and, until recently, Harrier – for
strike the mix would have focussed on Harrier with supporting AEW and Search and
Rescue (SAR) helicopters – for amphibious the emphasis would be on heavy lift
helicopter (Chinook), AEW, SAR and attack helicopters in support of the marines – for
humanitarian the mix would be similar to amphibious. Internally the ship was a like
finely tuned watch with small teams of people operating their diverse equipment in
harmony to provide a balanced sword which when shown could change the dynamics
of battle or out of sight could launch aircraft to strike effectively at an enemy.

Using animated graphics Adrian showed how the ship would operate with a typical
mix of fixed and rotary wing to ensure safe operations. After such a command follow-
ed by various staff jobs, Adrian retired and has turned his hand to helicopter borne
logistic aid for humanitarian disasters in Mozambique as the CEO of the charity "Wings like Eagles". He focuses on the essential of moving supplies, typically within 24 hours, to hundreds of people who have been afflicted by flood or other natural disasters or moving doctors quickly to critical areas. The charity is based in Chandlers Ford.

 

     After the sinking of the third Ark Royal the survivors used the ships fund to buy a silver bell, for the next ship to bear the name. The names of all the CO’s of the 5 “Ark Royals”, including Captain Adrian Nance OBE, are engraved on the bell.

 

Newsletter No.169 April 2012

FLYING AT BOSCOMBE DOWN

Our March talk was given by Colin Froude, a retired Squadron Leader who had spent more than ten years flying at Boscombe Down on the Heavy Aircraft Test and Evaluation Squadron. As an attention grabber – which worked – he showed a video of an impressive engine out landing in a high cross wind by a Hercules which displayed the skills required to handle a large aircraft in challenging conditions. Colin described the origins of the Squadron and its roles which included testing aircraft types both new and old along with modifications, R&D work, Met Research Flight (MRF) with Snoopy and the fascinating role of UK Open Skies, explained below, giving freedom to overfly Russia using photographic equipment.

Perhaps Colin's favourites were the BAC 1-11s which provided a platform for a wide range of sensors, such as fighter radars, using a dummy nose grafted onto the front of the aircraft or side radars producing ungainly looking blisters. One mod involved a large dustbin shaped array below the fuselage limiting ground clearance to a few inches which made for very careful touchdowns.  One unusual test was to use the aircraft as a surrogate UAV where the aircraft was under the control of an external pilot. Another workhorse was the Andover CMk1 (or HS780) the militarised version of the ubiquitous BAe(or HS)748. Again the nose was modified , one programme being a development radar using a Sea Harrier nosecone and another for a missile which, being much smaller, gave a very snub nose to the Andover's radome.

Another Andover was used for the UK commitment to monitor the Open Skies Treaty. The Treaty, commenced in January 2002, established a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the territories of its 34 signatories including Russia, USA, UK, Germany and many East European states. Its purpose is to enhance mutual understanding and confidence by giving participants the ability to obtain information on military or other activities of concern. The Treaty is the most wide-ranging international effort to date to promote openness and transparency of military forces and their activities. The aircraft was given a special photo recce camera fit mounted in the fuselage which itself could be validated by the Russian (or other) participants. Obviously this task was almost surreal to the military pilots seeing information unobtainable in the days of the cold war although consumption rates of beer and vodka by the national teams was less surprising.

The Hercules, both C130K and and the new C130J formed the second part covering trials of air drops, air to air refuelling (AAR) and MRF. For AAR the K version had the probe on the right hand side over the co pilots position, a legacy from the Falkland conflict, but in the new J version the probe was on the left over the captain's side so this meant thorough trials (with VC10 tankers) to modify previous procedures. Aerial drop trials covered a range of stores from rigid inflatable boats (Ribs) to sixteen 1ton containers. All aspects of the J had to be explored requiring rough field trials and low level exercises. A unique aircraft was that of the MRF which housed a portacabin for the scientific staff and its radome was mounted above the cockpit to allow for a long nose supporting sensors ahead of the aircraft's disturbance. This demanded a range of flying using a variety of sensors, such as lasers to measure water droplet and ice particle sizes. To accompany his photos Colin provided many humorous aviation anecdotes which brought everything to life and were well received by his audience.

SEA VIXON MISHAP

On Thursday 5th April, following a routine air test, the only airworthy Sea Vixen suffered an undercarriage problem resulting in a collapsed nose leg, temporarily closing the Hurn runway for a short period. Fortunately this happened at slow speed with no harm to the pilot. We all hope that there has been minimal damage and that this icon of the cold war and local aviation excellence will be airborne before too long.

Newsletter No.168 March 2012

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OF AN AIR DISPLAY by Phil Holt

For our February meeting Phil Holt gave us a talk called 'Air shows and all that'. We have all enjoyed air shows but how often do we think of the Air Traffic Control issues or wonder how it is orchestrated. Phil has a Special Events endorsement to his Air Traffic Control licence which has allowed him to be a Display Director in over 50 Air Displays ranging from major events such as RIAT at Fairford to smaller ones such as Bygone Days at Ibsley.

Flying Displays and Special Events regulations and guidelines are contained in the CAA publication CAP403 in which a Flying Display is defined as any flying activity deliberately performed for the purpose of providing an exhibition or entertainment at an advertised event open to the public. Additionally a Special Flying Event is defined as any flying activity during which aircraft may not necessarily comply with the Rules of the Air and normal air traffic control rules such as the low flying rule. The key issues that have to be covered to the satisfaction of the CAA are the display area, participating aircraft, aircraft serviceability and pilot competence.

The display area must provide a display line that the pilots can see clearly and a crowd line which the public must not go across for their own safety and the distances between these two lines are specified depending on the type of event – a simple flypast at less than 100knots can be 50metres but with aerobatics and greater than 300knots then 230metres is the minimum. Other fairly obvious items are clear access for emergency vehicles, no over flying of sensitive congested areas such as residential areas especially if they contain schools and hospitals. Areas for emergency landings are also worked into the planning and briefing documents as are areas for parking that are not over flown.

Many displays involve restored aircraft which have a rarity value and as such should be flown gently – Hurricane is typical compared to the Spitfire of which there are many restored and 'new' versions and so can be flown more vigorously. To obtain Display Authorisation (DA) a pilot of a fixed wing or helicopter aircraft needs to have a minimum of 200 hours on type with 100 hours in command but in reality, especially with classic aircraft, the pilot's experience is usually far in excess of these minimum requirements, typically 1500 hours. The pilot will also be evaluated on aspects such as their motivation, emergency planning, display sequence, recency, fitness, familiarity with display regulations amongst others and the examiner may choose to accompany the pilot on an intended display sequence.

Rules covering multi engine aircraft include no engine out or asymmetric and also maintenance of a flying speed that will allow a pull up should an engine fail. In close formation flying there are 3 levels of DA – the basic allows gentle flying and up to 30o of bank, Intermediate up to 60o of bank with no restrictions for the Advanced category.

For formation leaders the categories cover either up to 4 aircraft or multiple above 4 with appropriate levels of experience required as formation leaders are responsible for everything including terrain avoidance by the whole team.

Throughout his talk Phil gave anecdotes and illustrations including planning of 3 levels of air display, Bournemouth Air Festival, Bygone Days at Ibsley involving less than 10 classic aircraft and a singleton display of the Sea Vixen over the Solent.

Phil finished by showing examples of when it goes wrong and identified mistakes made at air displays such as the recent collision between a Skyraider and Mustang at Duxford but generally the UK air show regulations result in very few accidents. It is clear that when we all watch an air show there has been a tremendous amount of preparation to ensure we can enjoy it safely   

        February talk review by Steve Robson                    

FORMER RAF IBSLEY SPITFIRE UPDATE

As an update to the article in the February newsletter, Spitfire IIa P8088 / NK-K “Borough of Lambeth, which flew for 4 months in 1941 with 118 Sqn from Ibsley, was auctioned on February 18^th by auction house Historics, but failed to sell. The Spitfire had expected to sell for between £120,000 - £150,000.

FLYPAST FAME?

Eagle eyed members might have spotted someone in a photo at the bottom of page 13 of the current (April 2012) issue of “Flypast” who looks just like our chairman in a funny blue hat!  Actually it shows a group of people assembled in front of the former RAF Ibsley control tower and does indeed include Steve Robson (on far right, waving, in a blue hat!) and other key participants of the RAF Ibsley Airfield Historical Trust. The fund raising RAF Ibsley Revival day at Moyles Court School on June 3^rd is mentioned.

AIRSHOW DATES 2012

Abingdon Air & Country Show    May 6th

Jubilee Airshow, Duxford     27^th May

Mid Summer Airshow, Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden        3^rd June

The Mall, London (Queens Jubilee Flypast)    16^th June

Yeovilton International Air Day      23^rd June

Flying Legends, Duxford     30^th June – 1^st July

RIAT Fairford         7^th -8^th July

Farnborough Airshow 14^th -15^th July

Bristol Balloon Festival   9^th -12^th August

Weymouth Carnival & Airshow   15^th August

Bournemouth Air Festival        30^th August - 2^nd September

Newsletter No.167 February 2012

INVESTIGATING AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS

by Graham Perry

Our January talk was given by Graham Perry, on the subject of investigating aircraft accidents. Whilst his talk centred on military air accidents, including those he had attended as a specialist engineer, he included classic civil aviation accidents to get across the points on his key themes of wreckage and witnesses.

Conversely, a small area of wreckage can indicate an aircraft impacting at an angle or stalled or spinning state. The study of individual items can yield clues, such as a blue mark on a part of the Comet 1 wing recovered from the Mediterranean, which showed that the aircraft cabin had exploded because the paint matched the ‘BOAC’ livery from the fuselage. Another classic tell tale is the needle of an instrument, such as a clock or air speed indicator, that can show its position at the time of impact. The smallest item can provide evidence, such as marks on the end of a rivet mandrel which showed that it had jammed an elevator trim wheel. Study of the sequence of failed items can point to the origin of a structural failure, as can the pattern of marks, called striations, which occur when an object has suffered fatigue. A characteristic of most materials is that when they are overstressed below the point of failure they suffer a permanent deformation which gives the typical fuselage wrinkling seen in an aircraft that has been overstressed – perhaps when recovering from a dive or from a heavy landing.

Witnesses can provide valuable information if they are interviewed shortly after the incident. Simple questions can confirm the witness's power and accuracy of recall, but as likely as not accounts will vary and even contradict each other. A not unusual phenomenon occurs when witnesses will follow an incorrect line from other witnesses that are then universally perceived to be the facts. The witness who watched and wrote down what he observes will provide the best evidence. Youngsters can often provide good recall without embellishment of the facts. Any film taken by witnesses can prove invaluable – frame by frame analysis gives a clear pattern of events and the characteristics of a cine camera can give clues as to speed of an aircraft if there is a background with which to give a reference.

Throughout the talk Graham provided pictorial insights and his own anecdotes to give us all a fascinating glimpse of how to investigate the unthinkable.

Annual General Meeting

This will be held at the next meeting on the 9th March.

RAF Museum Coach Trip Saturday 24th March Price £16.70 -Solent Coaches

Steve Robson's block booking seat have all been taken up. He would need another ten takers to be able to make another block booking. However one can book direct with Solent at 01425 473188.

Pick up times are

• Ringwood Poulner - The White Hart 07:35
• St Catherine's Hill,(Bus stop near roundabout) Christchurch 07:48
• New Milton 08:15
• Brockenhurst Rose and Crown 08:55
• Crown Hotel Lyndhurst 09:05
• Totton Rushington Roundabout 09:10

 

For further information consult Solent Coaches at

Brookside Garage
Crow Lane
Ringwood
Hampshire
BH24 3EA

Tel: +44 (0)1425 473188
Fax: +44 (0)1425 483669
email: Enquiries@solentcoaches.co.uk

 

 

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Newsletter No.166 November 2011

Wings over Palestine by Ted Horne, BEM

 

"Wings over Palestine" was the subject of our speaker, Ted Horne BEM, for our last 2011 meeting in November. Ted had not served in the RAF but he had in the Royal Artillery from 1938, from which he was seconded for temporary service to the Palestine Police in 1941, during which time he learnt a tremendous amount about the Arab world in general and some history, and experience, of RAF aircraftand their use policing the Middle East..CLICK to See his CV

 

In 1916 a key role of Great Britain was to protect the Suez Canal from attack by the Turks who were supported by the Germans. The first British aircraft were Henry Farman's which were no match for the German Albatross. An atmosphere of knights of the air was prevalent and when one German pilot was shot down and captured he asked for his kit to be dropped and an overflight was allowed to do that. The Australians played a significant role at this time with  No.1 Sqn AFC using the Royal Aircraft Factory BE2c where in one engagement, Tonkin, flying managed to force down 3 Albatross which he then destroyed by strafing. Generally the BE2c was limited by its lack of forward firing guns.

The arrival of the Bristol fighter in 1917 and later the SE5A saw Allied domination of the air enabling support for ground troops, including Lawrence's irregulars, and in 1918 the Turkish 7th Army was trapped and decimated in a valley by bombing the front and rear of the column and then strafing in between.

Following WWI and the British Mandate of Mesopotamia (Iraq), established by the League of Nations in 1920, it was decided that air power was the way to police the country and RAF Iraq Command was set up. The Arabs resented British rule and the patrolling aircraft could be brought down by co-ordinated rifle fire – a technique learnt from Lawrence. In 1936 an Arab Revolt commenced against the British and air power proved effective in combating the insurgents by responding quickly to insurgent attacks – an early example of close air support – and limited bombing of Arab villages. As well as aircraft the No1 Armoured Car Company RAF, using Rolls-Royce armoured cars, assisted the Palestine Police Force. At one stage the police tracker dogs were carried in baskets on aircraft but slung outside the fuselage. In this way they could be taken rapidly to the scene of a crime.

Fighter bomber aircraft in use through the inter war period were DH9As in use till the late 20's and superseded by the Westland Wapiti and Wallace which saw service up to 1939. Others included the Hawker Hart, and Hawker Hardy.

WAPITIHIND

BRISTOL FIGHTER

 

 

Ted included many anecdotes and knowledgeable insights into the background of Arab and Jewish tensions in Palestine which made for a thoroughly fascinating evening.

 

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Newsletter No.164 October 2011

 

ONE OF THE FEW by John Shipman

Our September talk, with a Battle of Britain theme, was given by John Shipman author of 'One of the Few' based on the memoirs of his Spitfire pilot father. 'Shippy' as Ted Shipman was known joined up in 1930 as a way of getting improving his lot during the austere times on the family farm and also as a way of following his interest in aviation. Enlisted as a driver his first flight was gained after asking a sergeant pilot for a trip in a Virginia. Having worked his way up to being an engine fitter, Shippy took the opportunity to take a sample lesson at a local flying club where the instructor was a leading RAF pilot of the day. Solo was achieved after five and a half hours tuition (at £1 per hour) and with further dual and solo trips the coveted pilot's A licence attained in October 1933.

Following the rise of Mussolini and a call for pilots, the opportunity for flying training was not missed and commenced in January 1936 at a Flying School run by Blackburn Aircraft in Brough

 

Time was spent on Hawker Demons (a two seater fighter) practicing navigation and radio procedures to become operational and Hawker Fury MkIIs came on to the Sqn a year later.

 

Hawker Demon

Importantly Spitfires arrived in Dec '38 and the Sqn fully converted in June 1939 shortly before the declaration of war on 3rd September. Action was soon to come on 17th October in the form of a Heinkel 111 on a recce mission to find HMS Hood. Shippy was first to spot the Heinkel and having used all his ammunition the Heinkel started a last descent to the sea. A second Spitfire used his 15sec of ammunition to make sure of the job.

 

 

 

Following a submarine and bomber attack on Scapa Flow the Squadron was sent to provide air cover from a twice daily visit of a recce aircraft but the aircraft did not show whilst they were there.  May 1940 saw a deployment to support the Dunkirk evacuation but whilst elsewhere 41 had losses Shippy's patrols drew a blank. After a spell back at Catterick July 1940 was back in Kent on convoy protection. Here there was always a problem of getting up to altitude before the fighter and bombers arrived on target. One day whilst

the Spitfires were climbing for height, they were bounced by a couple of Me109's but they had been spotted and the ensuing dog fight saw one into the sea and another damaged recovering to France with a wounded pilot, Werner Molder.

From the book "One of the Few"

 

One particular encounter involved shooting down a Me110, the pilot being Hans Kettling who Shippy corresponded with after the war and met in 1980 and again in 1987 on the field where Kessler crash landed. John illustrated his talk with pictures and anecdotes to give a feel for the times. Ted Shipman was OC RAF Sopley in 1952. The book is available at £20 plus postage.

 

 

SCHNEIDER 80TH     On the 13th September 1931 the Schneider trophy was won for perpetuity by the Supermarine S6B and its aviation team. John Russell of Euro Seaplane Services Limited based at Blackbushe, decided that the 80th anniversary should not go unnoticed and set about the complex tasks of arranging a programme to fly a similar course around the Solent to give people a tremendous reminder of that significant event. Using Lee-on Solent as a base John planned to include several water landings as well as an amphibious traverse up the ramp at Calshot. Six aircraft registered for the event, both seaplanes and flying boats with a potential for 10 aircraft altogether. However, the weather played its fickle hand and prevented the event running on the Tuesday. The day after was not much better with variable conditions forecast. Because of this only John Russell in his Cessna 182 seaplane from Blackbushe and Oliver Ripoche in a Sea Max flying boat from Paris were able to make the day which will be well remembered by all who attended. Both aircraft made numerous flypasts as well as the planned ramp run which made a great photo opportunity for the many cameras including ITV and BBC.   .

 

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Newsletter No.163 September 2011

GLIDING - PURE ENERGY BY MARK RADICE

 

 

 

Newsletter No.162 July 2011

Flt Lt Samual Klinkead, DSO, DSC, DFC, WW1 Ace and Schneider Trophy Test Pilot

Our June talk was provided by Julian Lewis MP about the life of Samuel Kinkead, who was a member of the High Speed Flight based at Calshot during the Schneider Trophy period. As an aspiring MP for the newly formed New Forest East constituency, Julian had 'discovered' Flt Lt Samuel Kinkead DSO DSC DFC, or 'Kink' as he was known,through seeing his gravestone at the Norman Church at Fawley.

Thus started an odyssey of research with the initial purpose of honouring this brave airman at the 70th anniversary of his death during an attempt to break the world speed record for seaplanes in 1928.  Alan Brown, our Group's founder, had assisted this effort and unearthed albums of photographs from the Museum at Yeovilton which showed Kink's history as a Great War ace.

Kinkead was born in Johannesburg to an Irish father and Scottish mother in 1897 and had an elder brother named Thompson Calder Kinkead who lost his life in an accident during training with the RFC. In September 1915 Kink joined the RNAS and earned his wings by the end of the year. In 1916 he was assigned to the Dardanelles with 3 Naval Wing. Naval records and notes from a fellow airman, Bremner, show that whilst escorting bombers over the Aegean Sea Kink drove off a marauding Fokker when flying a Bristol Scout, he also shot down Buddecke who was a leader of a detachment of Richtofen's Flying Circus.

http://www.cbrnp.com/profiles/quarter1/scout.htm

In November 1916 Kink suffered a bad bout of malaria and was invalided home. Following his recovery, in September of 1917 he joined 1 Squadron RNAS based at Dover and Dunkirk. This became 201 Squadron on the creation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918 operating with the Sopwith Triplane and the Camel. His tally by the end of the War was over 30 and he had won a DSC and a DFC (both with Bars)  having been particularly adept at low level flying attacks. He went on to achieve another 10 victories in Russia, gaining a DSO, as part of the Allied intervention force fighting the Bolsheviks.In November 1916 Kink suffered a bad bout of malaria and was invalided home. Following his recovery, in September of 1917 he joined 1 Squadron RNAS based at Dover and Dunkirk. This became 201 Squadron on the creation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918 operating with the Sopwith Triplane and the Camel. His tally by the end of the War was over 30 and he had won a DSC and a DFC (both with Bars)  having been particularly adept at low level flying attacks. He went on to achieve another 10 victories in Russia, gaining a DSO, as part of the Allied intervention force fighting the Bolsheviks.

 

A stint on the staff at the RAF College Cranwell was followed by flying experience on a DH9A (Ninak) prior to a two year posting to Iraq. Kink flew and fought with distinction in the Kurdistan area against the infiltration of the Turks and local insurrections. After one attack an aircraft was force down and Kink with another pilot landed, each taking one crew member, whilst musket firing horseman were charging at them. After taking accumulated leave of 155 days he was put in charge of preparing landing strips at the Northern half of the Cairo to Cape Town route.

Back in UK saw him on a Flying Instructors course and Flying Training School but before long he was moved to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe from which pilots were recruited for the High Speed Flight to compete in the Schneider Trophy. The next competition was in Venice in 1927 where Kink flew the Gloster IV, but along with several other competitors he was forced to retire although the British did win the trophy that year. His aircraft had developed a defect which, had he not retired when he did, would have ended in complete disaster. The Italians continued to push for air speed records and in March 1928 it was decided that Britain would attempt to break the 300 mph milestone. After several false starts, Kink became airborne and with the full expectation of achieving the goal pushed the throttle open having turned north from Cowes to enter the start of the speed course off Calshot Castle. 

lIt is still unclear why but the aircraft suddenly dived into the sea and Kink died instantly. So ended a brilliant flying career which had never been documented by Kink himself but is now honoured in Julian Lewis's book 'Racing Ace'

 

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Newsletter No.161 June 2011

The sight of dark blue business jets in formation over the New Forest, or rows of these jets parked at Hurn must have evoked some curiosity as to 'why are they there – what do they do'. Jon Browning, Head of Business Development at Cobham Engineering and Aviation Services, gave us our May talk to explain just that. He opened by whetting our appetite with a fast moving video of the typical military work that Cobham Aviation Services is involved in and then introduced Hurn as their base and its place in the history of the New Forest airfields. Fittingly it was Sir Alan Cobham who had first identified Hurn as a suitable site for an airfield back in the '30s. Sir Alan Cobham was born in 1894 in London and in 1924 he won the King’s Cup Air Race in a prototype DH.50. In 1926 Cobham flew to Australia and back and in 1927 circumnavigated Africa. A piece of rare film showed refuelling during a stop in Africa using cans of fuel opened by a local with the tip of his spear. By 1932, 'Cobham's Flying Circus', and the stalwart Avro 504, brought aviation to the people and in 4 years 3 million people had paid to see his show.

In 1934 Flight Refuelling Ltd was formed and in 1939 the first non stop air refuelled trans Atlantic flight was made and a circumnavigation followed in 1949 using Boeing B49 tankers supplying a Boeing B50 bomber. The probe and drogue system was developed a year later with the designs and methodology being passed across to the USA. The signs of FRL's wider capabilities showed during the Berlin Air lift as the first British private contractor to partake; their 12 aircraft transported nearly 7million gallons of oil during the operation.
FRL faced an uncertain future in the '50s, although the V force by the '60s had been equipped for in flight refuelling which proved vital to the Black Buck missions to the Falklands in 1982. To raise money the company went public becoming FR (Holdings) Ltd in 1954 with the company moving from Tarrant Rushton to Wimborne in the early '60s. The Royal Navy had re learnt a hard lesson regarding gaps in training during the Falklands conflict and FR saw the opportunity and means to provide a competent force to fulfil airborne targeting and electronic warfare training. The bold decision to buy twenty Dassault Falcon 20 business jets and convert them for EW, target towing and airborne targets was far sighted, the proof being that these aircraft are still the work horses of Cobham Aviation Services formed back in 1985. The wing of the Falcon is a derivative of a jet fighter and retains the hard points of its predecessor. On these can be mounted a self powered unit containing a winch from which is reeled out the airborne target (on a fine wire up to 3 miles long) for the Royal Navy to practice their gunnery and missile procedures. Alternatively a BAe Hawk will fly an attack profile in close formation with a Falcon and then the two will separate for the Hawk to simulate a sea skimming missile attack. The other main role is electronic warfare in which the aircraft have additional aerials and equipment to challenge the fleet with radar jamming exercises.

 

Cobham provides maintenance services, such as Canberra servicing from 1989 to 2005and continues its air torefuelling work with the conversion of Airbus A330-200 for the RAF. Cobham's has expanded dramatically in providing support contracts such as AWACs with a long term commitment to 2025 and the provision of aircraft and pilot training at the Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) at RAF Shawbury in Shropshire. From acquisitions worldwide Cobham has 11,000 people of which 6,000 work in the USA. In Australia it provides civil maritime surveillance and acquired National Jet Systems which supplies aircraft operations for Qantas. From more than 50 companies Cobham's turnover is now some £2bn.

 

Jon was assisted in his presentation by Matthias Forsingdal who was on the Cobham Graduate Development Programme. Matt gave his own interesting presentation how he, as a resident of Luxembourg, had followed the aviation trail. Having gained a MEng Aeronautical Engineering (Imperial College London) he then entered a competition of 400 entrants (for 10 places) for what he had identified as a company scheme providing a breadth of opportunities, varied placements and excellent career development. It is clear that Cobham is building for the future by the provision of a comprehensive training programme not dissimilar in principle to those apprenticeships that many of the audience had enjoyed on their own aviation careers.

 

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Newsletter No.160 May 2011

THE ROYAL OBSERVERCORPS BY NEVILLE CULLINGFORD

For our April talk we were given a history of the Royal Observer Corps (ROC) from Neville Cullingford who is the curator of the ROC's Museum. The motto ' Forewarned is Forearmed' is depicted in the ROC crest which shows an Elizabethan soldier in 1588 bearing a flaming torch in one hand with the other hand shading his eyes as if searching the horizon – the role of watching for the Spanish Armada and ready to light the warning beacon.
The roots of the ROC go back to the First World War when the Zeppelins soared above London and England unhindered. In September 1915 the first London Air Defence Area was set up. Fixed wing raids needed further development and the Metropolitan Observation Service was set up in 1917 by Maj Genl Ashmore which covered London and surrounding areas. The system was continually developed but the war had ended as it was becoming perfected. In 1924 further work was carried out and in 1925 the Observer Corps was formed using a sound methodology of reporting.

Within a year Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and Essex were operating with assistance from the police for shipping observation. Being based on telephone communications the GPO was central to the system and personnel were drafted as special constables with neither uniform nor pay. Observation Posts (OPs) were often no more than a garden shed with a telephone pole, observation being made with binoculars and information was passed to local centres, equipped with plotting tables. A simple device to estimate height was designed by an engineer Cpt Ball with a later improvement called Micklethwait Height Corrector which used information coordinated by two posts to improve  accuracy of aircraft altitude.

  A countrywide exercise was carried out in 1938 and by 1939 there were 1,430 posts staffed by 32,000 volunteers. Tin helmets were issued with the letters OC  stencilled on them, as often as not from the word pOliCe with the relevant letters scraped off. As the war progressed uniforms became available and purpose built posts, rather than sheds were used. OPs were often set up on the roof of buildings especially Post offices but it was realised that the OPs   themselves were becoming targets as well as the Post Office communication centres. During the Battle of Britain the Chain Home radar system provided early warning of the approach of enemy aircraft. However, once past the coast enemy aircraft could only be detected and tracked by the Observer Corps and consequently they provided an invaluable service integrating with the air defence system. Additionally they provided information for Air Raid warnings thus saving many lives. As a 24 by 7 operation, staff had to endure all manner of hardships from the weather whilst maintaining their vigil, especially for hit and run raids by FW190s. As a result of their proven performance and contribution the Observer Corps was granted Royal status in 1941. At this times women were being enlisted due to the shortage of men and they also served with distinction.
Recognition was developed as a key skill by the ROC club with awards for proficiency. This led to the ROC being used aboard the ships of the D Day fleet to prevent friendly aircraft being shot down as much as to identify enemy aircraft.

 

After the war a new role in the nuclear age was required to monitor explosions and to plot fall out and Neville explained the design and reporting technologies used. Purpose built shallow underground OPs were designed and built to monitor key parameters. Following the 1990 defence review the ROC was stood down in 1991. Throughout, Neville provided illustrations of each aspect as his story unfolded, a story which received enthusiastic applause for his little known topic. 

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Newsletter No.159

March 2011 Talk "Gliders and Rotorcraft in the New Forest"

and Mike Symes showed us his DVD of 60s airshows converted from 8mm film taken at the time.

Following the AGM John Levesley gave us a talk on Gliders and Rotorcraft in the New Forest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John started with the opening of Christchurch in 1940 as the Air Defence Experimental Establishment, (later to become Signals Research and Development Establishment when ADEE went to Malvern) with the main radar research site at Worth Matravers a few miles West of Swanage which was operational from May 1940 to May 1942. The aviation link is that autogyros, namely Avro Ciervas Rota Mk1 and 1a, flying over the sea were used for the calibration of the radar equipment. There was a concern that gliders would be used for the invasion of England and so it was also necessary to test the radars' ability to detect non metal aircraft. Civilian gliders, still in their normal paint schemes, were towed to within 20 miles of the French coats at altitudes of 10,000 feet and flown towards the radars and it was shown that the radars could detect the gliders.

 

In 1942 a raid was conducted on the German radar station at Bruneval on the French coast and key radar equipment was acquired for evaluation. Of course Worth Matravers was equally vulnerable and when a build up of German 'commandos' was seen the radar establishment moved, almost overnight, inland to Malvern. Hurn and Stoney Cross were used for early glider training with Hotspurs being towed by Hawker biplanes. This did not last for long as the airfields soon became essential for use by fighters and bombers during the long build up and during the invasion. Airspeed at Christchurch made the Horsa, a later and much larger glider than the Hotspur and for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa, 30 Horsas were towed out, a distance of 1400 miles, although 3 were lost en-route. In late 1944 the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment moved to the RAF Beaulieu for the purpose of experimental work for parachute operations – the drop zone being the old airfield at East Boldre. The Hamilcar powered glider was tested here along with joint service trials on early helicopters such as the Sikorsky R-4 and R-6. Evaluations were made on German helicopters including the Focke-Achgelis Fa330 designed to be towed behind a U-boat in a spotting role and the FA223 two rotor craft with the rotors mounted across the fuselage giving a span as big as the Wellington bomber. RAF Ibsley became involved when trials were conducted to 'snatch' a glider from the ground using a hook up cable that a low passing Dakota could pick up. This technique was used out in Burma to recover wounded from jungle clearings.

 

Mike Symes, an NFAG member had spent some time converting 8mm film of 60s air shows and the resulting 25min DVD film gave many members a feeling of deja vu. In 4 parts the first was during the RAF's 50th celebrations when a substantial flying and static display was put on an RAF Upavon one of the first RAF stations. Members were quick to name the types such as Beverly, Belvedere, Avro 504, Vulcan and even an early P1127 (better known now as the Harrier). Flying displays included the Lighning with an Argosy dropping off the parchute formation team. Shuttleworth was next with some classic shots of both replica early stringbags as well as later WW2 types. An open day at RAF St Mawgan gave us shots of a Shackleton next to a Vulcan and the start up sequence of the BBMF Lancaster. An air display at Blackbushe showed off a B17, Ju 52 and a  Fiesler Storch in the air with static displays of WW2 aircraft including Spitfires, Harvard, Sea Fury and Fulmar with later aircraft such as the Varsity, Lockspeiser and an autogiro in British Airways colours.

 

NOTES ON THE 2011 AGM

Our March Meeting included the AGM at which 48 current members and 4 newly enrolled members attended for the first time.

Steve Robson (Chairman) opened the meeting with a tribute to the life of Alan Brown, our founding member and Chairman of NFAG until last year, followed by a short period of personal reflection for members

Fred Hambly told members of the thanks expressed by Alan's wife  Margaret Brown to the group for their attendance at the Memorial Service. In answer to a question it was stated that a donation (requested   instead of flowers) on behalf of NFAG had been made to the Oakhaven Hospice. 

Minutes of the 2010 meeting were accepted by the members.  Steve Robson thanked the various committe members who worked to keep the Group going especially Monty who opened up before each meeting and prepaared the teas and coffees. Gerry Coote spoke of the need for the group to have a new  Secretary as he was standing down, as also was Alan Vernon. Roy Arnold our Treasurer briefly spoke of the fact that financially we had broken even on the year, mainly due to sales of books. The Chairman stated that there was not a need to make a profit as the funds stood and we may spend a little more on some speakers this year.

The election of officers took place with a block vote of the existing committee minus Secretary. The vote was carried.

The meeting closed at 8.10pm.

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Newsletter No.158

February 2011 Talk "Kursk Tragedy" by Eddie Neylon

 

Eddie Neylon gave us a talk on the Kursk tragedy – whilst not a pure aviation subject (albeit with some aviation aspects) - he had mentioned it in a previous talk and members agreed that they would like to hear the full story. Eddie, now retired, was a marine engineer who with his team had developed the NATO Submarine Rescue System utilising manned and unmanned submersibles and he holds an honorary rank of Captain (engineer) in NATO. At the time of the Kursk accident his team were always available for call outs to emergencies or urgent repair work. The Kursk was an enormous submarine – one of the OscarII class 154m long and four stories high it was the largest attack submarine ever built and carried 24 'Granit' anti ship missiles as well as torpedoes. At the time of the accident Kursk was involved in a Russian Naval exercise in the Barents Sea and, as was routine, the activities were shadowed by NATO submarines so the initial accident, an explosion followed two minutes later by another, was heard instantly and the news relayed back to UK. Promptly help was offered but the Russian military system denied any accident had happened.

After a few days the accident was admitted and the Russians offered a large Antonov aircraft to transport the team and its considerable equipment from its base in Scotland to Russia. Politics delayed the departure of the aircraft and meant that the team were landed at Trondheim in Norway, rather than the nearest point in Russia, so requiring a longer sea journey.

On arrival the team carried out a careful survey to ensure that they were not placed at undue risk. Automatic undersea rover missions showed dramatic photography of the submarine's forward end devastated by the explosion. Later analysis identified an explosion in one torpedo which caused the craft to dive out of control and then set off a sympathetic explosion in the other torpedoes in the forward torpedo room. The cause of the explosion was down to the use of hydrogen peroxide, also known as HTP, which is a highly volatile substance and decomposes in the presence of a catalyst to give off large quantities of heat to be used in high technology propulsion systems, typically rockets and torpedoes. A faulty weld had allowed the HTP to contact a metal causing the initial explosion, blowing off the outer torpedo door and destroying the forward compartment via an improperly secured inner door.

The use of HTP had been banned in Royal Navy submarines following the loss of HMS Sidon to a similar accident in 1955. With the realisation of the extent and force of the catastrophy the rescue team focussed on the rear escape system where it was hoped survivors would have gathered. Again politics came into play but by this time the maritime bond was beginning to work which led to the successful mating of a rover onto the rear escape hatch – but not until special bolts had been flown in by Harrier from UK.

The sight that met the divers was traumatic – it was clear that a further disaster had occurred in the rear compartment amongst the survivors there. As in aircraft, submarines have emergency oxygen generators but these also give off a lot of heat. It is thought that one of these was dropped in the sea water causing a flash fire, using up the oxygen and sealing the fate of the survivors before rescue came.
Whilst many theories were expressed at the time for the cause of the accident, evidence such as the blown off torpedo tube established the facts.

A more co-operative attitude was seen a few years later when a Russian submarine became entangled in an underwater aerial array in the Bering Sea. The problem was admitted quickly, the rescue team activated with full co-operation in Russia and after a nail biting preparation phase involving making up special apparatus, a successful rescue was accomplished. This was acknowledged by the Russians with public awards. The tragic loss of Kursk had not been completely in vain.

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Newsletter No.157

January 2011 Talk "Aviation in and around Poole Bay" by Kevin Patience.

Our January talk was from Kevin Patience describing aviation in and around Poole Bay.

He had become interested in historical aviation following a divers training course in the RAF and at Malta in the 60's had dived on a sunken Spitfire and Maryland recovering parts of both.

Kevin outlined the growth of aviation in the area around Poole during the early days from Samuel Cody in 1908 and William McArdle who had owned a garage in Bournemouth and sold up to become Bournemouth's first aviator, who jointly ran the school at East Boldre in the New Forest and Charles Rolls who died in Bournemouth's centenary air pageant in 1910.

The first Schneider Trophy race following WW1 was in 1919 on a triangular course from Bournemouth Pier across Poole Bay to Swanage, then to Hengistbury Head and back to the pier. The winning Italian team stayed in Poole Harbour but later the race was voided. After WW1 famous manufacturers started up around the coast at Southampton and the Isle of Wight – Supermarine with R.J. Mitchell and the later Schneider Trophy aircraft arguably being the most prominent. Meanwhile Alan Cobham started his company Flight Refuelling in 1934.  The Shorts Mercury and Maia piggy back concept for transatlantic mail showed promise. In Southampton the Short  C Class flying boats had started a regular service and these could then be refuelled in flight to cross the Atlantic although later they found they did not need to be refuelled by using higher take off weight

 

During WWII the flying boat operations on Southampton Water moved to Poole harbour and there Maia met her fate from a German bomber and was sunk in May 1941. In 1940 Salterns Marina had become the BOAC operations base and Poole harbour had been laid out with several air strips and now became very busy with the combination of Royal Naval Air Service at Sandbanks as HMS Tadpole, BOAC operations and the normal powered boat activity from companies such as British Power Boats and RAF Hamworthy. Flying boats / seaplanes now consisted of the Pan American Clippers, RAF Catalinas, BOAC 'Sunderlands' and Fleet Air Arm Walrus', Kingfishers and Fairey Sea Foxes.

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At the beginning of WWII a brand new ordnance factory was built at Sopers Lane, Creekmoor, immediately to the north of Holes Bay, itself on the north edge of Poole Bay. The main output of this factory was the 20mm Hispano-Suiza cannon used in Spitfires and Hurricanes. Aircraft casualties were inevitable in the Poole Bay area, such as a BOAC Catalina which hit a log in March '43; other casualties included a Hurricane, a Spitfire and a Mosquito and in the surrounding areas a B17 at Lytchett Minster and a Halifax at Kingston Lacey and a He111 whose crew were buried initially in a local cemetery.
Brownsea Island played its part by providing decoy fires, to give the impression of targets alight, to misguide bombers, and it also had gun emplacements facing the entrance to the harbour, some of which can still be seen.

As the war came to a close there was a return to Southampton operations and the last flight from Poole to Durban was on 12 Mar 1947 with complete transfer to Hythe by March '48. This closed an eventful chapter in Poole's history. Kevin illustrated his talk throughout with many photographs and anecdotes of flying boat stories down route. 

 

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Newsletter No.156

November Talk - "Vulcan to the Skies" by Sam Evans

'Vulcan To The Skies' SAM EVANS introduced himself as the airframe fitter on Vulcan XH558 (see right) and commenced with a general history of the type. Operational Requirement 229 issued in late 1946 specified a high-altitude, high-speed, strategic bomber capable of delivering a 10,000 lb nuclear weapon to a target 1725 miles away to provide an independent deterrent. Lancaster designer Roy Chadwick sketched a concept in response before specification B35/46 was issued in 1947. Roy Chadwick died in a crash shortly after his concept sketches and Stuart Davies continued the work. The bomb, designated Blue Danube and similar in power to the Hiroshima bomb, was developed simultaneously with Avro 698, the aircraft designation before the name Vulcan was used. First flight of the Vulcan was in 1952, just 11 years after the first flight of its famous predecessor the Avro Lancaster. The RAF training unit opened in 1957 with operational deployment to 83Sqn at Scampton the following year. The Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) was to be able to take off in 4 mins following detection of a threat. This vital national deterrent was held by the Vulcan from 1958 until 1968 when the Royal Navy's submarines took over.

Vulcan take off

In The hangar at Lineham.

In 1960 a revised design, the B2, recognisable by the cranked leading edge, was delivered to the RAF and XH558 was the first of these. In 1973 the aircraft was converted to the strategic Maritime Radar Reconnaissance role and in 1982 it was again modified, this time into the K2 tanker role. In 1984 it was back to the standard B2 model and used in the RAF for display flights until 1992. The aircraft was bought by C Walton Ltd in 1993 and showed its paces in fast taxi runs at Bruntingthorpe. In 1999, Dr Robert Pleming (a nuclear physicist) proposed returning the aircraft to the sky and by 2000 the Vulcan to the sky organisation had completed a technical review confirming that, with the support of all the manufacturers, XH558 could be restored . However, money was the problem. With an estimate of over ￡3.5 million required it was a bid to the Heritage Lottery fund that brought in ￡2.7 million in December 2003 which made the restoration look possible. In addition to airframe work, avionics were updated and a GPS system was added. The mighty engines were started in August 2007, followed by two months of ground tests to check that XH558 was fit to fly and on 18 October 2007 the first flight was achieved. Total expenditure was 100,000 man-hours, and that excludes the volunteer help, and cost ￡7million. A permit to fly was granted on 3rd July 2008 followed by its display authorisation and the first display flown on 8th July 2008.

Two million pounds a year are needed to keep the aircraft in flying condition. Managing airframe and engines is a key requirement and a major airframe modification, not done on any operational aircraft, was completed over the winter of 09/10 using a rented hangar at RAF Lyneham which will give 8 years airframe life so there is good potential.

One hours flying (60 planned) costs ￡4600, insurance ￡3700 pa, 3 days of air and ground support ￡4500 other aircraft and equipment costs ￡1700. Generally a display will cost ￡9000 but often this much cannot be charged for various reasons. The difference is made up from donations, gift aid, marketing and memorabilia, visitor fees and sponsorship.  The slogan is to honour the past and inspire the future which the aircraft does in spades and Sam finished with a short video showing the 'Vulcan effect'. Memorabilia and souvenirs on sale did a roaring trade and Sam auctioned one of his pictures which raised more money in addition to a donation from NFAG.

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