Aeroplane Monthly Magazine 2015-11

SALUTING THE RAF’S ‘HARDEST DAY’

More than a Century of History in the Air ®

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VULCAN FAREWELL

P UB

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The last season for XH558

LI S HIN

W O R L D WA R T W O

MOSQUITO PR MISSION A legendary ‘Wooden Wonder’ sortie E XC L U S I V E I N T E R V I E W

MASTER OF HIS CRAFT The world’s highest-time WW1 aircraft pilot G R E AT A I R R AC E R S

RACING WITH STYLE Classics from a ‘golden age’

Meteor night fighters

DATABASE NOVEMBER 2015 £4.30 11 9 770143 724095

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Contents

November 2015

Vol 43, no 11 • Issue no 511

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NEWS AND COMMENT 4

FROM THE EDITOR

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NEWS • Hunter tragedy at Shoreham • ‘Battle of Britain’ B-25 saved • Classic Air Force Rapide and Chipmunk sold at Goodwood • Italian P-51 restored … and the month’s other top aircraft preservation news

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FEATURES 22

BIGGIN 75 Saluting the Battle of Britain’s ‘hardest day’

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VULCAN XH558 Highlights of the last flying ‘V-bomber’s’ final display season

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BILLANCOURT RAID A famous Mosquito PR mission after Bomber Command’s raid against the Renault works at Billancourt on 3 March 1942

HANGAR TALK Steve Slater’s monthly comment column on the historic aircraft world

An Aeroplane special section

REGULARS 17

SKYWRITERS

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Q&A Your questions asked and answered

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AIRCREW The role of a First World War HansaBrandenburg floatplane crew

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EVENTS

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BOOKS

106 NEXT MONTH

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RACING MOTH How a beautiful, modified DH60M Moth ended up back in the Kidston family

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MEW GULLS Shuttleworth’s and David Beale’s superb Percival racers come together

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COSMIC WIND BALLERINA The story of a famous Formula One ‘midget’ air racer

See pages 20-21 for a great subscription offer

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

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AEROPLANE MEETS… GENE DeMARCO The most experienced pilot of First World War aircraft

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DATABASE: METEOR NIGHT FIGHTERS Tony Buttler details the aircraft that started a new era for RAF night fighter units, as the first jet to serve in the role

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IN-DEPTH PAGES

‘PATRICIA LYNN’ RB-57s Secretive Vietnam War USAF recce operations uncovered

COVER IMAGE: Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

STEVEN COMBER

ESTABLISHED 1911

Aeroplane traces its lineage back to the weekly The Aeroplane, founded by C. G. Grey in 1911 and published until 1968. It was re-launched as a monthly in 1973 by Richard T. Riding, editor for 25 years until 1998.

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From the

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hat happened at the RAFA Shoreham Airshow remains difficult to take in. The Hunter accident, in which 11 people died, offered a reminder of how a day of aerial enjoyment can so quickly, so cruelly, turn into one of tragedy. Aeroplane sends its most heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all those involved. While one must think above all of the victims and their loved ones, it is only inevitable that much talk has resulted of potential ramifications. Shoreham, of course, bears no comparison with the most prominent previous west European airshow disasters — Farnborough in 1952, Ramstein in 1988. Apart from the fact that both saw significantly greater loss of life, they took place in very different times, and in very different circumstances. Also, in the case of Shoreham, no-one inside the show venue was harmed. This inevitably opens up a whole other set of issues relating to display safety and the capability of organisers meaningfully to protect those outside. It comes as little comfort, but is still relevant, to say that the regulations protecting spectators inside airshow venues serve their purpose and continue to evolve. Nor, in my opinion, can parallels meaningfully be drawn with other types of aircraft incident involving innocent bystanders, such as 2013’s Glasgow police helicopter crash. A police helicopter going about its operational duties is, just like an airliner engaged in public transport or a military aircraft performing a training sortie, a very different matter to display flying. We may enjoy it, but display flying is not an ‘essential’ activity in the same manner. In no way is it clichéd to stress the success of existing UK airshow regulations, as developed over many years by the

Civil Aviation Authority. They allow us to enjoy a wide range of aircraft and displays while maintaining an excellent safety record. In the post-war era, more people lost their lives in the football stadium disasters at Ibrox, Bradford and Hillsborough alone than have done so, whether spectating or participating, at British air displays. Arguably, these regulations are — to use a modern phrase — more ‘fit for purpose’ than those perhaps found elsewhere. They have been tweaked with the benefit of experience, including that gained as a result of past accidents, and continue to be so. Such will be the case as lessons from Shoreham are disseminated, digested and learned. Now, the CAA has placed new restrictions “until further notice” on classic jet display routines over land. Some have described them as ‘knee-jerk’, but that, on consideration, is wrong. Let us not, in our enthusiasm for airshows and aviation, forget the extent of what occurred at Shoreham. Eleven people lost their lives, many neither planning to attend nor viewing the display. Some reaction and media coverage has, as always, been ill-informed and sensationalist, but scrutiny after such an event is utterly unsurprising. The CAA needed to take immediate action, and that it has very adequately done. Those involved in respect of the broader air display industry’s regulatory and supervisory environment are already taking this on board. No doubt about it, the response could have been much more draconian. After all, the West German government imposed a blanket ban on airshows straight after the Ramstein crash. The UK air display scene needs now to ensure no repetition of the circumstances which might result in that happening here. Ben Dunnell

CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH To n y BUTTLER

Andrew F L E TC H E R

To n y HARMSWORTH

Stuart M c K AY

Tony Buttler worked for 20 years as a metallurgist, testing aluminium and titanium components for aviation. During this period his interest in military aircraft grew, particularly in their design and development. In 1994 he took a Masters degree in archives at Loughborough University, and since 1995 has worked as an aviation historian. Tony has written 25 major books, numerous titles in the Warpaint series of modelling publications, and a very large number of articles for magazines.

“I was interested in military history from a young age”, says Andrew. “This interest crystallised around World War Two aviation and coincided with me joining the RAF as an avionics technician. After leaving the RAF I remained in the aviation industry, working in the Middle East for many years. While working abroad, my aviation research centred on RAF photographic reconnaissance operations and aircrew, and over the years I have had the privilege to meet and correspond with many photo-recce veterans and their families.”

Being taken to the Regent Cinema in Brighton in 1969 to see the ‘Battle of Britain’ film began Tony’s life-long passion for vintage aviation. This was further nurtured by the appearance of the first issue of Aeroplane Monthly on the shelf of a newsagent in May 1973. After saving his dinner money to buy a copy, Tony never stopped looking back, and fluked his way into the job of assistant editor in early 1998. Now freelance, he still compiles the News section (see News, Aeroplane November 2015).

Stuart learned to fly on a Beagle Terrier 2 at White Waltham in 1963 and was keen to be associated with Tiger Moths from his teens. The founding secretary of the de Havilland Moth Club, he is also editor of its magazine The Moth, secretary of the de Havilland Educational Trust and manager of the annual International Moth Rally held at Woburn Abbey. In recognition of his services to the club he was appointed MBE in 1997.

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AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

News

NEWS EDITOR: TONY HARMSWORTH E-MAIL TO: [email protected] TELEPHONE: +44 (0)7791 808044 WRITE TO: Aeroplane, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1XQ, UK

Shoreham Hunter tr

Hunter T7 WV372 during the first pass of its display at Shoreham before the accident. BEN DUNNELL

Following the tragic accident involving Canfield Hunter Ltd’s Hawker Hunter T7 WV372/G-BXFI, which killed 11 people during the Shoreham Airshow in Sussex on 22 August, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) published a special bulletin on 4 September. In light of the serious nature of the accident, and the possible ramifications, Aeroplane is publishing at length the contents of this bulletin (available at www.aaib.gov.uk), edited solely for house style. SYNOPSIS The aircraft was taking part in an air display at Shoreham Airport during which it conducted a manoeuvre with both a vertical and rolling component, at the apex of which it was inverted. Following the subsequent descent, the aircraft did not achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27. HISTORY OF THE FLIGHT The Hawker Hunter was scheduled to carry out a display of aerobatic manoeuvres at the Royal Air Forces Association (RAFA) airshow at Shoreham Airport in West Sussex. The pilot had flown his light aircraft to North Weald Airfield in Essex where the Hunter was based. The Daily Inspection, valid for

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24 hours, had been carried out the previous afternoon by an engineer and on the day of the flight the pilot carried out a pre-flight inspection and signed the aircraft Technical Log. There were no reported defects. He requested the aircraft to be refuelled to full and this was carried out by the two ground crew. The pilot was described as being in good spirits and looking forward to the flight. The weather was good and, at the time of departure from North Weald, the nearest recorded actual weather was at Stansted Airport with a surface wind 150° at 14kt, no cloud below 5,000ft, visibility more than 10km, temperature 28°C, dewpoint 16°C and the QNH 1014 hPa. When all preparations were complete, the pilot occupied the left seat and secured his harness before putting on his helmet. The engine start was normal and the aircraft took off from Runway 02, which had a downslope, with a tail wind of approximately 8kt. The take-off run was longer than usual, probably due to the ambient conditions and, once airborne, the aircraft flew to Shoreham. The flight towards Shoreham was uneventful and, having descended to 1,000ft above mean sea level (amsl) the aircraft carried out a left orbit offshore at Brighton between 2,300ft and 2,500ft amsl. The pilot was cleared to commence

his display and, remaining offshore, flew along the coast towards the airfield. At 12.20hrs [UTC] Shoreham Airport reported that the wind was from 120° at 12kt, with no significant cloud and visibility of more than 10km. The surface temperature was 24°C, dewpoint 17°C and QNH1 1013 hPa. The pilot flew parallel to the coast in a gradual descent during part of which he flew inverted. This may have been to check that there were no loose articles in the cockpit before his display. Having rolled upright and wings level, the descent was continued to 800ft amsl and a right turn made to line up with the display line to the west of Runway 02/20 at Shoreham. The aircraft remained in a gentle right turn with the angle of bank decreasing as it descended to 100ft amsl and flew along the display line. It commenced a gentle climbing right turn to 1,600ft amsl, executing a Derry turn to the left and then commenced a descending left turn to 200ft amsl, approaching the display line at an angle of about 45º. The aircraft then pitched up into a manoeuvre with both a vertical component and roll to the left, becoming almost fully inverted at the apex of the manoeuvre at a height of approximately 2,600ft amsl. During the descent the aircraft accelerated and the nose was raised but the aircraft did not

achieve level flight before it struck the westbound carriageway of the A27 at its junction with Old Shoreham Road. AERODROME INFORMATION Shoreham Airport is located 1nm west of Shoreham-by-Sea. The aerodrome has three runways: an asphalt surfaced main runway orientated 02/20, 1,036 metres long with a width of 18 metres; and two grass runways, 07/25 and 13/31. The aerodrome is 7ft above mean sea level. A large organised air display was being undertaken with the required minimum separation from the crowd determined according to aircraft speed and the type of display being flown. The relevant display axis for G-BXFI was 230m from the crowd line, parallel with, and on the other side of, the main runway. The extended centreline of the display axis therefore passed through the junction of the A27 and Old Shoreham Road. Local restrictions were in place directing pilots not to overfly Lancing College buildings, residential areas at Lancing below 1,000ft, or Shoreham Beach below 500ft. PILOT’S QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE The pilot had received flying training in the Royal Air Force and had served as an instructor and fast jet pilot before entering commercial aviation. He held a

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

er tragedy

footage and photographs of the aircraft, many of which were taken in high resolution, from a variety of locations on and around Shoreham Airport. An analysis of the information using photogrammetry techniques will be undertaken to establish the parameters of the aircraft manoeuvres, including flight path and speed. PRE-FLIGHT TECHNICAL ACTIVITY The aircraft was operated on a CAA-issued Permit to Fly and its current Certificate of Validity was valid until 10 March 2016. There were no technical defects recorded in the aircraft Technical Log. The aircraft and its two under-wing tanks were fully fuelled before the flight. Ground crew reported that the pre-flight checks and engine start were normal and that the safety pins for the pilot’s ejection seat had been removed and placed in the stowage provided prior to departure to arm the seat and its associated systems.

European Union Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL) which was valid for the lifetime of the pilot. An Aircraft Type Rating Exemption (Full) was issued by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) on 27 August 2014 enabling him to fly the Hawker Hunter, Jet Provost Mk1-5 and Strikemaster aeroplanes, valid until 27 August 2015. He held a European Union Class 1 Medical Certificate with no limitations, issued on 20 January 2015 and valid until 31 January 2016. He held a valid Display Authorisation (DA), issued by the UK CAA, to display the Hawker Hunter to a minimum height of 100ft during flypasts and 500ft during Standard 3 category aerobatic manoeuvres. He had also met the requirement stipulated in Schedule 2 of his DA to have flown: ‘three full display sequences, one of which was on the aircraft to be displayed, not more than 90 days prior to the flight in question.’ From the pilot’s electronic logbook, it was established that the pilot had flown a total of 40.25 hours in the Hunter since 26 May 2011, of which 9.7 hours had been flown in the last 90 days and 2.1 hours in the last 28 days. He had also flown air displays in other types of aircraft, and the investigation will study his other logbooks for further information. The aircraft was not fitted with a flight recorder and no flight path

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

information was recovered from the aircraft GPS. The accident flight was recorded by the NATS radar facility at Pease Pottage. The maximum altitude recorded during the final manoeuvre was 2,600ft amsl (recorded by Heathrow radar), which may not reflect the peak altitude achieved because the radar data was not continuous. The investigation is analysing audio recordings of air traffic control communications. Two image recording cameras were mounted within the cockpit. One was located on the aft cockpit bulkhead between the two seats, giving a partial view of the pilot and instrument panel, and a view through the cockpit canopy and windscreen. To date no abnormal indications have been identified. Throughout the flight, the aircraft appeared to be responding to the pilot’s control inputs. The other video camera was mounted at the base of the windscreen, looking over the nose. Cockpit imagery is being analysed to help understand the final manoeuvre in more detail and to provide system status information. Initial findings indicate that the minimum air speed of the aircraft was approximately 100 KIAS whilst inverted at the top of the manoeuvre. The associated audio recording is being analysed for information relating to the aircraft systems. The AAIB has received a large amount of video

ACCIDENT SITE AND WRECKAGE RECOVERY The aircraft crashed on to the westbound carriageway of the A27 road near its junction with Old Shoreham Road and Coombes Road, which is close to the northern perimeter of Shoreham Airport. During the impact sequence, the aircraft struck vehicles and persons around the road junction. Traffic light stanchions, road signs and a crash barrier in the vicinity were also struck. The ground marks and photographic evidence show that the aircraft struck the road in a nose-high attitude on a magnetic heading of approximately 230°. The first ground contact was made by the lower portion of the jetpipe fairing, approximately 50m east of the road junction. During the impact sequence fuel and fuel vapour from the fuel tanks was released and then ignited. The aircraft broke into four main pieces which came to rest close together approximately 243m from the initial ground contact, in a shallow overgrown depression to the south of the A27. During the initial part of the impact sequence the jettisonable aircraft canopy was released, landing in a tree close to the main aircraft wreckage. During the latter part of the impact sequence, both the pilot and his seat were thrown clear from the cockpit. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The

investigation continues to determine if the pilot attempted to initiate ejection or if the canopy and pilot’s seat were liberated as a result of impact damage to the cockpit. Most of the aircraft wreckage has been recovered and transported to the AAIB facilities at Farnborough where it will be subject to further detailed examination. Work continues to recover smaller wreckage from the accident site. Further investigation by the AAIB will examine the aircraft and its maintenance records to determine its condition before the accident. It will also explore the operation of the aircraft, the organisation of the event with regard to public safety, and associated regulatory issues. The AAIB will report any significant developments as the investigation progresses. The following week, the Hunter pilot Andy Hill, who had survived the accident with serious injuries, was reportedly released from a specialist hospital. In the immediate aftermath, the Civil Aviation Authority temporarily grounded all Hunters on the UK civil register. In a statement on 24 August, it further announced: “Flying displays over land by vintage jet aircraft will be significantly restricted until further notice. They will be limited to flypasts, which means ‘high energy’ aerobatics will not be permitted. This only affects aircraft on the civil register, and not existing military types. The CAA will conduct additional risk assessments on all forthcoming civil air displays to establish if additional measures should be introduced. We commenced a full review of civil air display safety yesterday and held an initial meeting this morning.” In a note to its members, the British Air Display Association said: “[We] all need to be meticulous in adapting to and operating as required by the CAA’s interim measures and it makes eminent sense that all organisers and [flying display directors] re-scrutinise their display location, management arrangements and risk assessments in advance of examination by the CAA’s risk review panel; [and] all display pilots ensure they are aware of and ready to adapt appropriately their preparation and intended profiles to meet any necessary changes at the remaining events this year.”

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News

‘Battle of Britain’ B-25 saved One of the most famous B-25 Mitchells in history, the former ‘Battle of Britain’ film cameraship 44-31508/ N6578D, arrived in Adelaide, South Australia during August, to join the growing Reevers warbird collection. Project co-ordinator and primary researcher Peter Smythe had tried for several years to obtain a B-25 for Reevers, but it was a search that led to many dead-ends or incomplete airframes that would have required significant rebuilding. Peter has dedicated much time over the past few years to raising awareness of the little-known Royal Australian Air Force B-25 operations during the war.

During 2014 he was put in touch with a derelict B-25 project in Franklin, Virginia. Acting on Peter’s advice, Reevers purchased the bomber in late 2014, and by April 2015 it had been disassembled into manageable sizes for shipping, subsequently being loaded into containers and despatched to Australia for a three-month ocean voyage. During early September the B-25 was given a thorough clean-up, before being moved to a secure, covered storage area where more detailed assessments will be undertaken to prepare for a rebuild initially back to static display and then, in the longer term, flying status. Work will

be done to limit the corrosion and repair damage to the airframe and replace missing parts. Surplused by the US Air Force at Olmstead Air Force Base, Pennsylvania, in January 1960, the aircraft passed through the hands of several owners prior to acquisition by John ‘Jeff’ Hawke/Euramericair in June 1967, whereupon it was flown to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Mitchell was converted into a cameraship for use in the ‘Battle of Britain’ film, and arrived at Bovingdon airfield, Hertfordshire on 15 December 1967. Filming began at Tablada near Seville, Spain, during May 1968. The B-25 — flown by the legendary ‘Jeff’ Hawke, and

B-25J 44-31508/N6578D Chapter XI shortly after its arrival in Adelaide, South Australia, during August. REEVERS

The same aircraft, with ‘Jeff’ Hawke at the controls, at Duxford in the summer of 1968 during production of the ‘Battle of Britain’ film. AEROPLANE

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now known as the ‘Psychedelic Monster’ because of its high-visibility, multi-coloured paint scheme — flew with large formations of CASA 2.111s and Hispano HA-1112s to capture some of the most spectacular sequences for this muchloved movie. In January 1969 it returned to the USA, sinking into dereliction at Caldwell-Wright Field, New Jersey. Acquired by Ten Plus One Inc in March 1975, restoration soon got under way. The aeroplane was ferried to Kissimmee, Florida in February 1979, where the now famous B-25 builder Tom Reilly completed the work. It was operated by the B-25 Bomber Group Inc from Ocala, Florida, with the nose art Chapter XI. During the summer of 1994, Dan Powell of Boerne, Texas, acquired the B-25 and changed the nose art to Lucky Lady, but by the end of the 1990s it had been withdrawn from use and parked at Franklin, Virginia. In its 16 years at Franklin N6578D suffered corrosion and airframe damage, and ‘lost’ an engine. Other Reevers projects include B-26 Invader 44-35898, which is currently undergoing repairs and further assessment in Queensland. It is hoped to return it to flight within the next couple of years, after which it will be based in South Australia. A collection of various B-17 Flying Fortress airframes and parts along with technical drawings has been acquired, and a large shipment of B-17 components is being readied for transport to Australia. Following this, larger fuselage sections will be recovered and consolidated into this long-term project. Reevers also has enough material to form the basis for the rebuild of a currently extinct type, the Republic P-43 Lancer. This project is in its early planning stage, and as time permits and the allocation of resources improves, the static rebuild will gain momentum. Other projects currently ‘parked’ for the moment include P-40 Kittyhawk A-29-99 and Spitfire Vcs BS219/A58-84/ VH-BZR and BS234/A58-95/ VH-DQU.

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Rapide and Chipmunk sell at Goodwood

Dragon Rapide TX310/G-AIDL was sold to an undisclosed new owner on 12 September. BEN DUNNELL The auction of Classic Aircraft Trust aeroplanes by Bonhams at the Goodwood Revival on 12 September saw DH89A Dragon Rapide TX310/G-AIDL selling

for £110,000, with Chipmunk T10 G-APLO realising £39,000. The other Classic Aircraft Trust lots, namely Anson T21 WD413/ G-VROE, Proctor V G-AKIU and

Vampire T55 U-1215/G-HELV, failed to reach their reserve prices. Meteor T7 WA591/G-BWMF, Twin Pioneer 3 G-APRS and

Canberra B2/6 WK163/ G-BVWC, mentioned in the October issue as being part of the auction, were not included in the sale.

Major Omaka museum developments Construction of the new WW2 Exhibition Hall is moving on apace at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre near Blenheim, New Zealand. Among the airworthy aircraft that will go on display in the building are the world’s only airworthy Anson I, MH120, owned by Bill Reid, which made its maiden postrestoration flight from Nelson Airport in July 2012; the Chariots of Fire Fighter Collection Spitfire XIV NH799/ZK-XIV, which flew

following restoration by AvSpecs at Ardmore, Auckland on 2 April (see Aeroplane June 2015); and, from the same organisation, Flug Werk FW 190A-8/N ZK-RFR, damaged in a landing accident at Omaka on 3 April. As seen in the adjacent WW1 building, the aircraft will be displayed in tableau settings. Also currently under restoration at Omaka is the only survivor of three Waco UOCs built, ZK-AEL/ZK-ALA. Originally

The impressive new WW2 Aviation Hall being built at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. GMO

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imported to New Zealand in May 1936 by the Marlborough Aero Club, it was operated from Omaka until being impressed into Royal New Zealand Air Force service early in the war, when it was flown by the RNZAF Communications Flight at Rongotai. In 1946 it went back to the Marlborough Aero Club as ZK-ALA, but was written off at Omaka in a landing accident two years later. Upon repair it was operated from Rotorua on scenic

flights, but was written off again in 1958. The aircraft migrated north to Australia, where it was moved around the eastern seaboard for many years as a restoration project. During 2001, Jay McIntyre was serving in Australia with 2 Squadron, RNZAF, and tracked down the Waco in Sydney. The aircraft arrived back at Omaka in late 2008, and is under restoration to fly in Jay’s JEM Aviation hangar.

Waco UOC ZK-AEL/ZK-ALA with co-owner Jay McIntyre in the JEM Aviation hangar during August. GMO

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News

Italian Mustang completed The only surviving Italian Air Force P-51D Mustang went back on display at the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle near Rome during August, resplendent in the high-polish natural metal finish it bore when withdrawn from service in 1964. The Associazione Ali Storiche group, now based at the Volandia museum at Malpensa airport, renovated the P-51D, serial MM4323, in exchange for using it to construct jigs for an

airworthy restoration project currently under way on behalf of a private collector. A founding member of the Italian Air Force collection, this pristine Mustang has never been dismantled or structurally restored, and therefore provides a superb reference for dimensions, angles, the positioning of equipment and other technical details. Built by North American at Inglewood, California, the fighter was accepted by the USAAF in March 1945 as serial

44-73451, and served out the war in the United States in the training role. It was delivered to the Italian Air Force on 9 October 1950 under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program, and is known to have served with 155° Gruppo of 6° Stormo Caccia (Fighter Wing) with codes 6-32. It later went to the Rome Flight Training Centre, a unit that provided continuation training and liaison flights for staff officers, and acquired the codes ZR-11, later changed to RR-11. Its main pilot was Lt

Gen Ranieri Cupini, a veteran of Italo Balbo’s mass flights, who applied his three-star pennant and modified the fighter by removing the wing armament and fitting the bays as luggage and general cargo compartments. MM4323 made its last flight on 20 March 1964 and was selected for preservation, first in Turin (where the Italian Air Force briefly displayed its collection) and then Vigna di Valle, where it has been on display since 1977.

Against the beautiful backdrop of Lake Bracciano, P-51D 44-73451/ MM4323 sits in the sunshine outside the Italian Air Force Museum at Vigna di Valle in early September. MAURIZIO MOSCATELLI/ITALIAN AIR FORCE MUSEUM

Mishap in Kent for Spitfire MJ772 The Air Fighter Academy’s Spitfire IXT MJ772/D-FMKN sustained damage during an emergency landing in a field

AEROBOOT / AEROJUMBLE SALE 2015

near Woodchurch, Kent, on 7 September. The aircraft, normally based at Heringsdorf in Germany, was over in the UK

Saturday 17th October

trouble, pilot Rob Davies escaped unhurt. This was MJ772’s first visit to Britain since it was exported by the Strathallan Collection to US warbird owner Doug Champlin during 1974.

INDOOR SALE (up to 48 tables)

www.newarkairmuseum.org Follow us on Twitter: @NewarkAirMus

Registered Charity No. 256434

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in preparation for Goodwood’s Battle of Britain 75th anniversary commemoration on 15 September. Although the Spitfire’s port wing was torn off in the incident, which reportedly followed engine

Spitfire IXT MJ772 after its emergency landing near Woodchurch. PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

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2016 PROVISIONAL TOUR PROGRAMME 28 Jan – 1Feb 12-31 Mar

1-12 Apr 1-10 May 8-19 May Mid May Late May Late May/Early Jun 27 May-5 Jun 5-17 Jun 7-11 June (tba) 23-31 Jul/6 Aug 28 Jul-1 Aug Dates TBA 11-17 Sep Sep TBA 17-28 Nov 26 Nov-5/12 Dec

Historic Aircraft Association

Annual Symposium

Aviation Tours

SWITZERLAND: 38th Int’l Hot-Air Balloon Festival, Chateau-d’Oex & Swiss Air Force Museum, Zurich. Awesome mass ascent, special shape balloons and the beautiful “Night Glow”! This tour is perfect for enthusiasts and non-aviation-minded persons. NEW ZEALAND WITH HONG KONG STOPOVERS: 20 day tour of both islands: airports, airfields, museums and collections; plus the spectacular warbird airshow at Wanaka. Plenty of opportunities for optional flights and sightseeing (whales, Arthur’s Pass, Glacier Landing/Take Off on Mount Cook, etc). USA: NAS Key West & Sun ‘ Fun Airshows & Aviation Sites Of Florida incl Piper Aircraft Factory, Fantasy of Flight & Valiant Air Command Museums. RUSSIA: Moscow: Great Patriotic War Victory Day Parade, Red Square & Aviation Museums USA, MEXICO, CUBA & ST MAARTENS: Calling all airliner fans: Miami, Mexico City, Havana & St Maarten. Flying AAL & CUB (opt CUB An-148 flt). Ramp tours requested at MEX and HAV & Aeromexico & Cubana maintenance. Opt flt to St Bart from St Maarten NATO TIGER MEET, ZARAGOZA AIRBASE: Zaragoza hotel. 5-day tour. In addition to Spotters Days we also include full day at end of runway. BELARUS: long weekend trip to fly in Soviet aircraft, eg, IL-18, IL-76, An-12 & Tu-134 FINLAND: Airshow, Aviation Museums & Bear Spotting. Await confirmation of airshow. GERMANY: ILA Aero Exhibition & Airshow, Berlin; Minsk, Belarus; & Warsaw & Deblin, Poland. Optional long weekend just to Berlin. USA: ALASKA: Propliners, Airliners & Floatplanes. Flying Icelandair via Iceland; repeat of our hugely popular and successful tour of 2014. Interest in this tour is already high. TURKEY: Anatolian Eagle, Konya. Hotel confirmed. USA: Oshkosh; 6 full days at the show. Opt Ext to USAF Museum, Dayton & Nat Air & Space, Udvar Hazy Museums in Washington D.C.. Hotel near the White House. HUNGARY: Hungarian Air Force Int’l Airshow. Back, this very popular airshow. 4 days visiting several museums in addition to “Arrivals Day” and 2 full days at the airshow. REPUBLIC OF CHINA: Air Force Base Visits TBC BULGARIA: Air Force Bases: all the airbases of the Bulgarian Air Force (TBC), and military aviation museums and collections. CANADA: Air Force Bases; tours of major airbases of all the major airbases; to coincide with an airshow. FALKLAND ISLANDS: airfields & battle sites incl Agrentinian Air Force aircraft; local wildlife CHILE: Air Force, Army & Naval Aviation Bases: Opt 1 Week Extension to the Falkland Islands airfields & battle sites incl Agrentinian Air Force aircraft; local wildlife

RAF Museum Hendon Saturday Oct 31st 2015 Start 9.45

Featuring-

Epic Restoration -

The Return of The Blenheim

Imperial Air-Power-

RAF Hunter operations in Aden

Grandad’s Bristol Scout -

Veteran fighter re-born 90 Years of the de Havilland Moth The Light Aeroplane that changed the world

MOST ITINERARIES NOW ON OUR WEBSITE. Terminal House, Shepperton, Middlesex TW17 8AS Telephone: +44 (0)1932 255627 Facsimile: +44 (0)1932 231942 E-mail: [email protected] www.ianallantravel.com/aviationtours

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

9:55 "3& A8A%< + /"';>>;#% 1& <;$7A< #%5& 6// .A'1A?> )2* -#%,'A'1A?> )0*+ 4%$5:"A> ?A@?A>='A%< #% 3??;835 3%" !?;83 3%" ;%@# 8;>;< (((+=33,:7+3A?#

www.aeroplanemonthly.com 11

News

New Chilton makes debut

David Reid flying his newly-completed Chilton DW1A replica to the Light Aircraft Association Rally at Sywell on 4 September. GEOFF COLLINS

Chilton DW1A replica G-JUJU made its first public appearance at the Light Aircraft Association Rally at Sywell, Northamptonshire on 4 September. Built by Norwich-based David Reid using original plans for the racer, the aircraft had made its maiden flight on 7 July, a little

more than four years after David began construction. He says: “The Permit was issued on the Saturday before flying to Sywell for the rally, so it was a close-run thing and the weather co-operated well. This [was] the completion of a lifetime’s ambition to build an aeroplane.

“The engine is a brand-new Walter Mikron IIIAS supplied from the Czech Republic. The original drawings for the aircraft were supplied by Roy Nerou, owner of the Old Warden-based, Carden Ford-powered Chilton DW1 G-AESZ. The Ford engine produced 38hp when new, the

Mikron 65hp. At cruise power ’ESZ today gives an honest 100mph. I am getting 110kt in normal cruise, but with a little bit more power — less than max continuous — I am getting 120kt, a very useful turn of speed. I’ve named the aeroplane Black Magic.”

Rapid expansion for Compiègne group At Compiègne, 45 miles northeast of Paris, Fairchild 24W F-AYSE is now being operated by the Cercle des Machines Volantes, following importation from the USA in 2014. After spending 36 years in storage, the 1946-built, Warner Super Scarabpowered machine was given a ground-up restoration by Fairchild 24 specialist Bob Woods and his Wood Aviation team at Mount Olive, North Carolina. There are now four Fairchild 24s in France. Two are Scarabpowered, the other pair getting their motive power from the in-line, six-cylinder Ranger 6-440 unit. Formed by brothers Frédérick and Alexandre Collinot in 2009, the Cercle des Machines Volantes has a diverse fleet of

12 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

historic types, the most significant of which are two classic parasol-wing MoraneSaulnier monoplanes. MS230 F-AYMS (c/n 1076) will be remembered by British enthusiasts as G-AVEB, operated by the Hon Patrick Lindsay from Booker during the 1970s. It subsequently spent many years in the United States, and was freighted to France from Flanders Field near Polk City, Florida in late 2014. A very rare MS181 F-AIYH can also be found at Compiègne as part of the Cercle’s fleet. Under restoration to fly is the sole survivor from two examples of the Mauboussin M200 series of single-seat racing monoplanes built between 1938 and ’41. On 7 May 1939, the 115hp Régnier

4E-powered M200 F-AROP established new records for an aircraft of its class, flying at 158.5mph over a 1,000km (621-mile) course. The machine now at Compiègne, M202

F-PAOI, made its maiden flight during June 1941. Despite having a less powerful 95hp Régnier engine, it was capable of 166.5mph. Its return to the air is eagerly awaited.

The sleek Mauboussin M202, F-PAOI, under restoration with Le Cercle des Machines Volantes at Compiègne. NIGEL HITCHMAN

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Hidden Hearing F_P.indd 1

14/09/2015 09:11

News

First Boeing 727 to fly again Fifty-three years after it was originally rolled out of Boeing’s plant at Renton, Seattle, the very first Boeing 727 is being brought back to flying condition at Paine Field, Seattle, close to the manufacturer’s Everett assembly site. Once work is completed, the historic airliner will make a final ferry flight to Boeing Field, south of Seattle, where it will go on display at the Museum of Flight. The machine, 727-22 N7001U, made its maiden flight from Renton to Paine Field on 9 February 1963. It was the first of 1,832 Boeing 727s built at Renton, a total that, for many years, placed the 727 programme as the most successful in commercial aviation history, an accolade subsequently to pass to the Boeing 737. N7001U has been painted in the colours of United

Now resplendent in a newly-applied early 1960s United livery, the first Boeing 727, N7001U, is seen at Paine Field, Seattle in late August. TOM CATHCART

Airlines, who originally took delivery of this prototype aircraft in October 1964. It flew with United for more than 27

years, clocking up 64,492 hours, completing 48,057 flights and carrying more than three million passengers during its

service life. The carrier donated the historic tri-jet to the Museum of Flight in January 1991.

B-25 restored in Mexico At Santa Lucia Air Base in central Mexico, restoration for the base museum of a composite B-25K Mitchell is nearing completion. The aircraft incorporates parts from two B-25s that had lapsed into severe dereliction while on display at the San Juan de Aragón Park in Mexico City. The two aircraft, B-25N 44-29145/N9877C and B-25K 44-30692/N9623C, were originally built at Kansas City during 1944. The former machine saw combat after delivery to the Twelfth Air Force

in Italy in September of that year. The second aeroplane stayed in the USA, being assigned to the Advanced Twin-Engine Pilot Training School at La Junta, Colorado, in February 1945. Post-war, the two B-25s served on second-line duties before going to the storage yard at Davis-Monthan, Arizona during the summer of 1957. In October 1958 the combat veteran left Davis-Monthan for delivery to Aviation Rental Service at St Paul, Minnesota, 44-30692 having departed the

previous June for Maricopa, Arizona for use in an agricultural capacity with Maricopa Dust and Spray Inc. 44-29145 also went into the farming business in October 1961 with Crowl Crop Dusters at Phoenix, Arizona, but in the spring of that year ’30692 had been converted for fire-bombing, and fitted with a 1,280-gallon retardant entering service with Sonora Flying Service at Silver City, New Mexico. Having survived their arduous and varied civilian careers, the

The near-completed B-25K Mitchell at Santa Lucia air base in central Mexico. HECTOR MONTES DE OCA

14 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

two B-25s were up for grabs on the Allied Aircraft Sales lot at Phoenix in September 1965. Soon acquired by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), they were sent to the Civil Aviation Training Centre in Mexico City for use as instructional airframes. Both Mitchells were donated in 1985 to the Mexico City government and moved to San Juan de Aragón, ’30692 gaining shark’s mouth artwork on nose. Sadly, the complete tail section of the combat veteran, ’29145, was stolen while at the park, and both aircraft were gradually stripped of parts and covered with graffiti. During 2001 they were removed. Thought by many to have been scrapped, all the remaining parts were eventually delivered to the 4th Maintenance Echelon at Santa Lucia. The first job was to rebuild the fuselage of ’30692, followed by the engines and wings that had combat time over Italy on ’29145. Currently, work is under way to construct a glazed nose for the aircraft. As well as being displayed at the base museum, the B-25 will be towed out to the airfield to feature in future airshows at Santa Lucia. AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Czech ‘Shturmovik’ goes on show Following an extensive three-year restoration, an Avia B-33 — a Czech-built Ilyushin Il-10 ‘Shturmovik’ — was displayed at the Slovak International Air Fest 2015 at Sliacˇ air base at the end of August. The ground attack machine, serial 5514/HL-01, is one of just four Czech-built survivors. It has been restored by engineers and enthusiasts at Prešov air base, home to a Slovak Air Force helicopter wing, with support from the Museum of Military History in Pieštany.

Prior to its arrival at Prešov in October 2012, HL-01 spent many years on display outside the national monument at the Dukla battleground in eastern Slovakia, close to the city of Nižný Komárnik. Situated in the Carpathian Mountains, the climate there had been unkind to the Avia and the base at which it was exhibited, where the airframe sustained damage from vandals. At some point it had been painted in fake Russian markings, to better fit in with the surrounding Russian display items. It now wears its

original Czechoslovak Air Force colours, and even has a working rear gun. Future plans will see the Avia going back on display near the village of Vysny Komárnik, where a diorama commemorating one of the bloodiest battles on the Eastern Front, the Battle of the Dukla Pass during September-October 1944, is being constructed. Designed as a successor to the immortal Il-2 ground attack aircraft, the Il-10 saw action at the end of World War Two. Czechoslovak licence

production of the Avia B-33 began at the Prague-Cakovice plant during 1951. The final B-33 rolled off the line during 1955 — it is thought that 1,182 examples were built, although the exact number remains unknown. The last recorded B-33 flight in Czechoslovak service took place on 26 April 1962. Other surviving examples of the B-33 are one at the Polish Aviation Museum in Kraków and another with the Prague Aviation Museum at Kbely, Czech Republic.

Avia B-33 HL-01 on display at the recent Slovak International Air Fest. DR ANDREAS ZEITLER

Aussie Vampire for restoration in USA

At Fairmont State University in West Virginia, restoration of a former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Vampire T35 will soon get under way. It is being carried out by a team of students, the University

Flying Falcons, under the leadership of assistant professor of aviation Jason Vosburgh. The machine, N35DS, was donated to the college as an instructional airframe by a

Vampire T35 N35DS sitting at Fairmont, West Virginia, awaiting the start of restoration. JASON VOSBURGH

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

local benefactor in 2009. Originally serialled A79-635, it is one of several ex-RAAF machines imported to the USA circa 1970. Some 110 Vampire trainers were constructed by de Havilland Australia at Port Melbourne, Victoria, the first T35 being delivered to the RAAF in 1952. A79-635 was built in 1958. The type was operated by No 1 Advanced Flying Training School at RAAF Bases Point Cook and Pearce, the Central Flying School, and Nos 2 and 5 Operational Training Units. The T35s began to be replaced by Macchi MB326Hs in 1968, the last sortie being flown in September 1970. With 1,964 hours on the clock, A79-635 was put up for

disposal in June 1970. Acquired by Westair International at Broomfield, Colorado, it was registered as N11927. Two years later it passed on to Dennis M. Sherman, boss of the famed Sherman Aircraft Sales in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was re-registered as N35DS to its final operator, the Country Club Investment and Development Co Inc, at Fairmont in April 1977. Jason Vosburgh says: “The fuselage pod wood needs some help, but other than that it’s all complete. If anyone can help with details of the Vampire T35, please could they let us know?” E-mail Jason.Vosburgh@ FairmontState.edu.

www.aeroplanemonthly.com 15

Hangar Talk STEVE SLATER

Our monthly comment column on the historic aircraft scene As well as being a private pilot I WRITE THIS just a few days after the Shoreham normal to there being intimations of other factors at and enthusiast, Steve Slater is Airshow, so understandably my previous ideas for this play. They will look at radar tracks alongside those chief executive of the Light Aircraft month’s column now reside in the dustbin. Despite communications. Association and chairman of the having been present on that sad day, I won’t comment “The AAIB will probably develop a computer model Vintage Aircraft Club — www.vintageaircraftclub.org.uk on the accident and its immediate circumstances. The of the display flight profile, from his positioning for the world does not need yet more inappropriate speculation. run-in until moments after impact. This they can do One viewpoint that was missing was that of perhaps the best using combinations of primary and secondary radar information authority on displaying the Hunter. Jonathon Whaley has flown together with photos and video from the general public. Such thousands of hours in the type, both with the Fleet Air Arm and as external factors as visibility, birds or anything that could have the display pilot of the spectacularly-liveried Miss Demeanour. His full distracted the pilot or physically affected the aircraft, photos and account of the likely process of investigating the Shoreham video of the jet exhaust, its heat haze — all can provide information. tragedy and of flying the Hunter are available on his website, There will be things which I haven’t even thought of. www.heritageaviation.com, but I am indebted to Jonathon for letting “They will look at the pilot’s logbook and any video of his previous me publish some of his comments here. displays in Hunters as well as displays he has flown in other aircraft. “What follows must be read in the context that an aircraft crashed They will talk to people regarding personal details, medical history, and not beyond that”, says Jonathon. “I would have written almost the occupational flying and to his display authorisation examiner. They same words if the pilot had will interview other Hunter walked away from something display pilots. They will obviously other than a normal landing and want to interview the pilot no-one had been injured, fatally himself as soon as he is medically or otherwise. fit to be interviewed. “The AAIB will take what time is “Regarding Hunters in general, necessary to gather all relevant they are one of the most and perhaps what others might delightful and simple aircraft to think irrelevant information, fly. Yes, more demanding than a before even starting to piece light aircraft because things together events. Only then will they go on to draw conclusions. happen more quickly. Their weight and speed makes inertia a big Following that, they will undoubtedly make recommendations. factor compared to a light aircraft. From a systems aspect, you could “They will look at the operator’s Organisational Control Manual lose all hydraulic and electrical supply (they have two generators and (OCM), which sets out how an organisation operates its aircraft. They batteries) and fly safely to land. In a Hunter in the UK, a suitable will look at the maintenance records, the after flight and before flight runway is no more than five or 10 minutes away. (AF/BF) records which will show amongst other things the pre-start “I would go so far as to say that the skill level required to fly a fuel state, oxygen levels, anti-G system, nitrogen gas levels, etc. Hunter is not as great as, say, flying a Spitfire. In a Spitfire or other big “The flight authorisation sheet will show the details of the planned piston warbird, a pilot must have a definite feel for the aircraft, an flight, such as where the pilot intended to land after displaying. They affinity for flying. The Hunter is at the peak of simplicity for all will rebuild his planned flight as if they were flight-planning it military jets, of any type.” themselves. They will listen to the chain of radio communications from Perhaps Jonathon’s wise words might balance some of the the departure airfield to starting his display. Just listening to what is less-informed input. Thanks to him, and, to all fellow flyers, said and how it was said will be factors, ranging from absolutely safe landings.

“The AAIB will take what time is necessary to gather all relevant and perhaps what others might think irrelevant information, before even starting to piece together events”

ABOVE: Jonathon Whaley displaying his Hunter F58A Miss Demeanour at Duxford in October 2012. JOHN DUNNELL

16 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Skywriters

WRITE TO: Aeroplane, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1XQ, UK E-MAIL TO: [email protected], putting ‘Skywriters’ in the header

Letter of the Month

Tail-less tale

In going through the May issue of Aeroplane I noticed a familiar photo of one of our German aircraft, namely the Horten Ho IV flying wing glider, which the pilot flew in a prone position. The Planes of Fame Air Museum’s Ho IV has an interesting history. It was captured in Germany by the RAF and taken to England with many more ex-Luftwaffe aircraft. Unfortunately, many of these were scrapped. A few were given to the RCAF Museum in Canada, the RAAF Museum in Australia and the South African Air Force Museum. I was told this Ho IV was later sold to an American soldier in England. He had it shipped to the USA where he intended to fly it. Later it was entered in a glider contest in the state of Texas, and subsequently purchased by the University of Mississippi. It seems the US Navy was interested in aircraft that utilised prone pilot positions and hired the university to conduct some tests on it. When the test flights were completed, the Horten was put up for sale. It was bought by a man in California who ran an aviation bookstore in Los Angeles. His name was John Caler. John was a collector of aircraft and artefacts. He owned this aircraft in the 1960s and I saw it when I visited his bookshop. The Ho IV was mounted on a special trailer for easy transport.

Minor query

Congratulations on your Battle of Britain special issue. Reading the ‘Aircrew’ item about fighter pilot training, a question reoccurred to me: why, at this time (and all war long), did de Havilland continue to build the Tiger Moth and not the Moth Minor? This much more modern trainer was in full production at Hatfield in 1939, and manufacturing and maintenance would appear to have been simpler than for the biplane with all its struts and wires. Why the decision to go for complication over simplicity, sluggishness over performance, and soloing from the rear rather than the front seat? Hatfield production of the Moth Minor was re-located to Australia, but Morris Motors sub-contracted for de Havilland on the Tiger Moth — why not for the Moth Minor? René Jaloustre, Labenne, France

Minor production ABOVE: DH94 Moth Min du io under way at Hatfield during 1939. AEROPLANE

Righting radar wrongs

While I was pleased to see David Halford giving due recognition in the September issue to Arnold ‘Skip’ Wilkins’ part in the development of the Chain Home radar AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

ABOVE: Horten Ho IV LA-AC at Farnborough in 1945. AEROPLANE

John sold the glider to a Redlands, California, college professor who was also a glider enthusiast. He wanted the Ho IV to open a glider school in San Bernardino County. Unfortunately he was killed in another glider shortly after acquiring the Ho IV. I read about the Ho IV being for sale in 1969, went out to see it and purchased the aircraft. We restored the Ho IV in 1970 and it is on display, hanging in our Planes of Fame Air Museum Foreign Aircraft Hangar at Chino Airport, California. Ed Maloney, founder, Planes of Fame Air Museum

system, there are a number of errors in the article. A full and detailed record of Wilkins’ involvement can be found in an excellent book written by Colin Latham and Anne Stobbs entitled ‘The Birth of British Radar’, published by DEHS (ISBN 0-9537166-2-7). The remarks about the acoustic detection system seem to be misinformed. David Halford implies this was never pursued, which is not strictly correct. Tucker developed a working system and there are several of these still in existence, at Abbotscliffe and Denge (the latter is pictured). The Denge site is near Dungeness and, although not easily accessible to the public, is viewable with permission. They are in a disused gravel pit and there are three acoustic mirrors, one being a large concave wall and two smaller parabolic mirrors. Details of these are contained in the book ‘Britain’s Shield’. Turning to the radio detection system, David Halford mentioned Marconi’s lecture in the USA as being in 1912. This is incorrect — it was made to the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) in 1922. In the light of Marconi’s address, two scientists at the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) determined that Marconi’s concept was possible and, later that same year, detected a wooden ship at a range of five miles using a wavelength of 5m, employing a separate transmitter and receiver with a CW wave. In 1925, the first use of pulsed radio waves was undertaken in order to measure the height of the ionospheric layers. These quotes are from the second edition of my book ‘Amateur Radio Astronomy’, published by the RSGB (ISBN 9781-90508667-2). The engineer mainly responsible for the ionospheric layer apparatus design was Arnold Wilkins of the National Physical Laboratory at Slough. He and his colleagues developed and operated the early British

research station — thus, they were a natural choice when radar was being developed, as the technique used the same principles, namely a pulsed radio wave being sent upwards to be reflected off the ionosphere. However, historians generally consider that the true ‘inventor’ of what we today know as radio direction-finding, or radar, was a German engineer. His name was Christian Hülsmeyer, and in 1902 he devised a radio location system to detect ships in poor visibility. He not only designed and built the system but he also installed it on a bridge over the Rhine near Cologne. This radio apparatus rang a bell when a ship approached. He tried unsuccessfully to interest the German authorities in this invention, and eventually took out a British patent in 1903. John Fielding, Durban, South Africa

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Are you seeking the answer to a thorny aviation question? Our ‘questions and answers’ page might help WRITE TO: Aeroplane, Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1XQ, UK E-MAIL TO: [email protected], putting ‘Q&A’ in the header

THIS MONTH’S QUESTIONS

THIS MONTH’S ANSWERS

Q

had several comments on Q We the Chipmunk’s spinning

Heinkel He 111 plate

Tony Payne has submitted a photograph of a Heinkel He 111 constructor’s number plate, identifying it as Werknummer 1502. His father, when working for the Forestry Commission shortly after World War Two, found the plate in some wreckage in woodland close to King Alfred’s Tower, Stourhead, Worcestershire. Can anyone further identify this particular Heinkel and give any details of its crash?

Chummy Books

Bruce Morgan (e-mail bruce. Q [email protected]),

while writing about the packs of cards query featured separately, said that his father was publishing director of Valentine & Sons and showed him when he was very young a collection of small Chummy Books printed in various languages, which he said were being parachuted/dropped into occupied France. This was presumably some sort of propaganda exercise but there are no copies of these books. Does anyone have knowledge of this activity? The Chummy Books were intended for children, and Bruce has an unpublished set of original paintings by illustrator Roland Davis which were intended to be used for one entitled ‘Knights of the Air’, featuring various war scenarios depicting military aircraft.

RE8 requirement

Paul Leaman (e-mail Q [email protected])

has been looking for details of the official requirement statement that the Royal Flying Corps submitted for the design and construction of the Royal Aircraft Factory RE8. A search through the relevant files at the National Archives in Kew has turned up nothing, nor have enquiries to fellow historians. Can anyone help? AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Chipmunk rudder

Mike Hooks was editor of Airports International during 1967–75. He then joined the SBAC, where his duties included managing the press centre at the Farnborough Air Shows.

problems in earlier issues. Basil Evans adds a little more. He was a member of the University of London Air Squadron from 1952 to 1956, and all its Chipmunks had the original rudders. On one occasion when an instructor and pupil were flying at 4,000ft a spin was entered but the standard recovery procedure did not work. The instructor ordered “abandon aircraft”, but on leaving the cadet’s long RT cable snagged. The instructor leaned forward and freed it and the aircraft recovered at 800ft, being flown back to Booker, although the cadet landed in a tree and broke a leg in the subsequent fall. The instructor, Flt Lt Ron Howard AFC, was awarded a Queen’s Commendation. The Chipmunk was taken to Boscombe Down for tests, and attempts were made to reproduce the event but without success. Mr Evans thinks this may have been the trigger for the 4in rudder chord extension modification.

Packs of cards

A

Skeabrae Spitfires

query in the October issue Q Aasked about some unusual

Spitfires seen at Skeabrae (not Skaebrae, as I quoted!) There have been several replies. David Horne says that in 1944 three Spitfire VIIs with pressurised cockpits were based there with No 602 Squadron to intercept high-flying German reconnaissance aircraft attempting to photograph the fleet anchorage at Scapa Flow. Antoni Lachetta points out that there was a shortage of MkIXs, which were needed by the 2nd TAF, and it was considered that the Orkneys could be defended by MkVs and a handful of high-altitude variants. It was the practice for resting squadrons sent north to have one flight based at Skeabrae on detachment, with the

A

other flight at Sumburgh flying MkVs. Over the course of a year the aircraft were used by Nos 312, 118 and 602 and 313 Squadrons, regardless of which squadron was operating them, and retained the codes DU belonging to 312. Ian Hewins adds that, because of the remoteness of the airfield, units posted there took over aircraft already on the station, so in 1943 when 312 went north it operated a mixed bag of MkVs and VIIs. The Czech-manned units received three brand-new HFVIIs, MB763, ’765 and ’828, in August 1943 just before their detachment ended. They were left behind and showed up as in Skeabrae Station Flight usage by November 1943, still with their DU codes. Other HFVIIs shown by Air-Britain to be on the Station Flight’s books were MD118, ’122 and ’138. Gordon asked in the Q Fred October issue about packs of

wartime aircraft silhouette cards. Chris Allen (e-mail c.allen134@ btinternet.com) has a boxed set of these cards complete with the paperwork published by the Air Ministry in July 1942. The red pack contains single-engined aircraft, the blue multi-engined with single fin and rudder, the orange multi-engined with twin fins and rudders, and the green miscellaneous. The three views, front, plan and side, of each aircraft represent suits and each pack contains a joker with all three views. The four-page instruction sheet, each of which measures approximately 5in x 7.5in, describes how you can play various games including happy families, rummy, clock patience, snap and banker. The key sheets which name each aircraft and give span and length are 14.75in x 9.25in and on rather thin paper, folded several times to get them into the box, so are now rather yellowing with age. The packs are marked “For Official Use Only.” Bruce Morgan adds that Valentine & Sons produced these cards, and he has an incomplete set of 42.

A

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BIGGIN 75

SALUTING THE

‘HARDEST DAY’ Biggin Hill stages a memorable Battle of Britain commemoration WORDS: TONY HARMSWORTH

A

pivotal moment in European history was commemorated in unique fashion at Biggin Hill Airport in Kent on 18 August, as groups of Spitfires and Hurricanes re-created the sights seen at this most

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famous of all RAF fighter stations during the ‘hardest day’ of the Battle of Britain. At 12.45hrs, the same time as Biggin’s fighters were scrambled 75 years ago, 18 preserved Spitfires and five Hurricanes fired up to fly a

tribute to all of the pilots, engineers, armourers, operations staff and ground crews who faced down the Luftwaffe on that epic summer’s day. Planning for this one-off event started back in May, when Peter Monk of the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

— from where several Spitfires and a Hurricane are operated — approached the airport management. Peter was brought up near one of Kent’s 1940 fighter stations at Detling, near Maidstone, and says: “We thought we should be doing something for Biggin in this important year to commemorate [this base] during the Battle. Looking at the calendar, the obvious date was 18 August.” The airport managing director, Will Curtis, who flew a Sukhoi Su-26 aerobatic aircraft on the airshow circuit for many years, was enthusiastic, as was Colin Hitchins of Synergy Events, who was for many years part of the team that ran the late, lamented Biggin Hill Air Fair. Colin says: “We tried hard to do something different. Sitting down with a blank piece of paper, we set out how best to commemorate the activities of that one, crucial day, when more aircraft were lost than during any other 24hour period of the Battle of Britain. It was felt not really appropriate to stage an airshow: it was all about putting history first and telling the story of 18 August, with Spitfires and Hurricanes flying the courses they did while

intercepting the Luftwaffe, and passing over many of the Fighter Command airfields that were operational in the south-east during the summer of 1940. Telling a story is something we have previously done during our ‘flying proms’ Musical Salutes to the Few, here at Biggin, but what we set out to achieve on 18 August was not something that had been attempted before.”

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A total of 27 Spitfires and Hurricanes were scheduled to attend, but serviceability and weather issues saw that reduced to 23 on the day. Three Spitfires and a Hurricane from Germany had to turn back en route, while Battle of Britain veteran Spitfire IIa P7350 and Hurricane LF363 from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight were unable to make it. Five Hurricanes and 17 Spitfires lined up on the hallowed Biggin Hill grass, alongside one further WW2 fighter, P-51D G-SHWN, which was to be used as a camera-ship. Chief pilot for the commemoration was Dan Griffith, whose final plan was

to get airborne three groupings of eight aircraft each. One section would head down to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, another to Dover, and the third was to overfly the key former fighter stations at Kenley, Gravesend, Detling and West Malling. After returning to Biggin ahead of the others, the latter would fly a standing patrol over the aerodrome before breaking off into simulated attacks. Dan says: “The biggest difficulty we faced was getting everyone back at the right time. If the Portsmouth element and the Dover section had flown at the same speed there would have been seven/eight minutes’ difference in return time, so we put the Hurricanes, which were to fly at 150-160kt, on the shorter, Dover, route, and a group of Spitfires, flying at 200-210kt, on the longer Isle of Wight/Portsmouth leg.” The three formations were each named after distinguished Biggin Hill personalities from the battle. The eight aircraft heading on the south-westerly route across Surrey and Hampshire to the Isle of Wight were designated Grice Flight, after Gp Capt Richard Grice DFC, commander of the Biggin Hill Sector during the battle, and an RFC

BELOW: The evocative sight of four Hurricanes in formation during the 18 August tribute. Leading is the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar’s AE977, appropriately painted as ‘P2921’ of No 32 Squadron; with it are Peter Vacher’s Battle of Britain veteran R4118, ‘P3700’ from the Historic Aircraft Collection, and the BBMF’s PZ865. MIKE RIVETT

‘We thought we should be doing something in this important year to commemorate Biggin Hill during the Battle. Looking at the calendar, the obvious date was 18 August’ ð AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

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BIGGIN 75

ABOVE: The pilots involved on 18 August 2015. Back row, left to right: Richard Verrall, Peter Monk, Brian Smith, Dan Griffith, Alan Wade, Peter Teichman, Wg Cdr Justin Helliwell, Pete Kynsey, Sqn Ldr Mark Discombe, Carl Schofield, ‘Willy’ Hackett, photographer Kevin Wills, Stu Goldspink, Stephen Stead, Dave Harvey, Matt Jones, Charlie Brown, ‘Dodge’ Bailey and Paul Bonhomme. Front row, left to right: Dave Puleston, Richard Grace, Steve Jones, Don Sigournay and Clive Denney. JOHN GOODMAN/ FLYPASTS GUIDEBOOK

BELOW: The Hurricanes fire up for their ‘scramble’. GARY R. BROWN

fighter pilot veteran of WW1 who had witnessed from the air the shootingdown of Manfred von Richthofen on 21 April 1918. The Dover section was designated Hamlyn Flight, named after Sgt (later Sqn Ldr) Ronald Fairfax Hamlyn, who flew Spitfires with No 610 Squadron at Biggin throughout the Battle. On 24 August he shot down four Messerschmitt Bf 109s and a Junkers Ju 88, finishing the war as a double ace. Mortimer Flight, which Dan Griffith was to lead in Martin Phillips’ Spitfire IX RR232, was named in tribute to Sgt Joan Mortimer. On 18 August, Mortimer was manning the switchboard at Biggin during a heavy bombing raid and, despite being urged by her superiors to leave, remained at her post, keeping the airfield communications active. Before the ‘all-clear’ siren was sounded, and with the airfield now plastered with 90 delayed-action bombs, Mortimer grabbed a roll of red flags and ran out onto the grass runways to mark each unexploded bomb and assist the returning pilots in making safe landings. While planting one flag, a nearby bomb exploded, sending Joan flying. Severely

winded and deafened by the blast, she continued to mark the locations of the bombs, the last one being right in the centre of the aerodrome. Joan Mortimer lost 60 per cent of her hearing as a result of the blast. She was discharged from the WAAF in 1941, suffering from her hearing loss and pneumonia.

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It was at 12.45hrs on 18 August 1940 that the radar station near Dover reported six separate concentrations of German aircraft heading for targets in the south-east of England. In clear and sunny weather, a large force from Albert Kesselring’s Luftflotte 2 had been despatched from bases in northern France to carry out a coordinated ‘pincer movement’ attack on the RAF’s No 2 Group airfields at Kenley, North Weald, West Malling and Biggin Hill. First to be hit was Kenley, in the well-documented raid by nine Dornier Do 17Zs from 9./KG 76, based at Cormeilles-en-Vexin. Having crossed the Channel at wave-top height, the Dorniers attacked at very low level, destroying three of Kenley’s four hangars, putting the operations room

at the Surrey station out of action, and wrecking several other buildings. Nine aircraft, including four Hurricanes and a Blenheim, were destroyed on the ground, and several others were damaged. The airfield was out of commission for two hours, but four Dorniers were shot down, two seriously damaged and three slightly damaged. Two Hurricanes were shot down by return fire from the Dorniers. Nine personnel were killed on the ground, while six civilians were killed and 21 injured in the surrounding area. At Biggin Hill, Gp Capt Grice had ordered all fighter aircraft still on the ground to get airborne in an ‘emergency scramble’. Spitfires from Biggin-based No 610 Squadron and Hurricanes from No 32 Squadron, plus Hurricanes from 615 at Kenley, were now patrolling above Biggin at 25,000ft. At 13.45hrs, 60 Heinkel He 111s from KG 1, stepped up in formation from 12,000 to 15,000ft, lined up for their attack on Biggin. Ten minutes later, Dornier Do 17Zs from KG 76 ran in to make a low-level attack at 100ft. Biggin Hill’s parachute and cable device rockets — the rocket lifting into the bombers’ path a cable with an explosive device attached — were fired, bringing down two Dorniers, with several others being forced to take evasive action. This resulted in many cargoes being released too early, the bombs falling into trees in the wood east of the airfield. Three minutes after the low-flying Dorniers had departed, the Heinkels began unleashing their bombs, but the attacks from Biggin’s Hurricanes and Spitfires prevented what could have been a truly devasting result, with many bombs again falling in the woods. Most of the personnel at Biggin had time to take cover before the bombers arrived, but two antiaircraft gunners were killed, and three other ground staff injured. One Heinkel was shot down and another damaged by Spitfires from

No 65 Squadron, but only two of the Dorniers made it back to France. Five Hurricanes from No 32 Squadron were lost that day, all of the pilots baling out and surviving. Some of the bombs that fell short of the airfield exploded close to the Kings Arms pub at Leaves Green, killing six civilians. The raid on Biggin had lasted barely 10 minutes. By the end of the day, the Luftwaffe had lost 69 aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair, and the RAF 34 fighters. The weather on 18 August 2015 was very different to that encountered 75 years earlier, overcast with rain coming in from the east. Peter Monk was leading Hamlyn Flight, routing over Kent and overflying the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne, the fighter base at Hawkinge and then to Dover. He says: “A few miles out from Capel, we were confronted with a wall of rain, so sadly we had to turn back. Although it was amazing to lead a formation of five Hurricanes and three Spitfires, I had mixed feelings when we got back in the pattern at Biggin: being out front, I couldn’t see any of the others, and I wanted to see what all of this looked like from the ground!” Grice Flight, led by Richard Verrall in Fairfax Spitfires’ MkVc EE602, had better luck, getting to Portsmouth in more favourable weather conditions. Having completed the tour of No 11 Group airfields, Dan Griffith and Mortimer Flight arrived back at Biggin first, the eight Spitfires then

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

flying a standing patrol in finger four configuration. Dan explains: “We wanted to evoke the sight of Spitfires intercepting the Luftwaffe, so came in at two heights, with a lower element of four Spitfires at 900ft and an upper element at 1,800ft. I then called, “Random peel-offs — go” over the aerodrome. We hope it looked good!” Stephen Stead flew his Spitfire LFXVIe TE184 in Hamlyn Flight.

greater damage to the airfield. The operations room was completely destroyed, and 39 personnel were killed, with a further 35 wounded. Following her heroic actions on 18 August, Sgt Joan Mortimer was awarded the Military Medal. The citation stated that she: “Displayed exceptional courage and coolness whilst under attack which had a great moral effect on all those whom she came into

ABOVE: A spectacular view of Grice Flight, led by Richard Verrall in Fairfax Spitfires’ LFVc EE602. Notable here is the Air Leasing-operated Seafire III PP972, in the hands of Dave Puleston. KEVIN WILLS

‘We wanted to evoke the sight of Spitfires intercepting the Luftwaffe, so came in at two heights. We hope it looked good!’ He told Aeroplane, “I was impressed by the level of detail required in the briefing for the pilots, everything from start-up to taxi, take-off, routing and return. It’s no easy task to manage so many rapidly overheating engines! I was struck by the simplicity of the event, yet how much emotion it stirred in the pilots, ground crews, organisers and the public. I loved the crowd at the end of runway 03 waving Union flags, and the feeling of pride I had at being a participant in such a momentous occasion. The whole event was truly very British, the right balance of excellence, organisation and understatement. Simply wonderful.” Although Biggin got off relatively lightly on 18 August 1940, another attack on 30 August resulted in far

contact with. Her steadfast courage to both remain at her post whilst under bombardment and to undertake action to prevent further aircraft losses was outstanding.” During December 1940, Mortimer’s fiance was shot down and killed over Dover. She never married, and after her discharge she returned to her home in Stowmarket, Suffolk, where she lived with her mother. Following her mother’s death, Joan bought the Water Run Farm in nearby Forward Green, and developed an ecology garden. She also wrote a regular column for the East Anglian Daily Times about birds and their nesting habits. Joan Mortimer died in hospital in the town of Eye, Suffolk, on 26 August 1997.

BELOW: One of the people the commemoration was about: WAAF switchboard operator Sgt Joan Mortimer.

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VULCAN XH558

ABOVE: Vulcan XH558 flying off the South Coast on 12 September this year. RICHARD PAVER

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AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

VULCAN

FAREWELL

The final flying season for Vulcan XH558 has brought forth numerous highlights — and it’s not quite done yet WORDS: BEN DUNNELL

S

o, it’s nearly over. Nearly eight years after first it took to the air in civilian hands, Avro Vulcan B2 XH558 has all but reached the end of its flying life. We thought we were there before, of course — in late 1992, when the RAF’s Vulcan Display Flight took its final bow, leaving just one delivery flight to Bruntingthorpe the following spring, and an uncertain future. Dr Robert Pleming had other ideas. Now, the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) is readying itself for October

2015, and the definitive conclusion to XH558’s airworthy career. To quote VTST’s own explanation, “…having evaluated a great many factors, the three expert companies on whom we depend — known as the technical authorities [Marshall Aerospace, Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems] — have together decided to cease their support at the end of this flying season. Without that support, under Civil Aviation Authority regulations, we are prohibited from flying.

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VULCAN XH558 “At the heart of their decision are two factors. First, although we are all confident that XH558 is currently as safe as any aircraft flying today, her structure and systems are already more than 10 per cent beyond the flying

solution that is increasingly impractical for those businesses as the necessary skills become distant in their collective memories. We have recently been made aware that the skills issue is particularly acute as our engines age and will

‘The tour enabled four of the pilots to get a nice bit of practice early in the season’ hours of any other Vulcan, so knowing where to look for any possible failure is becoming more difficult. These can be thought of as the ‘unknown unknown’ issues, which can be impossible to predict with any accuracy. Second, maintaining her superb safety record requires expertise that is increasingly difficult to find. “Our technical partners already bring specialists out of retirement specifically to work on XH558, a

require a considerable amount of additional (and costly) inspection and assessment.” No wonder, therefore, that XH558 has been such a star attraction this season. Familiar it may be, but 2015 has proved time and again, even to the most seasoned observer, that little else on the display circuit commands such public attention. By the time you read these words, the Vulcan will have only a few

SALUTE THE ‘V-FORCE’ TOUR

BELOW: Overhead the RAF Museum at Hendon during the ‘Salute the ‘V-Force’ Tour’. PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

The pattern was set from XH558’s seasonal debut at Throckmorton on 6 June. The small charity show in Worcestershire had never attracted such crowds. Three weeks later, with several more displays by then under its belt, the Vulcan took part in a unique occasion — the ‘Salute the ‘V-Force’ Tour’. The objective over the weekend of 27-28 June was for XH558 to fly over all the UK sites where other complete ‘V-bombers’ can today be found. “It was a wonderful idea”, says Martin Withers. “Wherever possible, at the same time we gave a little mini-display. The timing of it was [ideal], because it enabled four of the pilots, at least, to get a nice bit of practice near the beginning of the season. It all worked well, lots of people saw us, and it was really enjoyed.

The only problem was that when we promised a flypast and gave a minidisplay, everybody then expected a mini-display when we promised them a flypast! “We went to every single place that’s got them. At Cosford, of course, there’s one of each, and they’re the only place that’s got a Valiant. At Duxford we flew over the Vulcan that I [delivered] to the museum in 1982 — it’s got my name on the door.” The tour was not, Martin says, unduly hard to plan. The fact of most of the aircraft being located at current or former airfields definitely assisted. “The good thing was that at some point they’d actually been flown in to an airfield, with the exception, I think, of [the aircraft at] Hendon. That made it

public flights left, including displays at Church Fenton, Gaydon and Old Warden. They will set the seal on just about XH558’s most extensive annual programme of appearances since its display debut in mid-2008, even taking into account a small number of cancellations for technical and weather reasons. Included within have been, arguably, some of the aircraft’s most memorable showings. As the season reaches its climax, who better to discuss the highlights with than Martin Withers DFC? The ‘Black Buck’ raid veteran, VTST’s chief pilot, is heavily involved with all aspects of XH558’s operation even when not in the cockpit himself. When Aeroplane spoke to him, he was in the throes of planning October’s ‘last hurrah’, but keen also to look back on an excellent year. We also talked to fellow XH558 display pilot Bill Ramsey, who flew on several of these occasions.

reasonably easy to organise if you talked to the right person, and it all ran very smoothly.” A full display also took place on the Sunday. “It so happened that we were able to accommodate Cleethorpes on that day. It was stretching it a little bit, and asking rather a lot of the crew to do that, but it was the last thing they did on their way back in to Doncaster. It also helped cover some of the cost.” The weekend’s success was not in doubt. Take, for example, the appearance overhead the RAF Museum Cosford. Just two weeks earlier, XH558 had given a full display at the sold-out Cosford Airshow. On the promise just of a flypast — which turned into a limited display — the people of the Midlands turned out again in their thousands.

DEBUT AT SHUTTLEWORTH

ABOVE: Caption CREDIT

BELOW: Caption

CREDIT

Some of XH558’s most impactful appearances have been at smaller venues less used to witnessing such a large jet aircraft displaying overhead. Little Gransden has been one such, and on 5 July the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden became another. The promise of both the newly-restored Blenheim and the Vulcan on the same bill at the Military Pageant Air Display led to Shuttleworth’s first ever advance ticket sell-out. “That was very much my choice of venue”, Martin comments, “and I did the display there, because I love old aircraft and lots of old things — I relate well to them! “It was quite a tricky site for the Vulcan. I haven’t often had the opportunity to display somewhere that, effectively, has two display lines [owing to the Old Warden dog-leg crowd line], but I think it’s a lovely way to display the aircraft because you [can] do topside passes, which is very difficult normally. Of course, the normal way to display it is on a long, straight display line.” This was the first time XH558 had appeared at a Shuttleworth show since its RAF days. It hopefully won’t be the last. “Because they can only accommodate a small number of people at Old Warden, and because they couldn’t take as many people as wanted to get tickets, we are planning to go there again on 4 October. That, at the moment, will be its last proper public display.”

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

‘V-JETS’ AT YEOVILTON In a year of unusual formations, the RNAS Yeovilton Air Day staged another on 11 July — a combination of ‘V-jets’. All British-built, they comprised Sea Vixen FAW2 XP924 from the Fly Navy Heritage Trust, with Simon Hargreaves in command, the Vampire T55 and FB6 of the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron piloted by Kenneth Aarkvisla

and Per Strømmen, and the Vulcan, here captained by Bill Ramsey. Any dissimilar formation requires a good deal of planning. “All these things take time, and they’re all done very thoroughly”, says Martin Withers. “We can’t just pitch up and say, “We’ll go echelon left and tag on behind you” — it’s a lot more complex, particularly with mixed types and different speeds.

ABOVE: Martin Withers brings the Vulcan round the Old Warden ‘bend’, in front of Shuttleworth’s biggest crowd to date. DARREN HARBAR

BELOW: Yeovilton’s ‘V-jet’ formation — Sea Vixen, Vampires and Vulcan. STEVEN COMBER/VTST

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VULCAN XH558

ABOVE: A memorable flypast with the Reds over RIAT.

RICH COOPER

Of course, on that occasion we all took off from the same venue, so it was pretty straightforward. When you are taking off from different places, you must ensure you get a full briefing and that everybody understands the brief. To that end we have a proper

outboard in vic, and the Vulcan tucked in behind. Why this configuration? “What you have to remember with the Vulcan”, Martin says, “is that you cannot see the guys on your wing, because of the visibility. Many years ago [in 2009] I led the Red Arrows

‘Kev Rumens’ display on the Saturday at RIAT was the best one I’ve ever seen, and probably the best one I will ever see’ briefing pro-forma, even with pictures of the Vulcan and the sight-lines you’re looking for.” At Yeovilton, the Sea Vixen led the formation, with the two Vampires

around at Dawlish… They called that they were in formation, but I didn’t even see them at that point. I let down to fly past Dawlish, went into a big orbit, back round and then reversed

AWARD-WINNING RIAT From Yeovilton, XH558 flew to RAF Fairford for the year’s ‘big one’, the Royal International Air Tattoo. It proved a triumph. In the midst of the best RIAT for some years, the Vulcan was far from overshadowed, and captained by Kev Rumens it rather stole Saturday’s show. His was a dramatic sequence from the moment he un-sticked, starting with a steeplybanked turn straight after take-off, and concluding with a howling zoom climb into the most vertiginous of wingovers.

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That weekend, Martin Withers spent many an hour doing signing sessions in the Vulcan Village, but he too was able to savour those spectacular aerial moments. He comments, “I think Kev Rumens’ display on the Saturday was the best one I’ve ever seen, and probably the best one I will ever see. I know it raised a few eyebrows, but it was flown as briefed and absolutely precisely. He really does fly the aeroplane beautifully, everything he does is

the turn into a teardrop to fly down the line. In the Vulcan we pulled up to the right to start our display and the Red Arrows carried on ahead, and I never saw a bit of red. I had to see a photograph of it afterwards.” Bill Ramsey says of the ‘V-jet’ quartet, “Compared to some formations that we fly, it was relatively straightforward. I know Simon Hargreaves really well — in fact, he was one of the students that I taught to fly many years ago. Simon was, in effect, doing the operational planning for that sortie, so we listened to his sage words and sat behind him. It was interesting because he warned us that the Sea Vixen has a tendency to Dutch roll, which it duly did. If we’d turned our own yaw dampers off, we’d have done the same thing!”

calculated, and it comes out just as he’s briefed.” Its solo completed, XH558 took part in its last formation flybys with the Red Arrows, on both days against a clear blue sky. As Martin says, “Flying in with the Red Arrows in front of that large crowd, that appreciative crowd, and so many Vulcan supporters, just added up for me to the highlight of the season. The Vulcan is so nice to fly in formation — it’s so stable, and so manoeuvrable.”

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

As a former Red 11, the officer commanding the Red Arrows, no wonder Bill Ramsey describes captaining that particular formation as “quite emotional”. He adds: “The way that the Red Arrows do formations and control formations hasn’t changed since my day a decade ago, so it was easy to understand what they wanted… All

I had to do was put my head where I used to put it when I was flying the Hawk in the same position, and forget there was 100ft of aeroplane behind me with a 111ft wingspan.” The effort made by all was well worth it. At the Sunday night prizegiving, XH558 was awarded the ‘As the Crow Flies’ Trophy for best

A FLIGHT WITH EAGLES

On the Vulcan’s display season went, taking in most of the year’s major UK displays. There were poignant moments at Shoreham, of course — few there will forget the spectacle, much applauded by the audience, of XH558 making a single pass as a mark of tribute in the wake of the tragic Hunter accident. But airshows went on, and a few days later the Vulcan was booked for the Clacton seafront event in Essex. En route, it took part in a very unusual formation over RAF Lakenheath, Suffolk, with two F-15C Eagles (plus a third as a photo chase) from the US Air Force’s 493rd Fighter Squadron. Martin was on board XH558 that day, with Bill as the pilot flying. “My understanding is that the [Lakenheath] base commander is an aviation buff”, says Bill, “and he had harboured for a long time the desire to see the Vulcan

flying at Lakenheath. Somehow that word got to the powers-that-be, and it snowballed from there. “I dealt with an American captain who was very professional. We briefed it carefully via a telephone brief, and I think it went very well.” One surprise came in the way the USAF pilots turned the F-15s in formation with the Vulcan. Recalls Bill, “I had forgotten that the Americans don’t necessarily fly formation in the same way as us — in other words, they tend to do what they call a ‘flat turn’, as opposed to staying up on plane, so going up or down depending on what side of the turn you’re on. It meant that the chap who ‘flat-turned’ on the inside of the turn kind of rolled belly-up to us, which, even with the lovely look-out from an F-15, would have made it very difficult for him to see us.”

display as voted for by the enthusiast members of the Friends of RIAT. They had enjoyed literally a grandstand view of that take-off. Recalls Martin, “We had great fun in the evening passing [the trophy] around all the engineers — I think everybody had their photograph taken with it, because it was in recognition of the whole team.”

Since then, hard work by the VTST engineers returned the aircraft rapidly to serviceability after a nosewheel problem during the Scottish Airshow at Prestwick and a suspected fuel leak en route to Goodwood and Old Sarum. Such things will occasionally happen, and safety, naturally, remains the prime concern. At the time of writing, XH558 was serviceable for Southport on 19 September, after which were scheduled displays at Church Fenton a week later, and both the Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon — a former ‘V-Force’ base — and Shuttleworth on 4 October. Confirmation that 2015 would definitely see the end of flying for XH558 came not long before its first display of the year. “We hadn’t planned this to be the last season at all”, says Martin Withers. “With that knowledge, we then were determined

BELOW: The Vulcan above Lakenheath with two USAF F-15C Eagles. USAF

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VULCAN XH558

ABOVE: Manoeuvring near Beachy Head during a photo sortie staged on the back of the Vulcan’s appearance at Airbourne, the Eastbourne Airshow. STEVEN COMBER/VTST

to get as much as we possibly could out of the season. What had happened in the past was that we’ve been limited to 50 hours’ flying [in a year], purely based on the servicing intervals for the aeroplane. Kev ‘Taff’ Stone, our chief engineer, was able to modify the servicing programme to the satisfaction of Marshall Aerospace so that, just with a certain amount of intermediate servicing, we could actually do more hours. “Instead of 50 hours, we’re going to be hitting 70 hours for this year. Last year I don’t think we did much more than about 35 hours of flying. This doesn’t mean we’re doing twice as many public displays, but it does

mean that a lot more people saw us — we’ve done lots of little flypasts, mini-displays and different things like the ‘V-bomber’ tour.” In the planning stages when these words were written, two flights are due to be made on the weekend of 10-11 October (but check the website for confirmation). The aim, Martin Withers says, is “to try and give as many people as possible the chance to see the Vulcan for the last time”. Expect not a little emotion, for its like will never be seen in British skies again — but it’s been good while it’s lasted, hasn’t it?

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information on XH558’s final flights, how you can support them, and details of VTST’s future plans for the aircraft, visit www.vulcantothesky.org.

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AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

SPECIAL

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UWLELCLAN VFARE

LE-SIDED POSTER FREE INSIDE: VULCAN XH558 LARGE DOUB

Since October 2007, enthusiasts across the United Kingdom have basked in the raw power and agility of Avro Vulcan XH558 - but all knew that its time back in the air was limited. Since then millions have thrilled at the sight and the sound of the incredible mighty delta and rallied to the call to help keep it flying. This year is XH558’s swansong, as it is finally retired and begins a new life as the focus of a heritage and educational centre. As a tribute to the most challenging and complex returnto-flight project ever, FlyPast magazine presents a unique 84-page souvenir devoted to a much-loved icon: Vulcan XH558. Created with the assistance of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust, the story of the world’s only civilian operated V-Bomber is revealed.

CELEBRATING THE WORLD'S MOST POWERFUL WARBIRD

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Final flight End of an Era Crowd pleaser The ‘Vulcan Effect’

Cold War Warrior XH558’s RAF career

Restoration to fly Looking back on an epic project

Brothers-in-arms Units, Weapons and V-force survivors

Restoration to Fly The vision of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust and how the team overcame the awesome problems of finance, paperwork and engineering so that the Vulcan could fly as a civilian

Prototype Test Pilot

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Vulcans in White

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BILLANCOURT RAID

TARGET:

BILLANCOURT Bomber Command’s raid against the Renault works at Billancourt on 3 March 1942 was a pivotal one for several reasons. Not only did it see the first application of new operational techniques under Arthur Harris, but post-strike reconnaissance brought to the fore the outstanding qualities of the new de Havilland Mosquito WORDS: ANDREW FLETCHER

O

n the night of 3 March 1942, the Royal Air Force launched its largest bombing raid of the war to date. The target was the giant Renault works at Billancourt on the south-western outskirts of Paris. The factory was estimated to be producing

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almost 20,000 vehicles per year for the German armed forces, mainly lorries as well as some armoured fighting vehicles. In addition, it was making a large number of components for the aviation industry. The raid would be the first undertaken by the bomber force with

Air Marshal Arthur Travers Harris in charge, he having only become Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) Bomber Command on 22 February. The plan called for a maximum number of aircraft to be concentrated over the target in as short a space of time as possible.

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To facilitate this, a number of new techniques were to be employed. All aircraft were to proceed to the target using a common route, the so-called bomber stream, with each squadron adhering to strict take-off timings specified in the operations order. The raid would be split into three waves to take account of the differing speeds of the aircraft types involved, so that the aircraft in each individual wave would be over the target at the same time and in rapid succession with the other waves. Experienced crews were used in the first wave in an attempt to ensure bombing accuracy, the same reason for the extensive employment of flares by aircraft in that wave to mark the target area. As minimal flak opposition was expected, the plan required the attack to be made from low level in a further effort to render it more accurate and minimise collateral damage to the surrounding area, much of which housed the Renault workers and their families. On the evening of the raid, just prior to dusk, the first of 48 Hampdens, 23 Whitleys, 89 Wellingtons, 26 Manchesters, 29 Stirlings and 20 Halifaxes from Nos 1, 3, 4 and 5 Groups — 235 aircraft in total — began to take off from their bases in northern England, the East Midlands

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and East Anglia. Their flight plan called for them to fly south towards the Bicester area and on to the south coast between Shoreham-by-Sea and Worthing, all the time ensuring they kept clear of the London defences. Many aircraft in the first wave circled off the coast of Sussex in order to allow the light to fade and gain altitude prior to making for France. In good visibility and fine weather, the first of the bombers began to cross the Channel at approximately 19.30hrs, all the time climbing in order to arrive over the French coast at 8,000ft between Saint-Valery-en-Caux and Dieppe before setting course for Paris. Some crews reported sporadic light flak from the Dieppe area and a little while later from Rouen, but nothing of any real significance. The leading wave had no problem in picking out the River Seine south of Rouen and following it in towards Paris. The sprawling Renault factory was located at the southern end of a giant loop of the Seine, spread along the north bank and on the Île Seguin in the river itself, making it conspicuous to the crews as they descended to commence their bombing runs. The attack was scheduled to start at 21.00hrs. Almost right on time, aircraft at the front of the first wave began to

release their payloads of marker flares and bombs. For most of the next two hours, tons of munitions rained down on the target, with some aircraft bombing from as low as 1,400ft. Target marking was so accurate that crews reported being blinded by flares as they made their bombing runs. In the clear conditions and from the low altitude, they could see many other aircraft in the glare, and watched as bombs exploded amongst the confines of the factory. Opposition in the vicinity was practically non-existent, just a little light flak being put up from the complex of airfields around Villacoublay to the south. In fact, such was the lack of interference from the Germans that, in marked contrast to the usual practice of exiting the target area immediately, some aircraft stayed in the locality for extended periods, watching the progress of the raid as it unfolded. For most, however, with bomb loads released they charted a course home, back towards the Haute-Normandie/Picardie coast before crossing the Channel. A Hampden from No 144 Squadron reported being fired upon by a small convoy shortly after crossing out from the French coast, but on the whole the return leg was largely uneventful.

ABOVE: A June 1941, and thus pre-delivery, image of Mosquito PRI W4051. The first such production example, this was the aircraft flown by Fg Off Victor Ricketts with observer Sgt Boris Lukhmanoff on post-strike reconnaissance following the attack on the Billancourt factory. VIA ANDREW THOMAS

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BILLANCOURT RAID

ABOVE: No 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron personnel relax at East Wretham prior to the Billancourt raid of 3 March 1942. Most of the individuals shown flew later that evening. Sgt Bohuslav Hradil, front row second from right, would not return. J. ROZUMOVA

BELOW: Wellington Ic R1532/KX-R of No 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron, one of the eight aircraft despatched by the unit to bomb Billancourt. Z. HURT

Only one aircraft failed to return home, Wellington Ic Z1070/KX-Y of No 311 (Czechoslovak) Squadron piloted by Sgt Bohuslav Hradil. It crashed near Creil with the loss of all on board. Another, sadly, was destroyed when it landed at Marham in Norfolk. As Stirling I N3712/HA-Y of No 218 Squadron touched down, a hung-up bomb detonated when it shook loose. All of the crew were injured, with two subsequently dying of their wounds. Of the 235 aircraft despatched on the raid, 223 claimed to have bombed the target. In a little under two hours, 461 tons of bombs were dropped on the Renault factory. At post-raid debriefs the mood among the bomber crews was generally one of elation, with a real belief that it had been a great success. Most reported very accurate bombing. Numerous crews claimed to have observed their own bombs as well as those of other aircraft exploding right on target. It was imperative for Bomber Command that post-raid reconnaissance photographs be obtained as soon as possible, so that the results could be accurately assessed before the Germans could repair or cover up any of the damage caused.

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Since July 1941 Bomber Command’s own dedicated bomb damage assessment unit, No 3 Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, had been amalgamated and ultimately absorbed into No 1 PRU, which was part of Coastal Command. This was the cause of much friction between the two organisations, Bomber Command regularly expressing the view that its damage assessment requirements were not given a high enough priority when compared to other agencies, most notably those of the Admiralty in tracking the movements of major German naval units. In an effort to appease Bomber Command, the Air Ministry set up a channel whereby the former could make requests for photographic coverage direct to Headquarters Coastal Command instead of via the Assistant Directorate of Intelligence (Photography) at the Air Ministry. To this end, the day before the raid actually took place Gp Capt Lawrence Pendred, chief intelligence officer at Bomber Command, had informed No 1 PRU at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire that a most important sortie to northern France for damage assessment might be required. Specific details were

not passed on at this stage and only the unit’s commanding officer, Wg Cdr John Stratton, and the duty intelligence staff at Benson were made aware of the possibility. During the evening of 3 March, when the first of Bomber Command’s aircraft were taking off for Paris, HQ Coastal Command contacted No 1 PRU to inform it of Bomber Command’s requirements. The task was considered so urgent that multiple aircraft were requested to be put on stand-by and be ready for immediate take-off from 08.15hrs the next morning. The sortie was assigned the reference A/380. In contrast to the night of the raid itself, the morning of 4 March brought heavy rain, low cloud and very limited visibility. Under these conditions, normal photographic reconnaissance sorties would not be undertaken, but such was the importance placed on this task by Bomber Command that No 1 PRU remained on stand-by in the hope that things would improve. Due to the prevailing weather, it was planned that a Mosquito would undertake the mission as the type was fitted with wireless equipment, something that most photographic reconnaissance Spitfires lacked at this time. No 1 PRU was the first recipient of the Mosquito in the RAF. It was currently operating a detached flight of Mosquitos, ‘H’ Flight, from Leuchars in Scotland but was in the process of forming a second flight, known as ‘J’ Flight, at Benson. The crew detailed to undertake sortie A/380 comprised Fg Off Victor Ricketts and Sgt Boris Lukhmanoff. Pre-war, Victor Anthony Ricketts was the air reporter for the Daily Express who, together with New Zealander Arthur Clouston, broke the record for flying from Britain to Australia and back, landing DH88 Comet G-ACSS at Croydon on 26 March 1938 after completing their epic flight in 10 days, 21 hours and 22 minutes. In the process they established 10 other records including the first round trip to New Zealand from Britain. Ricketts

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became a member of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in March 1939 and was called up in September upon the outbreak of war. On completion of flying training he was posted to No 248 Squadron early in 1940, continuing to fly with the unit until spring 1941, when he went to the Fighter Interception Unit. Ricketts joined No 1 PRU early in 1942, completing his first operational sortie with it on 20 February when he flew a Mosquito to cover Toulouse and targets along the eastern Franco-Spanish frontier. He had recently crewed up with George Boris Lukhmanoff, an American citizen of Russian descent. Sgt Lukhmanoff was already an experienced Mosquito observer/ navigator, being a veteran of many sorties to Norway with ‘H’ Flight. In 1941 he was a member of a No 206 Squadron detachment to Gibraltar that flew a number of special reconnaissance sorties to Vichy French territories in Africa. Since the start of 1942 Lukhmanoff had become a member of ‘J’ Flight, the new Mosquito element working up at Benson. Although it was intended that Ricketts and Lukhmanoff should leave for Paris as early as possible, it was not until 11.20hrs that visibility improved enough for Ricketts to get Mosquito PRI W4051 airborne. Almost immediately after take-off the

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weather closed in again, as Ricketts recorded in his post-flight report: “Lost sight of ground immediately after take off and climbed to 2,000 feet setting course of 157 degrees for Rouen. Flew by instruments in 10/10 cloud but without icing. Tried to find pinpoint on English coast and descended at 11:35 to 1,000 feet. Caught glimpse of field but not enough visibility to establish position so climbed up again to 4,000 feet.” Even though they were unable accurately to fix their position they crossed the Channel in solid clag, climbing until at 6,000ft they emerged

at 1,000ft, somewhere north-west of Paris. He climbed hard, seeking to regain the cover of the cloud base at 2,000ft, and did so. After a couple of minutes Lukhmanoff informed his pilot that they should be near the city’s northern outskirts, so Ricketts descended again and at 500ft they emerged on the north-eastern edge of the French capital. Here they turned onto a reciprocal heading, keeping just inside the cloudbase until the Seine could be seen to the west. Once the river was reached it was decided that they would track its course to the target, so Lukhmanoff crawled

ABOVE: A mass of twisted metal and girders in one of the factory buildings that had manufactured crankshafts, valves and motors.

AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

ABOVE LEFT: An entrance to the bombed-out Billancourt factory shows the extent of devastation wrought by Bomber Command.

AP/PRESS ASSOCIATION IMAGES

‘Lukhmanoff was having to work hard to compute their position by dead reckoning’ from the top of the cloud layer somewhere near the French coast, with still more cloud above. Lukhmanoff was having to work hard to compute their position by dead reckoning, and on their estimated time of arrival at Rouen the ground was still not visible. Here they changed course for Paris and pressed on, descending slowly. Five minutes before ETA for Paris, W4051 broke cloud over open country at 700ft, and the Seine was observed. Three minutes later and without warning Ricketts flew into a clear patch

forward into the bomb aimer’s position to give instructions to Ricketts. He was having difficulty seeing enough of the river from the pilot’s seat to follow it in the very poor visibility. With each steep turn made by W4051 as it followed the winding Seine the gyro compass would spin, meaning that it was impossible for Ricketts to maintain any idea of what course he was flying from his instruments. Coupled with this, from 12.35hrs onwards accurate time-keeping was not practicable so he finally gave up on precise navigation,

TOP LEFT: Mosquito PRI W4051 pictured in 1942 wearing full No 1 PRU markings with codes LY-U. VIA ANDREW THOMAS

TOP RIGHT: Flt Lt Victor Ricketts and Sgt Boris Lukhmanoff in a photo taken at Benson during the early summer of 1942. C. TOZER

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BILLANCOURT RAID

ABOVE: Captured from approximately 500ft, this photo is typical of the blast damage caused to the works. It shows at least four direct hits. C. TOZER ABOVE: A lowlevel oblique of the Renault works at Billancourt taken on 4 March 1942. Extensive damage is visible to all buildings, while about 40 tanks and armoured cars can be seen strewn about between the wrecked sheds. C. TOZER

RIGHT: A special RDF plot was kept as the progress of the sortie was closely followed. As Ricketts recorded in his photo journal, “They picked us up going out and coming home 20-30 miles from the English coast.” C. TOZER

having to rely on the very limited visibility to determine where he was. Suddenly they were upon their target, as Ricketts continued in his report: “We came on the target at 500

the vertical cameras. Flew across the middle of the target area at 400-600 feet on altimeter and could see that much damage had been caused to all buildings in the immediate vicinity. Turned steeply to starboard and ran across the target again from another direction. At the end of this particular run I caught sight of the base of the Eiffel Tower. Made a third run, this time forced to descend to 400 feet owing to lowering cloud. Attempted a fourth run but due to very poor and decreasing visibility and the Mosquito’s speed (240mph) lost sight of the target. As we had been over the target area for 34 minutes and were confident that we had obtained pictures as good as could be expected under the prevailing conditions set course for home, 332 degrees, and started to climb.” At approximately 5,000ft, W4051 broke out of the top of the low cloud layer, which was still a solid 10/10ths. Lukhmanoff informed his pilot that their present heading would take them out very close to Dieppe, so Ricketts altered to a more westerly course for

‘It was the most successful sortie No 1 PRU had accomplished under such conditions’ feet. It had been passed before we had time to start the cameras and we flew on for a minute then turned steeply to port around the approximate target area which was very difficult to see through low mist and turned on the oblique camera. Levelled out as Sgt Lukhmanoff shouted that the target was visible again and turned on all

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four minutes before reverting to the original. The ETA for the French coast was 13.25hrs. At 13.28 the Mosquito began to descend through cloud to try and find the cloudbase in good time prior to arriving at the English coast. About 10 miles off France the aircraft broke cloud at 1,500ft, but the

ceiling lowered steadily with decreasing visibility. Ricketts changed course to come in over the low beaches between Beachy Head and Selsey Bill, while Lukhmanoff made radio contact with Benson. He was informed that there was no possibility of landing back at base, as visibility was zero. Trying to bring his airspeed down to 160mph, Ricketts lowered the undercarriage but was forced to reduce height to zero feet indicated, at which the pilot could just see the water. Maintaining this altitude and speed the crew sought to land at Ford or Tangmere, but after coasting-in near Littlehampton at 13.55hrs the pilot climbed rapidly as it was immediately apparent that no landing could be made in this area. Now at 2,000ft and still in 10/10ths cloud, Lukhmanoff obtained a bearing from Benson and was informed that conditions had improved, with the ceiling lifting to 800ft and visibility at 1,200 yards. About 10 miles south of Reading, Ricketts again started to lose height in an effort to find the Thames and follow it through the valley. He levelled out at 850ft in order to avoid any possibility of crashing into the Chiltern Hills, and caught a glimpse of hangars and aircraft in a temporary break in the clouds. On descending to 500ft the aerodrome was identified as probably being Woodley, near Reading. With Lukhmanoff again in the nose to give directions Ricketts attempted to land, but it was not until the sixth go that he was able to touch the aircraft down safely, doing so at 14.15hrs. Within minutes of W4051 taxiing to a halt, Ricketts was talking on the telephone to Sqn Ldr John Weaver,

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No 1 PRU’s chief intelligence officer. He was able to give a brief visual report and confirm that extensive damage was apparent to various parts of the Renault works. Weaver instantly passed this information on to HQ Bomber Command and HQ Coastal Command. Lukhmanoff unloaded the film magazines from the Mosquito’s cameras in preparation for collection. By 16.25hrs pilot, observer and magazines had arrived at the Intelligence Section at Benson. The films were rushed to the Photographic Section for development, ready for first phase analysis. At 17.00 Gp Capt Pendred at Bomber Command telephoned the Intelligence Section to say that his AOC was most impressed with the sortie and had requested the names of the crew involved as he intended to write a letter of appreciation to Coastal Command for what he termed a remarkable flight. Bomber Command was informed three quarters of an hour later that the negatives were satisfactory and that prints would be despatched once the Photographic Section had finished drying them. At 20.10 a despatch rider left Benson for Medmenham and then on to Southdown with multiple copies. By 21.45 the photographs from sortie A/380 were handed to the duty intelligence officer at HQ Bomber Command.

signal was received by the CO of No 1 PRU from HQ Coastal Command stating that AOC-in-C Bomber Command wished to convey his thanks to Ricketts and Lukhmanoff. Subsequent analysis showed that lorry production at the Renault plant was halted for four weeks and that the bombing wrecked over 700 completed vehicles. Although as much as 40 per cent of the buildings had been destroyed or seriously damaged, the machine tools within proved far more resilient, and in the space of four months the Germans had the factory back in full production. As well as the actual results of the bombing operationally, the raid was also a great success with a record rate of 121 aircraft per hour being concentrated over the target, easily beating the previous best of 80 per hour. The widespread use of flares, dropped by experienced crews in the

initial phases to mark the target, was considered a significant contributory factor in the accuracy of the bombing. This technique would ultimately lead to the formation of the specialist Pathfinder units. One sad consequence was the high number of French civilian casualties. Over 300 were killed, more than 300 others seriously injured, and many more made homeless. Even though low-altitude bombing was employed in an effort to minimise damage to the area around the factory, many bombs did stray beyond the target and landed in nearby residential areas. Apparently, another factor adding to the level of casualties was the fact that many civilians simply ignored the air raid sirens and failed to take shelter, as the RAF had never previously launched a large-scale raid on Paris. For Bomber Command, the success of the Billancourt raid showed what

BOTTOM: Fg Off Ricketts speaking to de Havilland workers at Hatfield on 11 March 1942, shortly after his epic sortie to Billancourt. C. TOZER

BELOW: The signal from the AOC-in-C Coastal Command, Air Marshal Philip B. Joubert de la Ferté, stating that his Bomber Command counterpart Air Marshal Arthur Harris wished to thank Ricketts and Lukhmanoff for their sortie of 4 March. C. TOZER

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When the photographs were analysed by the photographic interpreters it was readily apparent that the claims made by the bomber crews had not been exaggerated. The damage caused in the raid was at a level never before achieved by Bomber Command. Many parts of the Renault works showed extensive blast and fire damage, with large numbers of wrecked vehicles being visible in some of the photographs. Two of the most vital sections, the power station and the Seguin tank assembly shops, were particularly heavily damaged. Other sections seen to have been badly hit were the engine shops, aircraft depot, chemical plant, rolling mills, gasometer, administrative offices and various repair shops and foundries. As well as covering the Renault works on one of their runs, Ricketts and Lukhmanoff had photographed the eastern half of the factory aerodrome at Issy-les-Moulineaux. These oblique images revealed no fewer than 71 Caudron C445 Goéland transports, 43 of which were un-camouflaged. The remaining camouflaged aircraft all had service markings, two of which were identified as Luftwaffe wing markings. On studying the photographs during first-phase analysis, Sqn Ldr Weaver was of the opinion that A/380 was probably the most successful sortie carried out under such conditions that the unit had ever completed. This view was supported when, the next day, a

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BILLANCOURT RAID

ABOVE: The signal from Air Marshal Arthur Harris congratulating Flt Lt Ricketts on the award of the DFC. C. TOZER

TOP: Mosquito PRI W4060, in which Ricketts and Lukhmanoff flew a follow-up sortie to Billancourt on 8 March 1942. W. HOGG

RIGHT: The UnderSecretary of State for Air, Harold Balfour (left), visited RAF Benson on 28 March 1942. Whilst there Flt Lt Ricketts (right) demonstrated to him the capabilities of the Mosquito and flew him to his next appointment at RAF White Waltham. C. TOZER

could be achieved. The destruction caused to the factory received a good deal of coverage in the national press and provided a much-needed boost to morale, both for the bomber crews and the civilian population. It gave Harris the evidence he needed to show his political masters that the bombing offensive could be effective at taking the war to the Germans and that enemy production could be seriously hindered. The lessons learned on this raid would be put to good use in the future, with the bomber stream, concentration of aircraft and target-marking becoming standard operational practice. However, Harris was acutely aware that operating at much greater range over heavily-defended targets in Germany itself would be a much more difficult task and a far sterner test. As for Ricketts and Lukhmanoff, four days after their low-level sortie to Billancourt they were again bound for Paris, this time in Mosquito PRI W4060. Unlike their sortie of 4 March, the weather was more favourable and they were able to obtain photographs of the Renault factory from 23,000ft. In the next few months the pair were to cover Billancourt many more times, at between 4,000 and 23,000ft, in order that the progress of German efforts to effect repairs could be monitored. Along with their regular visits to Paris, Ricketts and Lukhmanoff ranged far and wide across Europe, in the process flying a number of notable sorties. Since their first mission together on 20 February 1942 — the furthest south by a Mosquito to date and the first to use the American K18

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camera — they made the operational debut of the Mosquito PRIV on 29 April, obtaining photographs from 24,000ft of Le Touquet, Bingen, Augsburg, Göppingen, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Zweibru¨cken, Homburg, Neunkirchen, Saarbru¨cken, Thionville and Valenciennes. On 7 May, again in a PRIV, they flew the deepest penetration of enemy territory yet made by No 1 PRU when they covered targets at Zeebrugge, Gotha, Erfurt, Chemnitz, Brux, Kladno, Prague, Pilsen, Schwandorf, Nördlingen, Stuttgart and Karlsruhe in a sortie that lasted just over six hours. It was announced on 30 May 1942 that Ricketts, now a Flight Lieutenant, was to be awarded the DFC for his outstanding Billancourt sortie of 4 March. Similarly, Lukhmanoff was also notified that he was to receive the DFM for the considerable contribution he made to its success. The next day Ricketts received a personal signal of congratulation from Harris.

The stellar photo-recce flying careers of Ricketts and Lukhmanoff would come to an abrupt end. At 13.48hrs on 12 July 1942 they took off from Benson in Mosquito PRII W4089 with the objective of covering oil installations in the Strasbourg and Ingolstadt areas, but they failed to return. It seems highly likely that they were the victims of Obfw Erwin Leibold of 3./JG 26, who claimed a Mosquito near Licques in the Pas-de-Calais area at 14.35hrs. On this day Leibold was flying with Stab I./ JG 26 and his claim for a Mosquito, his 11th individual claim, was the first ever to be made by the wing for this type of aircraft. No other aerial claims for a Mosquito were made by the Luftwaffe on this date and W4089 was the only example to be lost. Neither Ricketts nor Lukhmanoff survived Leibold’s attack, their bodies being recovered and buried with military honours. They now rest in the Calais Canadian War Cemetery at Leubringhen.

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RACING MOTH

SPECIAL ONE

In no way could a standard DH60 Moth be described as inelegant, but when seen amidst its conventional brethren the competition pedigree of the ‘Racing Moth’ stands out WORDS: STUART McKAY

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OPPOSITE: Ben Cox flying Simon Kidston’s DH60M ‘Moth Special’ G-AAXG near Old Warden this June.

DARREN HARBAR

or the 1930 King’s Cup Air Race, a one-day, 750-mile circuit of Great Britain starting and finishing at Hanworth on 5 July, the de Havilland Aircraft Company’s main effort was centred on the new DH80A Puss Moth. Nine were entered by pilots including Capt Geoffrey de Havilland, Hubert Broad, Lois Butler, Commander Glen Kidston and Wally Hope. Geoffrey de Havilland Jr was the nominated pilot for Gipsy II-powered DH60M Metal Moth demonstrator G-AASL, but all had stiff opposition from company chairman Alan Butler’s entry, a new DH60M, the significantly modified ‘Moth Special’ G-AAXG. The aircraft, works number 1542, was registered to the company in May. It was a DH60M built for high speed, with a Gipsy II engine installation lowered by 2in and encased within a specially-designed close-fitting cowling that blended into the fuselage. Four stub exhausts were cut off flush with the top of the cowling on the port side. The steel tube frame was ‘rounded-off’ by the addition of wooden formers and stringers to the sides and the top decking before covering with fabric. The front cockpit was faired over with a transparent cover hinged on the port side. Fitted in the front cockpit was an auxiliary petrol tank of 20-gallon capacity, from which fuel was handpumped to a slim gravity tank holding nine gallons that occupied the cabane structure. This was built to conform exactly to the profile of the wing section and thus hardly noticeable on casual inspection.

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For the King’s Cup the aircraft was fitted with a streamlined racing undercarriage with continuous axle and small-diameter, thin wheels. The tailskid tube was streamlined and fitted with a new type of shoe. Even the pitot head was miniaturised. The most obvious deviation from standard was the cabane, in which the normal structure was replaced with an entirely original and unique system: three sets of ‘V’ struts, all braced with streamlined wires running vertically from the carry-through spars to the fuselage-top longerons. The wings were not intended to be folded. G-AAXG tipped the scales at 976lb empty when weighed on 26 June, after which Alan Butler completed a 40-minute maiden flight to qualify for a C of A, issued that same day. He logged a further nine hours before 4 July, when the aircraft was positioned to Hanworth for inspection by the scrutineers a day before the start of the King’s Cup.

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Much to de Havilland’s undoubted displeasure, the handicap race was won by an Avro Avian III flown by Winifred Brown at an average speed of 102.75mph, but Alan Butler was second at 129.7mph, the fastest official speed, just beating his wife Lois in DH80A Puss Moth G-AAXL who achieved fourth place at 129.56mph. For a man who made consistently generous contributions to the Royal Aero Club’s prize fund, Alan Butler might have been amused to receive a clutch of cheques: £100 for his second

place, £100 for achieving the fastest speed and £50 for beating his handicap, all presented by C. C. Wakefield on behalf of Castrol Oil. In addition, there was £50 from Shell for what it termed “publicity value”, £30 from the Newcastle Evening World newspaper for the fastest time between Hanworth and that city, and a trophy presented by the Bristol Evening Times for securing second place. The International Touring Competition of 1930, starting from Berlin’s Tempelhofer Feld on the morning of Sunday 20 July and organised by the Aero-Club von Deutschland, attracted 97 entries of which 60 were starters. The British contingent of seven aircraft included four DH60Gs. Alan Butler with his ‘Moth Special’ was allocated competition number K5, the letter element indicating a British entry. Scheduled for a period of 16 days, the 4,700-mile route round Europe passed through nine countries and ended with the ‘technical tests’ (specifics of design and performance) due to be completed by the survivors on their return to Berlin. For Alan Butler, there were no prizes. After making good progress, in the latter stages G-AAXG had tipped forward when landing on soft ground at Posen in Germany, breaking the propeller. He was disqualified on the grounds that he had not carried the replacement propeller on board with him from the start. Having acquired in June a new Puss Moth (G-AAXL), which was as fast as his Moth Special, after some modifications including fitment of a split undercarriage Butler sold G-AAXG

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RA RACING MOTH

BELOW: G-AAXG as it was entered in the 1930 King’s Cup by Alan Butler. BAE SYSTEMS

to his friend Edouard Bret in Cannes. Bret subsequently put up the fastest time of eight hours 44 minutes, equivalent to a record 122mph, for flying the 1,036-mile route laid down for the 1930 Zenith Cup, choosing to start and finish at Bordeaux on 27 September and landing at Tours, Paris (Orly), Lyons, Marseilles and Toulouse. The aircraft was registered in France as F-AJZB on 23 October and the following year won the Zenith Cup for a second time, at a slightly faster speed. In later life Edouard Bret wrote: “F-AJZB was very different to fly from the standard DH60 Moth. She was one of the most enjoyable aeroplanes I ever flew with perfectly balanced controls, the others being the Nieuport 29 with a 300hp Hispano Suiza engine, the Stampe SV-4B with a Gipsy Major engine fitted for inverted flying, and the early-type Spitfires.” In February 1933, the Moth Special was returned to England and partexchanged with de Havilland agent Brian Lewis and Company at Heston for a new Puss Moth, G-ABDG. It is most probable that after sale to Home (pronounced Hume) Kidston, Lewis arranged for an engine top-overhaul to be completed by the Airwork Company at Heston. The aircraft was repainted, acquiring a red fuselage, and the original British letters were applied. It seems likely that much of the ‘racing’ trim was removed at this time and the wings re-modified to allow them to be folded. At the time he purchased the Moth the 23-year-old Sub-Lt H. R. A.

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Kidston, RN, was attending a course at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich. He was the younger brother of Bentley racing driver and airman Glen Kidston, killed in a Puss Moth accident in South Africa in 1931, The aircraft was housed at Hanworth, and in 1933 Home flew it solo to Le Mans to watch the 24 Hours race. On posting to Portland, he used to fly from Hanworth to Westland’s airfield at Yeovil, where he maintained an MG saloon to drive to his station at Bincleaves.

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During the summer of 1933 he was posted to the light cruiser HMNZS Diomede, a ship of the New Zealand Division, preparing for a voyage from England to the southern hemisphere. In addition to his bright red ex-Tourist Trophy race Mercedes S-Type with its 6.7-litre supercharged engine, and a Vosper Jolly speedboat, Kidston made arrangements for the Moth to be carried on board the ship. In June G-AAXG was delivered to the de Havilland factory at Stag Lane, where it was dismantled and packed into wooden crates. The ship arrived in Auckland in August and the Moth was assembled at Hobsonville, from where, after erection by de Havilland agent Air Survey and Transport, it flew on 6 August. The Moth was carried on board Diomede to Australia that September. It was based at Essendon Aerodrome, Melbourne, during the period in late October when the majority of finishers

in the MacRobertson International Air Race arrived. HMNZS Diomede was one of the flotilla of British, American, Australian and New Zealand vessels which illuminated Port Melbourne with a dazzling display of searchlights on the day the winning aircraft, DH88 Comet Grosvenor House, flew in. The Moth landed back on New Zealand territory on 26 November. Just over a fortnight later, on 12 December, Home Kidston recorded a flight from Hastings to Mangere with his friend Lt Terry Herrick, RN. In 2003, Commodore Herrick, at the age of 92, flew in the same aeroplane on a local trip from Masterton and remembered that in 1934 he was made responsible for pumping fuel from the tank, with which he shared space in the front cockpit, to the small reservoir in the centre section. The Mercedes car was damaged when it skidded off the road near Blenheim, South Island, after which Home Kidston was convicted for dangerous driving and lost his licence. His ship was berthed at Wellington at the time, and he flew the Moth south to the court hearing with his solicitor on board, subsequently winning his case. When Kidston returned to England towards the end of 1935 to attend courses at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, the Mercedes was sold locally and the British registration of the Moth was cancelled. The letters ZK-AEJ were issued on 8 October to R. G. Tappenden, a new owner based in Auckland who is believed to have

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LEFT: The original hand-written caption to this image reads, “Moth, Mercedes and Home all looking very dirty but each thoroughly enjoying itself. Auckland Aerodrome, March 1934.” KIDSTON SA

paid £700 for the aircraft. A year later it was sold to Jack Allen at Wairoa and was based at Hastings until acquired by Hamilton businessman Fred Butler. On 12 July 1941 ZK-AEJ was flown by another new owner, Noel Brown, for his licence re-validation at Rukuhia. He was able to pilot the aeroplane only four times more before 31 August, when ZK-AEJ was grounded for the duration upon suspension of all private civil flying operations. The Moth was stored in a shed at Hamilton. It escaped military impressment through the fact that its Gipsy II engine was regarded by the authorities as ‘nonstandard’. Post-war, ZK-AEJ is recorded as taking to the air again on 20 December 1945, though Brown’s logbook does not refer to his flying it until 12 October 1946. His brother Howard had returned home from the war with a DFC after flying Curtiss P-40s in the Pacific. Together the two operated ZK-AEJ under the title of Snake Gulley Airways, offering joyrides from Waihi Beach, Thames and Raglan. On one occasion, when parked beside the clubhouse at Hamilton, the aircraft was radiating an offensive stink. Charlie Crowe was brave enough to open the locker where he discovered the rotting remains of three large snapper fish, traded for a joyride and subsequently forgotten. Noel Brown flew ZK-AEJ for the last time on 2 October 1948, after which it was re-sold to previous owner Jack Allen at Wairoa. In September 1966 the Moth was acquired by Gordon Reader, an Englishman living in Palmerston North. It was registered to Reader’s Earlybird Flying Ltd in March 1967 and named Racing (two other members of the Earlybird fleet were dubbed Rugby and Beer). The DH60M duly won the 1967 Rothmans Air Race at Wigram. Oliver Tapper, one of the founders of the AA’s aviation department, had flown G-AAXG in Cannes in 1932 during

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a visit to Edouard Bret, and in his capacity as press officer at Hatfield received the news of the victory directly from Gordon Reader, who asked that the result should be conveyed to Alan Butler. “The win caused a deal of surprise”, he wrote, “for it seldom happens that an air race is won by the oldest aircraft!” When Reader returned to England, an aviation magazine reported that surely the Moth Special would soon be following, but that was not the plan. With wings folded, ZK-AEJ was put into store in a small garage on Paraparaumu airfield in January 1971 and there it remained, oblivious to the many approaches with a view to purchase received by its owner in England.

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A frequent visitor to the neglected Moth was a young New Zealander called Gerald Grocott. He had learned the secrets of the locks on the garage doors, and made it his business to look after the welfare of the aircraft, maintaining close contact with the owner. His own attempts to purchase the Moth were parried, like all those previously, but in 1984

The aeroplane was dismantled and carried by road to Temple Martin’s workshop at Bridge Pa, Hastings. It emerged in its 1930 silver colour scheme two-and-a-half wo-and-a-half years later. Gerald Grocott, ocott, now a commercial pilot with h Swissair, said he was somewhat nervous us when he made the maiden post-restoration oration flight on 1 July 1987 but it flew well and true. ZK-AEJ lived in a purpose-built hangar at Te Onepu near Hastings until 1990 when it was decided that, following the Tiger Moth Club of New Zealand’s rally at Mandeville, it would be in the best place if it remained there for care by Colin Smith’s de Havillandorientated Croydon Aircraft Company. The Moth was maintained in airworthy condition at Mandeville until 2000 when, on 9 February, the first day of that year’s club rally at Dargaville, it was damaged. Grocott’s blunt selfassessment was that he “ground-looped her into an open drain”, damaging an undercarriage leg and a wing-root fitting, and breaking the propeller. The aircraft was returned to Mandeville for repair, but during the last week of May 2001 it was loaded

‘The Moth radiated an offensive stink from the rotting remains of three snapper fish traded for a joyride and left in the locker’ he sensed a change in attitude when Gordon Reader made a comment that none of the prices offered had been sufficient. Realising that this was a significant difference, Grocott entered negotiations until they reached what the owner agreed was an acceptable price, and a sale was made in October with the registration restored in January 1985.

onto a lorry and delivered to Rangiora, where the job was completed by Pat Scotter and Des Lyons. Meanwhile, with his Swiss employer in financial trouble, Gerald Grocott had decided to return permanently to New Zealand. In 2002 he built a new hangar for the Moth, always known as ‘An Everlasting Joy’ after its registration letters, at Napier.

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RA RACING MOTH

FAR RIGHT: Today, the ‘Racing Moth’ appears as it did upon starting the 1930 International Touring Competition from Berlin’s Tempelhofer Feld, with identification number K5. DARREN HARBAR

During the DH60M’s two periods of restoration the wings had been covered with linen and the fuselage with cotton, all in an effort to maintain maximum authenticity. The doughnut wheels and tyres were replaced with 1930-pattern 19in wire-spoked wheels, and the streamlined tailskid was retained. Grocott decided in 2007 to wind down some of his aviation interests. This included releasing the Moth, either selling ZK-AEJ outright or forming a syndicate around it, with priority being given to prospective customers in New Zealand. At first, advertising was confined to the

had been sold. Realising it was still available but, perhaps, not for much longer, Simon and Gerald established communications, set up a productive dialogue and quickly confirmed a deal. ‘An Everlasting Joy’ would be returning home. As G-AAXG, the aircraft was restored to the British register on 28 May 2009. Arrangements were made for Colin Smith to dismantle it at Napier and pack it into a container addressed to Henry Labouchere at Langham, Norfolk, where the Moth arrived in good heart on 31 July. Thanks to the understanding of the British CAA, aided by the meticulous

‘Simon Kidston made the big decision to restore the aeroplane to family ownership’ aircraft’s adopted country, but there was little interest. After confirmation from the appropriate government departments that the Moth’s history would not exclude it from export, the campaign was widened. When mention of a possible sale was first made, details were passed on to a contact in Switzerland. This was Simon Kidston, son of Home Kidston, one-time owner of G-AAXG, who had died in 1996. Simon showed mild interest but, at that stage, allowed the opportunity to pass. Early in 2009 he renewed contact and was curious to know whether the aeroplane

documentation maintained in New Zealand and assistance from the technical archive of de Havilland Support Ltd, G-AAXG was flighttested on 19 September 2009, and has been active ever since. G-AAXG is a significant aeroplane in de Havilland history, and the efforts of the many to ensure that it survived are to be applauded. Most of all, congratulations are due to Simon Kidston, who took a deep breath and made the big decision to restore the aeroplane to family ownership. It might otherwise have been the missed opportunity of a lifetime.

SIMON KIDSTON: THE OWNER’S VIEW

“Before my father died in January 1996 I asked him to write for me a list of all the interesting cars that he had owned over the years. He duly did this on a word processor, despite being 85 — he was always fairly interested in technology — including, from memory, all of their registration numbers, all of which were correct. He obviously couldn’t resist including in there his first aeroplane, which was the ‘Racing Moth’. “I’d grown up with stories of various cars and I remembered being told about this aircraft, but didn’t give much thought to it. Then, one day, when I was putting my young son to bed I happened to look at a little watercolour painting on his bedroom wall, which I must have hung there a few years ago when we moved in. It was of a little red aircraft with a silver tail and silver wings. I made a note of the registration and I thought I really should find out what it was — I had no clue. “So, I asked my ex-colleague Robert Brooks, chairman of Bonhams’ auction house, who I knew had had Moths when he was younger, who the person to ask would be. He said to speak to a chap called Stuart McKay, who knows everything there is to know about Moths… Stuart came back very promptly, saying he knew the aircraft well, that it was quite a well-known Moth, that it had been down in New Zealand for years and years, and it belonged to a chap called Gerald Grocott. I was amazed — I couldn’t believe it. “Not with any specific purpose in mind, I asked whether he would mind putting me in contact with this Grocott fellow. It turned out that he […] was probably going to sell the aircraft. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to bring it back into the family

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ownership?” If my father was alive, he would have been very pleased, very proud. I mentioned it just in passing to my wife, who said something fairly unambiguous like, “You must be mad”.” “A year later, and a few bedtime stories under the bridge, I wondered whether Gerald Grocott still had the aeroplane. I called up Stuart and wondered what had happened. Grocott had agreed to sell it, but the buyer was messing him around. I asked Stuart if he could find out and let me know. “Stuart came back to me — he said Gerald Grocott hadn’t sold it, and that if I wanted it he thought he would be happy to let me have it at the same price. By this stage my wife wanted the garden landscaping, so I sat her down with a bottle of chilled champagne in the garden. An hour later she had got permission to have the garden landscaped, and I had got permission to buy the aircraft! “That was in March 2009. Contracts were exchanged whilst I was at the Villa d’Este concours in Italy, doing my annual compèring job. I remember putting the signature on the contract, sending it off from reception and being very, very pleased to think that finally the aircraft was coming back home again. “I asked who the best person to look after it was; I was told that Henry Labouchere was the man. It went straight to Henry, and he duly re-assembled it. There was a fly-in down at Tisted in Hampshire, which happens to be where my father spent the last few years of his life, in a little village called Sutton Scotney. I by this stage hadn’t seen the aeroplane, but I knew Henry was

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going to fly it down there. I happened to be in the UK at the time, and drove down in a little hire car. I pulled up, looked up into the sky, and up above in a perfect formation of Moths was G-AAXG. It brought a tear to my eye. “My flying in it has been a combination of passengering with Henry and Ben Cox. We did a little video of the aircraft up in Norfolk a couple of years ago — highly self-indulgent, combining a Bentley that was also my father’s, which I had tracked down and bought back, and this aircraft. My cousin Polly is married to Lord Coke, who has a nice house there, so we used that as a backdrop, and the grave of Sir Henry ‘Tim’ Birkin [a fellow ‘Bentley Boy’ of Simon’s uncle Glen] is nearby, so we included that in the story too. “We took the aeroplane to Goodwood in 2010 for the Revival meeting. Ben took me up in it at the end of the day, just as the sun was setting after a glorious day’s motor racing. He flew over Bosham harbour, where my friends were all outside the pub waving. Turning up at the pub afterwards, they assume you’re the heroic pilot, and you don’t want to tell them any different! “All the time I find out new things about the Moth. My father’s study chair at home always had an old leather cushion on it for as long as I can remember. It’s been lying around my house for years. Only fairly recently did I look more closely and discovered that it must have been Edouard Bret’s Moth cushion as each of his records is embossed on a different corner. Small world, and amazing it survived. “I’ve been taking flying lessons myself since January 2008, and I’m probably up to about 60 hours of tuition, of which maybe

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20 hours are solo… It’s definitely my ambition to go solo in the Moth. It’s something I’m very proud to own, and I wish my father was alive to see it.” Simon Kidston was talking to Ben Dunnell. Simon runs Genevabased Kidston SA, a ‘boutique’ advisory firm for motor car collectors — see www.kidston.com, where the short film ‘Full Throttle’ featuring the Moth can also be viewed.

ABOVE: Henry Labouchere and Simon Kidston enjoying themselves in G-AAXG over the North Norfolk coast. KIDSTON SA

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MEW GULLS

MIGHTY

MEWS

The Shuttleworth Collection’s Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF and David Beale’s replica G-HEKL make for a splendid pair — and an interesting comparison WORDS: BEN DUNNELL PHOTOGRAPHY: DARREN HARBAR

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ith two Percival Mew Gulls now gracing British skies, it was only natural to bring them together. Thanks to the Shuttleworth Collection and David Beale, several times their respective machines have displayed as a pair over Old Warden, paying tribute to the exploits of these exceptional, no-compromises racers. Yet the formation sortie mounted for this feature was interesting in other ways, too. One would expect Shuttleworth’s G-AEXF, in the last of its many restorations returned to Alex Henshaw’s 1939 Cape record configuration, to be the faster of the pair. It depicts the Mew Gull at the peak of its pre-war powers, after all. David Beale’s replica G-HEKL, meanwhile, is a precise re-creation of the long-lost G-AEKL as it was in 1937. Even so, the ‘new Mew’ outpaces ’XF. “We’re not really sure why”, says Shuttleworth chief pilot Roger ‘Dodge’ Bailey — “whether it’s an engine or a drag issue. When we had them up together we did a bit of a ‘drag race’, and ’KL will leave ’XF behind. It’s not a startling difference, but it will walk away.” Just one of the interesting traits you discover in comparing the two Mew Gulls, aided by the men who fly them. Since late 2013, G-AEXF has been part of the Shuttleworth Collection, and one can think of few finer additions to its line-up. That the aircraft survives is down to the efforts of many owners and restorers keen not to see this most historic air racer laid low. Behind David Beale’s creation of G-HEKL is another story of remarkable dedication, one that started eight years ago. The founder of Cambridgeshire-based automation consultancy Innomech, David saw advertised for sale “some bits… basically a set of drawings, an engine and a part-complete fuselage that needed to be rebuilt”. Thus began something not far short of a new phase of his life. Derby-based restorer and replica builder Ken Fern had got the project under way for a friend in the USA. He was aided by drawings made of G-AEXF when Tom Storey rebuilt it after one of its numerous mishaps. During 2007, the owner decided to sell, and David Beale stepped in. “The big problem”, says David, “was whether it was a project that could be constructed and registered under the LAA [Light Aircraft Association]. I then had to negotiate with [LAA chief engineer] Francis Donaldson”. He liked what he saw, and approval was forthcoming. Helping ensure accuracy was the LAA’s proviso that David should adhere absolutely to the original, otherwise all the stress calculations would have to be re-done. However, he discovered, “there were detail errors on the drawings when compared to original information unearthed during the project”. These were an inevitable consequence of

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the number of times G-AEXF had already been rebuilt and re-configured, involving a good deal of reverseengineering to take it back to its 1937 configuration, before Tom Storey got his hands on it. It goes without saying that exact period materials and components were used throughout. For the project to come with an authentic engine was, of course, a huge bonus. Even better, the 1936 unit’s serial number was between those of the powerplants used in the production Mew Gulls. “That was a Ken Fern find. It’s a Gipsy Queen 1, which is a rare beast, and it had never been used. It was overhauled and bench-run [for just six hours] by Hants and Sussex, but it had never been in an airframe. It was bought from the RAF, and someone decided they wanted to use it in a Rapide. They paid for it to be overhauled and then discovered it was not suitable for a Rapide, so it stayed in his garage. I think the guy died, and it went through various hands. “Sadly, it had been badly stored — they had used wax preservative on the cylinders, and someone had turned the prop. On the four ports that were open, the cylinders had corroded, and they were scrapped. I had to find four new cylinders for it”. Easier said than done, that, “especially as I wanted them still within standard size. That was a major headache and took quite a lot of sorting-out. I think I went through about 16 cylinders before I found four good ones.”

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David alone spent about 10,000 hours on the project, involving many long evenings in his home workshop, but he did have some assistance. “Ken Fern helped sort the fuselage out. I measured it and found the fuselage was too tall — Ken told me that it had actually been built too tall, because the American was a tall guy, but I wanted it as it was originally designed. I arranged for Ken to do some finishing-off woodwork for me. “The wings were done by Roger Burrows over at Watton. I asked him

‘gopher’, holding things, sticking things and double-checking for him. The pair of us skinned it, and it came over to me for finishing. “The wing was finished off in a tent inside the chicken shed that’s my hangar at Witchford. Working through the winter was not fun! The fuselage and tailplane were done in my workshop at home, once Ken had finished the basic woodwork. With the wing, I had to make the undercarriage and the fuel tanks. Obviously, I got the fuel tanks made by a CAA-approved aluminium welder. They had to be fitted before the wing was assembled, so a lot of that was done early on. So were the complex undercarriage mounts, involving many workshop hours machining thinwall tube of the correct dimensions from solid bar as no suitable tube was available. Also fashioned from aluminium are the cowlings and spats, requiring me to learn the black art of using the English wheel.” David was keen to ensure that the cockpit was as right as possible, “with only a few minor compromises to modern safety requirements — the vintage Pyrene brass fire extinguisher contains a modern extinguisher”. His search for period items goes on, and this August he was donated two more: “the correct-sized manifold gauge, which needs to be rebuilt, and the correct oil pressure gauge.” During 2013, completion came into sight. “I started it as my retirement project”, says David, “my means of getting myself out of work”. Gradually he started reducing the number of days he spent in the office, to the point where his colleagues could call on him if necessary. The airframe was finished with 32 coats of period satin dope, each hand-flatted to give the correct smooth appearance. Final assembly was carried out at Witchford, where the local farmer’s teleporter was used to help install the engine. “That replaced the cardboard engine I’d used to do all the cowlings”, David recalls. “Luckily, it fitted.” Mating the wings and fuselage also caused some anxious moments. “There were 56 quarter-inch bolt-holes to be drilled, and they all had to be perfectly

LEFT: David Beale in his replica Mew Gull G-HEKL leads ‘Dodge’ Bailey at the controls of the Shuttleworth Collection’s G-AEXF.

‘When we had the two Mew Gulls up together we did a bit of a ‘drag race’, and ’KL will leave ’XF behind’ initially to build the spars, because, as Tom Storey found, they’re horribly complicated. There’s not a parallel surface on the things, and they’re a composite of ash, spruce and ply. It really needed the proper woodworking tools and set-up to do that. When he’d done those, I asked him if we could build the wing in his workshop. We set it up there, and he did quite a lot of the precision work while I was the

aligned to go right through the spars, which are about 6in thick, lining up brackets so that the hole went through the metal bracket, the spar, and out through the hole and the metal bracket on the other side. It took a lot of nerve!” It all worked, and test pilot Charlie Huke took G-HEKL into the air for the first time on 20 August 2013. He flew out of Witchford, but landed at RAF Henlow, where the remainder of

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MEW GULLS

RIGHT: David Beale in the cockpit of G-HEKL. An engineer by trade, David has now retired from his day job and can devote more time to aviation.

STEVE FLINT/ AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM

FAR RIGHT: Charlie Huke powers G-HEKL into the air at Old Warden. OPPOSITE: G-AEXF gets up close to the cameraship. ‘Dodge’ Bailey says the Mew Gull, which joined the Shuttleworth fleet in October 2013, is a “very nice aeroplane in formation”.

the flight-test programme was carried out successfully. Now the Mew Gull is based at Fenland, as David’s strip at Witchford, 600m long with trees at one end, is too limiting. “Since completion the aircraft has performed exactly as per the certificate of airworthiness test flight reports from 1936 and ’38”, David reports. “It is

not fly the aircraft until its acquisition by Shuttleworth from Robert Fleming, who based it with the Real Aeroplane Company at Breighton. “When we were purchasing it”, says ‘Dodge’, “I went up to Breighton and spoke to ‘Taff’ Smith, who was the current pilot. I got a very good briefing on it from ‘Taff’, which I recorded and then wrote

‘The slightest bump, change of airspeed or whatever causes the nose to pitch’ BOTTOM: The two Mew Gulls at rest on the Old Warden turf. They first appeared together during the Race Day display in October 2014.

fast, and could, if caution was thrown to the wind, achieve the average race speed of 233mph achieved by the production airframe in the 1937 King’s Cup. We’ve never got the ultra-high speeds because people were tuning the engines. It cruises comfortably at 200mph using the de Havillandrecommended engine settings, easily achieves a VNE [never exceed speed] of 265mph 5mph and a climb rate in excess of 2,000ft per minute.” This brings us back to the slightly slower G-AEXF. Although Git had been based at Old Warden in Desmond Penrose’s ownership, ‘Dodge’ Bailey did

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up. That set me up quite well. I also watched his landing when he delivered it to Old Warden, and videoed that.” A highly experienced test pilot with a vast bank of knowledge when it comes to vintage aircraft, ‘Dodge’ offers a typically authoritative view of flying the Mew Gull. “The first impression you get is when you take off, which is perhaps unfortunate… it’s an aeroplane that’s quite easy to over-control, and if you look at all the reports, going right back to 1935, they all hint at that tendency. In terms of axes, you can easily over-control in pitch, and to some extent in yaw, particularly when the tail comes up. “Both of those challenges are made more difficult to sort out because of the restricted field of view, so it takes

you longer to spot that the aeroplane is doing something you haven’t asked it to do. You have to keep it straight using peripheral vision, and select a suitable pitch attitude, but unlike most aeroplanes just selecting the right pitch attitude isn’t enough — it won’t stay there. The slightest bump, change of airspeed or whatever will cause the nose to pitch. Although all the write-ups complain about the aeroplane being too sensitive […] that’s the symptom. The underlying reason for it is that with full power the aeroplane is neutrally stable at best, maybe unstable in pitch. In addition, taking off with a significant right crosswind component must be considered carefully as the weathercock stability will join forces with the asymmetric blade effect, torque and precession effects, and there is only a diddy rudder to counter them. “The stall is described variously as [being] completely benign to a sudden wing drop. Taking the worstcase scenario of a wing drop-prone aeroplane, as it gets airborne and starts to skip the wheels and bounce off little bumps, the idea is to let it do that and not try and haul it off the ground, risking a wing drop-type stall. Take-offs are made with one or two notches of flap. The flaps are tiny, and it’s a mystery to me that they do anything at all, but they do seem to help.

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MEW GULLS “Once airborne, the aeroplane is quite nice to control. It’s sensitive in pitch because there’s virtually no longitudinal stability. The roll axis is fine — although the fin is quite small, the aeroplane has got lots of keel area in the rear fuselage, which makes it very stable directionally. Having said that, it is quite easy to have the rudder in the wrong place, so that the aeroplane is out of balance. That does require a bit of attention, particularly at high power. “Away from the ground with the airspeed building up, it’s a bit like the

Comet in many ways. That is, it’s quite nice to fly about, though the field of view straight ahead is poor. And to display it’s pretty easy. Put the nose down and it goes pretty fast. You can manoeuvre it around in wingovers quite comfortably… and it gives you lots of confidence. “Indeed, I found the aircraft a great ‘lead-in’ trainer for the Comet. It has virtually the same powerplant, the ‘up and away’ handling is similar, as is the stall, and the restricted field of view we enjoy from ’XF pretty much

necessitates a curved approach like the Comet. One can also practice the essential Comet ‘touch-down and pin’ technique as a training exercise.” David Beale can testify to the Mew Gull’s handling qualities. “In the air, it’s just a delight”, he comments. “The sole exception is the view out. “You can’t see much ahead of you. If I sit up with my head touching the canopy, I can just see the horizon.” Landings offer their own challenge. “I was told by ‘Taff’ Smith just to do Continued on page 57

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF G-AEKL

The story of Mew Gull G-AEXF, and especially Alex Henshaw’s exploits in it, has often been re-told. That of G-AEKL, by contrast, may be less familiar. Percival built a total of six Mew Gulls. The initial prototype, the ungainly E1 G-ACND, first flew in March 1934. Having not produced the desired performance, it was broken up the following year, when the much-altered E2 appeared — a completely new aeroplane even though it, too, was registered as G-ACND. This heralded three E2Hs, of which G-AEKL was the first. It was Edgar Percival’s own racing mount for 1935, subsequently modified in readiness for the September 1936 Schlesinger Race from Portsmouth to Johannesburg. However, it did not take the start. On 19 September, 10 days before the race began, pilot (and MacRobertson race co-winner) Tom Campbell Black was killed when an RAF Hawker Hart ran into the Mew Gull at Liverpool’s Speke aerodrome. Nor, it must be said, was the Schlesinger itself a triumph for the other two E2Hs built prior to the race. Both A. M. Miller’s ZS-AHM (the future G-AEXF) and Stan Halse’s ZS-AHO retired, the latter being written off when it tipped over upon hitting a termite mound during a precautionary landing to allow the pilot to check his position. The Percival factory rebuilt G-AEKL for new owner Charles Gardner. With it, he won the 1937 King’s Cup, his second victory in succession after his 1936 triumph in a Vega Gull. In so doing, the Mew Gull set a new race average speed record of 233.7mph. Incidentally, David Beale’s replica G-HEKL depicts the design state of the original ’KL as it re-emerged from the works that year. Placed third was Edgar Percival in the sole E3H variant of the Mew Gull, a one-off with further design alterations. It

ABOVE: Philip Whaley — father of well-known historic aircraft pilot Jonathon — working on G-AEKL. The red scheme was applied after Giles Guthrie bought the aircraft in 1938. VIA JONATHON WHALEY

ABOVE: Percival technicians fettling the newly-built Mew Gull G-AEKL and a pair of Vega Gulls, of which prototype G-AEAB is nearest the camera. AVIATION-IMAGES.COM

AB ABOVE: G-AEKL at Gravesend after application of the name Miss Liverpool for the 1936 Schlesinger race. The emblem on the nose is a Liver bird, that famous symbol of the city. AVIATION-IMAGES.COM

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and the two surviving E2Hs, G-AEKL and G-AEXF, went on to compete for many of the major air racing titles of the era. Gardner sold ’KL to Giles Guthrie, whose exploits during the 1938 season included second place in the King’s Cup. The aircraft was then bought by Jim Mollison for a long-distance record attempt, but this was cancelled due to the start of World War Two. G-AEKL was eventually destroyed in a German air raid on Lympne aerodrome, while the E2 wing from G-ACND and the E3H were burned at Luton during a post-war Percival garden party. Only G-AEXF, spirited away to France for the duration, survived intact.

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Trains and Planes F_P.indd 1

10/09/2015 10:58

Percival Mew Gull replica G-HEKL and Mew Gull G-AEXF David Beale and The Shuttleworth Collection DARREN HARBAR

BATTLE OF BRITAIN AIRCRAFT RAF and Luftwaffe aircraft of the battle

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MEW GULLS ME

Continued from page 52 three-point landings in the aeroplane”, says ‘Dodge’. “His rationale was that, if you’re doing anything else, you’re too fast, and the brakes aren’t very good. We come in at 75kt in ’XF, and the stall is about 10kt below that. When you close the throttle it does float for a long time, probably because the aeroplane is so clean. Although it is perfectly possible to wheel it on at this point, following ‘Taff’s’ advice, we generally wait for it to land on three points. Sometimes you get a slightly tailskidfirst landing, but that just de-rotates the aeroplane onto the mainwheels and then it rolls along straight. It’s very easy to keep straight on landing — it’s not an aeroplane that’s eager to ground-loop, which is one of the better features.” For David Beale, getting G-HEKL back to terra firma is not a favourite pastime. “I still hate landing it”, he

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

says. “I’ve got 60 hours in it now, and every time I sit there on the runway and open the throttle the thought goes through my head, “Now you’ve got to land it”. That’s the only negative. It’s very fast, and it floats. If it hits a bump and takes off again, it drops a wing, quite viciously.” In contrast to Shuttleworth’s technique for landing ’XF, both David and Charlie Huke prefer to perform a wheeler, as opposed to three-point, landing. This is partly because they

the tailskid acting like a plough, as ’KL has a wider skid foot. “It also is less vicious to the fragile skid”, says David, “and the idle on ’KL, for some reason on the earlier carbs, cannot be reduced as low as on ’XF”. This somewhat restricts the range of airfields from which ’KL can safely operate, a 600yard runway being the minimum. Two similar-looking aircraft, then, but each very much with their own individual characteristics and foibles. Such would, of course, have been the

ABOVE: Another image that affords a chance to compare the different lines of the two Mew Gulls.

‘Every time I open the throttle, I think, “Now you’ve got to land it...”’ have both experienced three-point landings where the aircraft has hit a bump and then been in wing-drop territory, and to minimise the risk of annoying airfield owners as a result of

case when comparing the 1930s Mew Gulls. What a privilege to see these two aeroplanes together, and what a testament to those who have made it possible.

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CO SMIC WIND B A LLERINA

RUN LIKE

THE WIND

Of all the Formula One-class ‘midget’ air racers still flying in the UK, none quite boasts the legendary charisma of Cosmic Wind Ballerina WORDS: BEN DUNNELL

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“T

o my mind, it is quite the most exhilarating small aircraft in the British Isles”. Those words, written in 1963 by Flight magazine’s tester Mark Lambert, might just have easily been penned today, for LeVier Cosmic Wind G-ARUL Ballerina is as wondrous a machine even now. For its long-time custodian Pete Kynsey, former British aerobatic champion and current chief pilot of The Fighter Collection, Ballerina never ceases to delight. Fellow aerobatic and warbird flyer Richard Grace said he may even have been more excited to fly the Cosmic Wind for the first time than he was the family Spitfire. Such is the legend of this tiny air racer, one associated throughout a colourful career with some great names. The first, of course, is Tony LeVier. A pilot since 1930, when he was aged just 17, this young man from Minnesota

soon took up aerobatics and air racing. At the controls of a Rider R-4 named Firecracker, he placed second in the 1939 Thompson Trophy closed-course race. Joining Lockheed in 1941, during wartime he ferried Hudsons, tested Venturas, made the maiden flight of the XP-80 and helped perfect the P-38 Lightning, becoming chief engineering test pilot before hostilities were over. All the while his passion for competition remained undimmed. When air racing resumed post-war, he used a surplus, modified P-38L, again claiming the Thompson Trophy runner’s up spot in 1946. LeVier’s displays in this bright red aircraft also became renowned. But air racing was changing. Types such as P-38s and P-51s were out of most competitors’ reach, and there came recognition of the need for a lower-cost class, still able to provide excitement while offering a cheaper way into the sport. What’s more, members of the Professional Race

Pilots’ Association were worried that it had become dull. The September 1947 issue of Flying magazine quoted PRPA president Art Chester as saying: “Spectators started leaving the [National Air Races] in 1946 before they were over, just because there was no competition”. In the January 1948 words of Popular Science, “they could see the time coming when the turnstiles wouldn’t make music any more.” The specifications laid down by the PRPA, and approved by the National Aeronautics Association, were stringent. Foremost among them were a maximum engine displacement of 190 cubic inches and a wing loading no higher than 12lb per square foot. Airframes had to withstand 6g, while pilot experience was to be checked closely by the governing bodies, for they had no wish to see the fatalities experienced in higher-powered categories. Sponsorship and US$25,000 in prize money came from the

BELOW: Pete Kynsey flying Cosmic Wind Ballerina between its Duxford base and Old Warden in August 2015. HARRY MEASURES

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CO SMIC WIND B A LLERINA

ABOVE: All three of the original LeVier and Associatesbuilt Cosmic Winds at Van Nuys in 1948: from right to left, Tony LeVier with Little Toni, ‘Fish’ Salmon with Minnow, and Vincent Ast with Ballerina. VIA PETE KYNSEY

BELOW: Ballerina’s owner Glenn Fulkerson (left) and pilot Vincent Ast with the Cosmic Wind at Cleveland during the 1949 National Air Races. VIA PETE KYNSEY

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Thus was ‘midget’ air racing born. No surprise, perhaps, that it piqued the interest — as pilot and engineer — of Tony LeVier. He and eight fellow Lockheed employees formed LeVier and Associates, their aim to build a midget race winner. Among them was to be found a wealth of experience. Not just LeVier, but the likes of engineering test pilot Herman ‘Fish’ Salmon (himself a pre-war air racer), P-80 production test pilot Charles Tucker, and design engineer Irving Culver were men at the cutting edge of 1940s aerospace technology. Working, Popular Science said, “in six separate garages around Los Angeles”, their vision came to life. The result they called the Cosmic Wind. Powered by an 85hp Continental C-85 four-cylinder air-cooled piston engine, this sleek, allmetal, low-wing monoplane, just over 4ft tall and 16ft long, was a stunning

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example of the midget breed. LeVier took the first, registered NX67888, for its maiden flight on 3 July 1947. The second, NX67889, followed soon after. By the time of the Cosmic Wind’s debut at the 1947 National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio, LeVier’s own mount NX67888 had been named Little Toni and given race number 3. NX67889, to be piloted by Salmon, carried number 10. It was un-named, but Flying’s contemporary report already used the moniker Minnow. Certainly, it bore the logo of magneto manufacturer Slick.

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Both reached the Goodyear Trophy final, and around 25 laps of the 2.2mile course performed well if not victoriously. Behind Bill Brennand, flying Steve Wittman’s modified pre-war machine Buster, and Paul Penrose on Art Chester’s Swee’ Pea came

Salmon and LeVier. The fastest Cosmic Wind posted an average speed of 158.798mph, just over 7mph down on the winner. The Popular Science article reported that LeVier and colleagues “had to make the ship bigger to bring it up to the minimum and add wing area to hold down the loading”, reducing its ultimate pace. More was promised for 1948, including a third Cosmic Wind. N22C was built for another member of the LeVier and Associates team, Lockheed flight test engineer Glenn Fulkerson. Its name Ballerina was down to the fact that Fulkerson’s wife was exactly that. With race number 5, Bob Downey flew it into seventh place at the 1948 Goodyear final. Ahead were both earlier machines. Little Toni had been re-registered as N20C and Minnow as N21C, while their looks had altered, too. A tail-heaviness problem was cured by extended engine mounts (and, thus, longer noses) improving the centre of gravity. More streamlined bubble canopies further helped them along. LeVier had retired from racing, so it was Billie Robinson who took Little Toni to fifth, but the big prize went to Salmon. Aboard Minnow he triumphed, setting a new record average speed of 169.688mph. There was to be no such luck in 1949. In the name of still greater speed, Minnow received a new fuselage and mid-wing arrangement, but the last Goodyear Trophy brought only fifth place, right behind Vincent Ast in Ballerina. Before long, Minnow had reverted to its previous appearance. For the National Air Races, and thus the Goodyear competition, 1949 was the end of the road. The consequences of a P-51 crashing into a house, and

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

the start of the Korean War, saw to that. The initial three Cosmic Winds were sold to Pacific Air Races Inc, but midget racing — not for the last time — found itself temporarily on the wane. Soon the aircraft languished at Van Nuys. Enter a certain Milton Blair. At some point, this California-based aircraft dealer and pilot bought Minnow, Ballerina, tooling and spares from LeVier’s original programme, which, period reports confirm, was to have made five aircraft rather than three. Blair’s aim was to produce a Cosmic Wind-derived light counter-insurgency aircraft, later known as the American Electric Piranha and evaluated under a US Air Force project codenamed ‘Little Brother’. This abortive effort resulted in the end of Minnow’s flying life when it was dismantled and had its wings used for structural testing. Our subject here was luckier.

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According to Ballerina’s records, Blair started flying the aircraft in 1961. “It appears he flew it to Trinidad and back to California with a longrange tank in the back”, says Pete Kynsey. Ballerina was then shipped to Britain, being re-assembled by Viv Bellamy’s Hampshire Aeroplane Club at Eastleigh. There Blair put on a spectacular demonstration, and the Tiger Club’s founding father Norman Jones was much taken. As Peter Phillips, another of the aircraft’s leading exponents, wrote in Flight, “Jones was quick to recognise a thoroughbred and bought it on the spot.” His instincts were entirely accurate. With the Redhill-based Tiger Club, Ballerina was to achieve some of its most notable feats. By the year’s end it had been registered as G-ARUL, ready to join the UK air racing circuit and become a star performer at displays. In this it became a favourite mount of two true greats, Peter Phillips and Neil Williams. Both flew it during the Cosmic Wind’s British public debut, made in a Tiger Club show at Panshanger in April 1962. To Williams, as related in his book ‘Airborne’ (Airlife, 1977), “As a handling machine she

approached perfection”. A favourite display manoeuvre was a dead-stick outside loop, so fast and controllable was it. On the racing scene, that 1962 season brought class victory at Shoreham for Williams and Ballerina.

Although full-span ailerons afford a very high rate of roll, it was not an ideal competition aerobatic mount, even for someone as skilled as Neil Williams. Pete Kynsey, himself later a WAC competitor, says: “It was too fast, really. Compared with the other aeroplanes

‘It had a makeshift inverted fuel system, and Neil Williams had to turn the fuel off and on to try and keep it running’ The King’s Cup meeting at Coventry proved less successful, ‘Pee Wee’ Judge being eliminated in the Air League Cup qualifying race. But the big target in ’62 was not so much air racing as aerobatics, for Phillips was due to fly the aircraft as part of the British team at the World Aerobatic Championships (WAC) in Budapest. It was not to be, Flight reporting: “The attempts to obtain from the USA parts with which to modify the Cosmic Wind’s 85hp Continental engine for inverted flying proved unsuccessful.” Its moments in the sun came in 1964. That August, BEA pilot Dennis Hartas flew Ballerina to victory in the King’s Cup, enough to make him British air racing champion. Weeks later the Cosmic Wind was off to Bilbao for its WAC debut, a performance to go down in the annals.

of the day, it would have used up quite a lot of airspace. It had quite a lowpowered engine, and if you slowed it down, say during flicking manoeuvres, it would take a little while to build up the energy again. “But the worst thing was that the inverted system he had was next to hopeless. It had a makeshift system, and he had to turn the fuel off and on to try and keep it running. Once the engine quit during the competition, and he had to make a dead-stick landing in front of the judges.” No wonder Peter Phillips wrote in Flight that Williams, taking part at world level for the first time, “was the admiration of all competitors for his courage in flying what is really a pretty hot ship for this kind of competition”. He failed to make the final round, but not for want of trying.

BOTTOM: Vincent Ast took this shot of Ballerina being transported by trailer behind a Buick Super. VIA PETE KYNSEY

BELOW: With the Tiger Club, Ballerina became a very popular display aircraft. In this 1966 image, it is joined by fellow club aerobatic mounts in the form of Stampe SV-4 and ‘Super Tiger’. AVIATION-IMAGES.COM

ð

CO SMIC WIND B A LLERINA

ABOVE: The lines of the Cosmic Wind getting a fine airing as Pete Kynsey puts on a scintillating display at the Shuttleworth Collection’s Wings and Wheels show. BEN DUNNELL

Sadly, the association between the Tiger Club and Ballerina did not have long to run. On 29 August 1966, it was competing in the Goodyear Air Challenge Trophy at Halfpenny Green, Wolverhampton, with Bill Innes at the controls. Rounding the first pylon turn, he stalled the Cosmic Wind into the ground. Innes survived the crash, but Ballerina was a write-off. The name, though, rose again. The wreckage was acquired by former King’s Cup winner Paul Bannister, who used it to help re-create Ballerina with a slightly more powerful 100hp Continental O-200A engine. The result

Joining in was Little Toni, brought to these shores in 1970 by Ian McCowen and registered G-AYRJ. There was also a brand-new example — well, almost. Robin Voice’s G-BAER Filly was built up from various parts, some emanating from Minnow, others from the stock Milton Blair had brought to Britain with Ballerina. Only in October’s final Teesside round of the five-race 1973 Heineken Trophy Series did the freshly-finished Ballerina make its presence felt, but it did so in style, Bill Walker emerging victorious by just four tenths of a second from overall champion Tom

‘The Cosmic Wind was just the most delightful-handling aeroplane I’d flown, with a phenomenally high rate of roll’ was allocated the same registration, G-ARUL, though the CAA lists the aircraft as being built in 1973, when the fruits of Bannister’s labours took to the air. Ballerina ‘mark two’ found itself thrust straight into the heat of battle. As Formula One air racing took off in Britain, so the Cosmic Wind enjoyed something of a competitive renaissance.

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Storey’s Cassutt. Despite winning most of the rounds, new owner Walker missed out on the 1974 title by just half a point, Storey again the victor. Ballerina missed the 1975 season, but was back in 1976, and embarked upon a remarkable run of success. Fred Marsh used it to win the British Formula One title twice in a row; then John Mirley did likewise.

The pace of development still had not quite told against the Cosmic Wind. Graham Horder proved as much during the Cranfield event in September 1981, setting a British category record of 214.7mph over 5km. But then Ballerina seemed to disappear, and Pete Kynsey, already one of Britain’s leading aerobatic pilots, noticed. “It hadn’t been around, seen at any airfields or flying at any races, for a while, and I just grew curious as to why”, he says. “So, I tracked the owner [Horder] down, and he revealed that some work had been done on it that hadn’t worked out. He was in a tricky position trying to then repair it.” Having in large part been inspired to get into flying and aerobatics by the example of Neil Williams, Pete was well aware of the Cosmic Wind and its qualities. “The first one I flew was Filly, owned by Robin Voice. He asked me to do an airshow one day and I came back thinking, “I’ve just got to have one of these”. It was just the most delightfulhandling aeroplane I’d flown, with a phenomenally high rate of roll. I’d flown lots of competition aerobatic aeroplanes, but although they are very capable and their performance is very good, their handling is not always particularly fantastic. “I took a friend of mine, Geoff Masterton, who was a very practical engineer, along to look at it. He was fairly convinced that he could find someone to come up with a repair scheme. Fortunately, having done his apprenticeship with the RAE at Farnborough, he approached a retired stress analyst who took on the project to design a repair for the wing attachment. “I was able [in 1984] to buy it for very little because it was definitely not airworthy. Fixing it was a challenge, because the access to the wing bolts was incredibly difficult, and using the limited equipment that we had it was a miracle that Geoff Masterton managed to drill the new holes. When the final bolt slid through, it was a great relief! We knew it was going to work. After about 18 months, the parts were manufactured, the PFA [Popular Flying Association], as it then was, approved it, and it was flying again.” Initially, Pete raced Ballerina in the Formula One series. “By the time I bought it”, he recalls, “the fastest Cassutts had overtaken it, and it was never going to win again”. So, since 1986, he has concentrated on demonstrating the Cosmic Wind’s considerable prowess in phenomenal aerobatic displays. “You can fly it with just a few fingers, really”, he comments. “The stick forces are very light.” A signature manoeuvre, as flown by the likes of Peter Phillips and Neil Williams in the 1960s, is a 16-point hesitation roll. According to Pete, “It’s got such a high rate of roll and such light ailerons that it’s very easy to do. But what is surprising to perform in it is a vertical eight, which it’ll do from

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

250mph. That’s a half-loop, a roll and then another half-loop. A lot of aeroplanes would struggle with that.” The absence of an inverted fuel system demands care and attention. “Three-and-a-half upward rolls are not a problem for it”, Pete continues, “but although I do vertical rolls in it, I very slightly barrel them all, so it’s going up in a slightly spiral fashion just to keep the engine running.” What of Ballerina’s idiosyncrasies? “It’s got spring aluminium [landing] gear instead of spring steel gear, and it’s not great at absorbing rough grass runways — it prefers hard ones. It’s given me some alarming times when I’ve been thrown into the air below flying speed. The take-off speed is relatively high; you can’t get it airborne below 70mph. Racing across rough grass on aluminium legs at 70mph is always going to be interesting… “And it’s got an abrupt stall to it. If you put it into stall buffet, there’s no warning — one moment it’s flying and then it gives up. It tends to drop a wing. Keeping clear of the stall and not pulling it into an accelerated stall is crucially important. That’s what caused its accident at Halfpenny Green in the ’60s.” Ballerina isn’t quite as rapid as once it was. “When I first had it”, says Pete, “and [raced] it in Formula One air racing, cleaned-up in max level speed it would get to around the 225-230mph

mark. Now I don’t clean it up for racing, so it does just over 200mph, maybe 210”. G limitations must, of course, also be observed. “The LAA [Light Aircraft Association, successor to the PFA] imposes quite low limits on it, but, in actual fact, a stress analysis done by [American Electric] proved that the airframe of the Cosmic Wind was capable of at least +6 and -3g at a maximum weight of 2,000lb. Well, the all-up weight of this aeroplane is only 850lb. If you do the sums, you discover that it’s actually very strong.” For an experienced private owner well-versed in the type’s performance and quirks, the Cosmic Wind is a joy. Despite its diminutive size, the type is

surprisingly practical. “It’s had some fairly big pilots in it. The cockpit is very wide — if you’ve got long legs you’d probably run into a problem, as your legs would touch the bottom of the instrument panel. “It’s a great aeroplane for touring. I’ve been to St Moritz in it, I’ve been to Courchevel in it. From the days when you could only bring 11 bottles of wine back duty-free from France, I can tell you that you can get 11 bottles of wine in the Cosmic Wind…” An aeroplane of many talents, you might say. No wonder Pete Kynsey so loves it. Long may his Ballerina continue to dance through British skies.

ABOVE: Dennis Hartas at the controls of Ballerina during the 1966 King’s Cup meeting. He placed third overall. PETER R. MARCH

BELOW: Ballerina ‘mark two’ has now been in Pete Kynsey’s ownership for 31 years. He maintains the aircraft himself. HARRY MEASURES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author expresses his gratitude to Don Berliner, past president of the Society of Air Racing Historians. Photographer Harry Measures thanks cameraship pilot John Thurlow for undertaking the air-to-air sortie.

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meets

GENE

DeMARCO Now the most experienced pilot of First World War aircraft ever, this American aficionado, in conjunction with Sir Peter Jackson, has done much to further interest in 1914-18 aviation

O

ne of the joys of the historic aircraft scene is the opportunity to see flying examples of types thought long lost from our skies. Who, for instance, would have imagined ever being able to witness perfect reproductions of a Royal Aircraft Factory RE8, Albatros D.Va and Sopwith Snipe getting British air under their wheels? For that, we have in no small measure to thank Gene DeMarco. Working as general and sales manager for The Vintage Aviator Ltd in New Zealand, this very skilled American pilot and engineer has been instrumental in making possible a number of glorious aeronautical spectacles. The results of TVAL’s labours can be seen in collections across the world. Of course, Gene’s main focus is the organisation’s manufacturing workshop in Wellington and its flying base at Hood Aerodrome in Masterton on New Zealand’s North Island, where he heads up a team of supreme craftsmen renowned for their ability to restore and accurately replicate aircraft from the early years of military aviation. But he visits Europe often, not least as the First World War centenary period focuses much attention on the conflict’s flying machines, with a new connection to the World War One Aviation Heritage Trust (WAHT) and a desire to bring these fantastic aeroplanes to England and Europe where they saw action.

It was during one of those trips that Gene found the time to meet, Old Warden being an appropriate venue given the close links forged between the Shuttleworth Collection and TVAL. Says Gene, “I grew up on Long Island, New York, the ‘cradle of aviation’ — an amazing place. When I was a young boy, my dad worked for Pan American World Airways. I used to make frequent trips to the airport with him, and to other aviation places — Old Rhinebeck, the Smithsonian and locations like that. I always had a love of airplanes, like most boys who are born into that sort of thing. “I was about 14 or 15 when I bought a little Piper J-5, and started restoring it in our garage with my dad’s help. It was ready to fly around the time I was 16, and I started taking flying lessons. When I got my licence I decided to fly it halfway across the United States and back, and I absolutely loved it. “I had a love for Mustangs, Corsairs and stuff without the credit line to buy one. It was easier to think about restoring a vintage airplane, or maybe even building a World War One airplane. I had several projects — another Piper, a Luscombe, a Stampe, a Waco UPF-7 — but then I started to get more seriously into World War One airplanes. I began tinkering with rotary engines, building a Sopwith Camel and some bits for a Nieuport. Oddly enough, I never finished them. I sold them as projects, because I had all these

WORDS: BEN DUNNELL

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AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

ABOVE: Gene DeMarco in the cockpit of the FE2b built by The Vintage Aviator Ltd. LUIGINO CALIARO

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meets GENE DeMARCO airplanes at my disposal to fly, and once I started volunteering and helping out at Old Rhinebeck I had a chance to fly some amazing airplanes there.” The late Cole Palen’s ‘living museum’ of antique and replica aircraft in upstate New York, Old Rhinebeck gave Gene the chance to get his hands on numerous types that would otherwise have been out of reach. “I started out on the Curtiss Fledgling, and ended up flying everything in the collection that we could fly — the Camel, the Nieuport 11, the Albatros, the Fokker Dr.I and so on”. It was a tremendously formative experience. While some of the Old Rhinebeck fleet had (and have) more modern powerplants, several are rotary-engined. How did Gene find the transition to piloting these very specialised machines? “Being around airplanes at Old Rhinebeck was key, because I was able to hear what the other pilots said about them. You gained a tremendous amount of knowledge just being on the same airfield, hearing what people say. Even just standing next to a pilot talking to an engineer about a rotary-engined airplane that had just taken off, he might say, “That sounds a bit rich”, “That sounds a bit lean”, or, “That’s not running very well”. You get a feel for what they’re supposed to sound like, and that’s an education in itself. “The other thing was that at Old Rhinebeck we’d run up some of the engines as a pre-show activity. It was often some of us who weren’t flying in the display — we were all pilots — who would do that, to entertain the crowd and make sure they were running OK. It was a fantastic experience to be able to run them on the ground and get used to their operation. This was also a good way to test the “aircraft temperament”, as Cole would say, and see if the engines were running well or if spark plugs needed cleaning and so forth. “Flying the World War One airplanes, it’s not necessarily the flying skills [that are difficult], because the controls had evolved to a pretty standard form by the First World War. Before that you had some really crazy control systems — a stick for the elevator control and a separate stick for roll, like in a Hanriot. But by the time World War One came

a big difference. Having the experience of doing that at Old Rhinebeck for a number of years made it second nature to eventually fly one of those airplanes. “The first rotary I flew at Old Rhinebeck was a Nieuport 11 with an 80hp Le Rhône — no brakes, tailskid, fairly easy to fly, and it doesn’t have a huge gyroscopic effect from that engine. Obviously, most of these rotary airplanes dive when you turn to the right and climb when you turn to the left. The Camel is well-known for that; it had a terrible reputation for being a dangerous airplane, unstable and all. With a larger engine, either a Gnome or a Clerget, there’s a very pronounced gyroscopic effect. Longitudinally, it’s unstable — you can’t ever let your hands off. Many pilots in the early days got into trouble with the Camel because it had such a fantastic climb rate. They’d zoom-climb, the nose would be pointing up, they’d stall, go into a spin and, lo and behold, crash to the ground. Around 20 per cent of pilots transitioning to Camels got killed in training accidents just that way.” It wasn’t all about Old Rhinebeck for Gene. He had also to be earning money, so he became involved with the famed GEICO Skytypers team of SNJ-2s. “I was their chief engineer, and then I flew with them as a skytyper over the East Coast, effectively as a big dotmatrix printer in the sky, and putting on formation displays. I was their solo skywriter as well.”

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After the terror attacks of 11 September 2001, US airspace was temporarily closed to all civilian aircraft. Upon its re-opening, Gene’s Skytypers SNJ was the first aircraft to get airborne out of Republic Airport on Long Island, as he had an unusual task to perform. “We had a message to do for Yoko Ono over New York City, and then another one over Boston. At the four compass headings, I wrote ‘Peace’, ‘Love’, ‘Harmony’ and ‘Hope’. That was pretty amazing.” Already, though, Gene had made a connection that was to influence the future direction of his life — with New Zealand film director Peter Jackson.

‘I talked Peter Jackson into allowing me to set up a company to build WW1 airplanes the way they should be built’ around, the control stick operated ailerons and elevators, you had a standard set of rudder pedals or a rudder bar, and everything was pretty much standardised. So, for the rotary airplanes, it’s all about operating the engine. Once you can master keeping the engine running, transitioning from low power to high power, getting the knack for whether it’s rich or lean, that sort of thing made

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“He’d bought a [replica] Sopwith Camel to do ‘King Kong’, but then ‘Lord of the Rings’ came along and he didn’t really think the CG technology at the time was up to doing an 85ft gorilla, so he did the trilogy first. Then he went ahead with making ‘King Kong’. But he had this airplane sitting around, and a number of people in New Zealand had asked him if he wanted to display it at an airshow.

They didn’t really have anyone who was checked out in a Camel, so they got hold of me. I’d had probably 15 years of flying the Camel at Old Rhinebeck… I said, “Sure, I’ll do it”. “At the time I had a charter business flying Cessna 310s, mainly in Florida. This was before all the airline security, so I could jump-seat on an airliner and fly out to New Zealand. That’s exactly what I did. I packed a bag, flew my 310 to Atlanta, Georgia, hopped on an Evergreen Boeing 747 freighter, went across America and on to Hawaii, Pongo Pongo, Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland. I hopped off at Auckland and met up with a friend of mine that I’d known from the States. He loaned me his 1929 Travel Air biplane, and I proceeded to fly that the length of New Zealand, pretty much, to get down to Omaka to fly this Camel for a film director that I’d never met. “First I met an engineer who worked for him. He showed me the airplane, we discussed flying it and I made a test flight. It was really a tremendous opportunity. The people were nice, and I finally got the chance to meet Peter — not Sir Peter then. We talked about World War One airplanes and his passion for them.” The Camel that Gene agreed to fly had been built in the mid-1980s by Gerry Thornhill and Carl Swanson, and was imported to New Zealand by Peter Jackson in 1997. Gene was to fly the 160hp Gnome-engined machine for its public debut during the 2001 Classic Fighters Air Show at Omaka, which proved an interesting experience. “A big chunk of cowling came off and got stuck on the right wing. The airplane would only really turn to the right, but I was able to land it. Quite a spectacle. “My trip to New Zealand was only meant to last about two weeks. After six weeks I was exploring more and more, going up north. Six weeks turned into eight weeks, and then 12 weeks… The people back home didn’t know if I was coming back or not. Eventually I had to leave, but upon my return it was only shortly thereafter that 11 September happened and changed flying forever. That made it very difficult to run a charter business in Florida, and it changed what we did with Skytypers. I didn’t know what to do, and I decided, “Maybe I’ll go back to New Zealand”. I returned the following year, and I’ve never looked back.” Given Jackson’s enthusiasm, the next step seems a very natural one. “I talked Peter into allowing me to set up a company to build World War One airplanes the way they should be built, just like the originals”. Thus was born The Vintage Aviator Ltd (TVAL), now one of just two registered aircraft manufacturers in New Zealand. Its craftsmanship is, rightly, worldrenowned. From those small beginnings has grown a company employing over 50 staff. “We now reproduce,

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

TOP LEFT: In appropriate garb with Old Rhinebeck’s Fokker Dr.I replica. VIA GENE DeMARCO

ABOVE: With colleagues from Old Rhinebeck and the Nieuport 11 on a US Air Force C-5 Galaxy. It flew two Rhinebeck aircraft to 1997’s US Air Force 50th anniversary show at Nellis AFB. VIA GENE DeMARCO

LEFT: These three Hispano Suiza-powered SE5as were the first TVAL products. LUIGINO CALIARO

BELOW: The Sopwith Camel has long been a favourite World War One aircraft for Gene to fly. It was also the machine through which his link to Peter Jackson was forged. LUIGINO CALIARO

BELOW: One of the messages written by Gene in his GEICO Skytypers SNJ over Boston shortly after US airspace re-opened in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. VIA GENE DeMARCO

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meets GENE DeMARCO

ABOVE: At the controls of the Bristol F2B, acquired by TVAL from The Fighter Collection. LUIGINO CALIARO LEFT: The RE8 and Albatros D.Va built for the RAF Museum. DARREN HARBAR

ABOVE: In June 2014, Gene made the maiden flight of the LVG C.VI built by the Memorial Flight. On this sortie out of La Ferté Alais, it was accompanied by the Fokker D.VII. FRANCK CABROL

BELOW: The two BE2e reproductions that came to Britain in 2014. ‘A2943’ is owned by Oliver Wulff and loaned to the World War One Aviation Heritage Trust, while it is hoped to find sponsorship that will enable ‘A2767’ to be purchased for WAHT. LUIGINO CALIARO

BELOW: Airborne near Masterton on a beautiful evening in the ‘early-model’ BE2c. LUIGINO CALIARO

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I think, 10 different engines from scratch, and we’ve done 21 different airframes, soon to be 26. There are 39 airworthy airplanes in the collection, and we have seven original World War One airplanes”. While some form TVAL’s flying fleet and others have gone to clients overseas, several more can be viewed on display at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre in Blenheim, where the ‘Knights of the Sky’ exhibition masterminded by Peter Jackson provides impressive surroundings in which to view them. TVAL started by building four Royal Aircraft Factory SE5as, all using original Hispano-Suiza engines overhauled in TVAL’s workshops. “One’s in the museum down at Blenheim, and three are still flying”, says Gene. It was far from a simple design with which to start, thanks to certain airframe complexities, but the results spoke for themselves. As Gene commented after the first flight on 26 March 2007, “It is the finest example of a WW1 fighter I have ever flown!” Right from the outset, alongside much old-fashioned craftsmanship, TVAL took advantage of modern-day advances. “We use some of the latest technology in building 100-year-old designs. Everything that we build, whether it’s welded or cast, or even machined in some cases, undergoes nondestructive testing. We use di-penetrative Magnaflux X-rays if we have to. We have a 3D printer for printing small casting patterns and prototype parts. We have a five-axis machining centre, a CNC [computer numerically controlled] lathe mill, a tool centre. We draw a lot of the airplanes in CAD [computer-aided design], so we can make sure the parts fit together before we even build it. We’re fortunate to have access to a lot of talented people within a small group of companies where we’re based.” Access to genuine period airframes is, of course, of great benefit. “We bought an original Bristol F2B Fighter [D8084, previously owned by The Fighter Collection]. We had a set of drawings, but we were missing a few bits and pieces. With the original Bristol handy, we could fill in the gaps in our drawing collection, and we’ve since built several Bristols as well.” The list of TVAL’s ‘products’, for want of a better term, has grown and grown. For the Fokker D.VIII was built an Oberursel engine; for the FE2b, an original 160hp Beardmore powerplant rendered the project possible, but most of the airframe had to be made from scratch. As ever, this used materials identical to those at the disposal of the Royal Aircraft Factory in period, but with the aid of modern techniques and machinery. A long-running programme of BE2 family aircraft resulted first in a reproduction early-model BE2c, then restored original BE2f A1325, a pair of replica BE2es and a second, late-model BE2c. Then there have been three each of RE8s and Sopwith Snipes, four Albatros D.Vas and a stunning

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de Havilland (America) DH-4, all replicated to the utmost degree. “The Albatros was particularly challenging”, comments Gene. “No drawings exist, and there are only two originals in the world, one at the Smithsonian and one at Canberra. We had to completely reverse-engineer it. Not only that, but we had to make everything for that airplane — the metric streamlined tubing, the wheels, the tyres, the instruments. I had to have special cable made to reproduce the original cables they used nearly 100 years ago. And we built the Mercedes [D.III] engine. It was a phenomenal accomplishment. “I’m blessed to have a really talented staff. They’re very clever. We had the opportunity to digitally scan an original airplane [the example at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra] and produce our own drawings for that airplane. The scans were so accurate that you can actually see the coat of paint on it.”

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Of the four D.Vas, one was TVAL’s ‘prototype’, the second for Kermit Weeks (who also commissioned the first airworthy Snipe), the third for the RAF Museum and the most recent for Oliver Wulff, who bases it in the UK with the World War One Aviation Heritage Trust. The involvement with the RAF Museum offers an excellent example of how TVAL works closely with other organisations. The Albatros replica used an original Mercedes engine from RAFM stocks, while production of the RE8, briefly flown with it before the two aircraft were grounded for display at Hendon, was aided by a rudder, wing and fuselage parts from the museum’s holdings being employed as patterns. With them to the UK came the RAFM’s Snipe, completed for static exhibition only, which is a composite of original and replica items. British skies are now graced by a TVAL reproduction Snipe, brought here to join the World War One Aviation Heritage Trust (WAHT) fleet. Says Gene, “It’s great having the Snipe here, and I hope I can find a buyer for it

and thus remember the exploits of 1914-18 aviators. It stemmed in part from the RAF Museum’s Albatros and RE8 being allowed to fly for a time. “So many people wrote to me to say it was a real shame they were going to be stuck in a museum and never flown any more. I thought they had a real point there. Our idea was to set something up where people could fund these airplanes, make sure that they came to the UK, make sure that they stayed here, and give World War One aviation exclusively a home. “We have a presence at Stow Maries, we have a presence at Bicester. It’ll be fantastic if we can base a collection of aircraft here in the UK for people to enjoy for the next 100 years. With what we build, we have the parts and the engineering to support those airplanes well into the future. “Any of us would be foolish to say we know it all, and the idea of having these collaborations is that we can tap into the knowledge that other groups have. For example, the guys at La Ferté Alais know French airplanes inside and out, they have a good handle on some of the World War One types that were operated by the French, so they have their own expertise. We do the same with Kermit Weeks and Javier Arango. They also hold items in their collections that are very handy for us either to duplicate or, sometimes, trade. These collaborations are very important to us.” The experts of France’s Memorial Flight, with its workshops at Dugny and flying aircraft at La Ferté Alais, are among those working closely alongside TVAL. On trips to La Ferté, Gene has piloted the Memorial Flight’s Fokker D.VII and SPAD XIII, and in 2014 he made the maiden flights of the LVG C.VI replica built by the organisation for TVAL. “The flying characteristics leave a little to be desired, but it’s certainly a beautiful airplane. The engine is spectacular, the big Benz Bz IV with 240hp [overhauled by TVAL]. The Memorial Flight association has done a fabulous job.” Which of the First World War aircraft does Gene most enjoy, then? “I do love the Sopwith Camel. It’s one of my favourites. A difficult airplane to fly,

‘We use some of the latest technology in building 100-year-old designs’ and the second BE2e, or a sponsor for it through WAHT, so it can stay. We really pride ourselves on bringing back these types that have never been seen anywhere. It’s one of the things that we’ve started with the WAHT. A lot of these airplanes should be here in the UK, and should be flown where they have a real history.” Gene is one of the WAHT trustees, the intention being to operate a range of Great War types from these shores

since it’s quite short-coupled and a bit unstable. I like the original Bristol, too, with the Rolls-Royce Falcon engine. We recently built a Bristol with a 300hp Hispano-Suiza engine [for the Salis family’s Casques de Cuir collection at La Ferté Alais], and that’s phenomenal. It’s right up there with my favourite World War One airplanes. Then again, on a nice, calm evening there’s absolutely nothing better than one of the BE2s. A smooth-running, 90hp V8 engine with

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meets GENE DeMARCO a big propeller, slow speed, two seats so you can take somebody with you — it’s just fabulous. “Flying the airplanes is great — you can get out there on a beautiful evening and have a spectacular flight — but it’s not as memorable as meeting somebody who actually has a connection to the airplanes for real. Some of the most interesting [times] have been when I’ve just displayed an airplane like the FE2b, for example, someone comes up whose grandfather flew them, and they’ve brought with them a handful of little photographs. Those are the most memorable experiences for me.” One of the issues the historic aviation world must confront is the need to bring forth a new generation of restorers, engineers and pilots. TVAL’s work is addressing this. As Gene remarks, “It takes a really dedicated group to keep [these aircraft] going. I’ve brought one of the young fellas with me here — he’s been helping to push the airplanes around and fuel them. He’s a pilot, so we’ve just got him into his first World War One airplane to fly. I’ve had Jean Munn, the chief engineer

here [at Shuttleworth], flying the Snipe as his first rotary airplane.” What of the future for TVAL? “We’re expanding a wee bit, in that I’ve found a lot of other groups that need our services. I’ve had people like Bentley and Rolls-Royce clubs wanting engine parts made, guys with World War Two airplanes needing parts… We’re uniquely positioned to do just that, because we have a Part 148 manufacturing approval, we’re an ICAO country so I can issue Form 1s — it’s a very good position for us to be in. We’ve really mastered manufacturing some very high-tech bits, stuff like engine castings, oil pumps, magnetos, carburettors, wheels, tyres. We’re at the point where we’ve been building airplanes for the last 13 years, we have a bit of an inventory so items are available for sale and trade, and I can free up some manufacturing time for other projects.” First World War aircraft, though, remain absolutely central to TVAL’s activities. “I’m building another Bristol, I’m building another Snipe, I’ve a couple of Pups available and I’m going to do another Albatros. Oh, and we’re restoring

the Farman [F40] we got from the RAF Museum, which is going to fly soon.” And what of those World War One types Gene and his team are yet to tackle? “One of the twin-engined bombers would be exciting — I’ve seen that Caudron G.IV hanging up in the Smithsonian with its two 80hp Le Rhônes, and always wondered whether they blip the engines separately! At the Canada Aviation Museum I’ve seen the AEG G.IV, which looks magnificent. I’ve just been spending a lot of time flying a floatplane in New Zealand, which is another passion of mine, and there are some really interesting World War One floatplanes which it might be good to experiment with.” Even for a man whose flying experience takes in such ‘heavy metal’ as the P-40 and Corsair, First World War aircraft clearly remain central to Gene DeMarco’s aeronautical passion. He and TVAL are doing much to renew attention upon the flying machines of the 1914-18 period, an area often overlooked, but no longer. Above all, as Gene says of TVAL’s work, “It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to see some amazing airplanes.”

ABOVE: Gene with Shuttleworth chief pilot ‘Dodge’ Bailey (left) and New Zealand warbird pilot Keith Skilling (right) shortly after reassembly of the Albatros and Snipe at Old Warden this summer. DARREN HARBAR ABOVE: Low over Old Warden in Oliver Wulff’s Albatros D.Va, the latest TVAL reproduction of the type to have been completed. DARREN HARBAR

RIGHT: Sopwith Snipe ‘F2367’ is among the aircraft for which Gene hopes to find a buyer or sponsor in order to enable its acquisition by WAHT. BEN DUNNELL

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Hornby F_P.indd 1

15/09/2015 10:03

AIRCREW: HANSA-BRANDENBURG

HANSA-BRANDENBURG ABOVE: A HansaBrandenburg W.29 of the Imperial German Navy gets the upper hand in a fierce combat with a Felixstowe flying boat over the North Sea in 1918.

T

he seaplanes produced by the Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke were a remarkably effective range of maritime combat aircraft of the Great War, designed by Ernst Heinkel. As well as the conventional N biplane two-seater adapted with floats as the NW (the W for ‘Wasserflugzeug’ or water-aeroplane), there was

the single-seat Hansa-Brandenburg KDW fighter, also adapted to use a float undercarriage. This was then ‘stretched’ with a rear cockpit for an observer gunner, to make the W.12, the first of the family to be identifiable by virtue of the trademark inverted rudder, this enabling an uninterrupted field of fire for the gunner. Further development saw the monoplane W.19, itself improved further into the W.33, which entered production just before the armistice. Few in number, these were some of the war’s most outstanding combat aircraft.

The German crews used them for a remarkable range of activities, primarily scouting reconnaissance, but they would attack whatever and whenever they could, harassing ships and submarines as well as aircraft — including airships as the opportunity arose. They liaised with U-boats, landing on the open sea when conditions permitted. On occasion, they were used to attack and capture British shipping at sea, being able to land by the ship under examination. Nicknamed the ‘Hornets of Zeebrügge’, after their main occupied

ABOVE: A classic shot of one of the W.29 monoplanes reveals the (for the time) clean cantilever wing structure. VIA JAMES KIGHTLY LEFT: A wealth of detail can be made out as the crew prepares to lower the running floatplane down the ramp. VIA JAMES KIGHTLY

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Aircrew WORDS: JAMES KIGHTLY ARTWORK: IAN BOTT (www.ianbottillustration.co.uk)

View from the office…

FLOATPLANE Belgian base, they even ventured as far as British mainland ports and inland. After a bombing raid against English southern ports on 19 March 1916, Oberleutnant der Reserve der Matrosen-Artillerie Friedrich Christiansen was flying the FrontSeeflugstation commander, Kapitänleutnant von Tschirschky und Bögendorff, in Hansa-Brandenburg NW 521 when they were attacked by surprise. Christiansen recalled: “A hailstorm of hits on our aircraft. The radiator line was shot away and a valve-rocker on one engine cylinder was destroyed. In addition Kptnltn von Tschirschky und Bögendorff was shot in the shoulder and grazed on the head, and therefore could no longer use his Mauser automatic rifle — at the time seaplanes did not yet have machine guns.” They soon lost their attacker, who thought they had been shot down, and staggered along. According to one account, Bögendorff made “running repairs to the damaged engine” while standing on the wing. Eventually alighting on the water — in a minefield — they found that one float had been holed by a shell, which AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Typical of the better two-seaters of the period, the Hansa-Brandenburg’s crew flew back-to-back. The pilot sat aft of the upper wing centre section in the W.12 biplane, and above the wing in the monoplanes. He had an excellent view in almost all directions, excepting the lower wing. The aircraft was equipped with conventional controls of the era for the inline upright engine and flying surfaces, and one or two fixed forwardfiring machine guns. The observer/ gunner stood behind with his single gun mounted on the cockpit rim. Unlike other aircraft of the era, the HansaBrandenburgs were usually equipped with wireless ABOVE: A heavily-armed W.12 transmitters, shows the close cockpits of the enabling them to pilot (note his control wheel) and send sighting reports the observer. Visibility from the or summon help, for monoplane versions was even defence or attack. better. VIA JAMES KIGHTLY

I was there…

Leutnant Fritz Stormer, observer

“Our Hansa-Brandenburg aircraft were superior to the British flying boats in terms of speed, manoeuvrability and armament… on the other hand, the drag of our twin floats put us at a serious disadvantage if we were ambushed by British or French land-based fighters. Our best defence was to fly in tight formation, close to the water.”

Daily Mail, 1915

The Copenhagen correspondent reported in December 1915 on a recovered wreck: “It was equipped with wireless, photographic apparatus, and guns.”

Leutnant Fritz Stormer, observer

ABOVE: Pictured in 1933, Friedrich Christiansen had reached the rank of Kapitänleutnant der Reserve der Matrosen-Artillerie in 1918 and was the doyen of German seaplane pilots with more than 20 victories over aircraft (including one airship) and 10 ships. VIA JAMES KIGHTLY

thankfully had not gone off. With the leaking float causing complications, they repaired the hose, re-filled the radiator with sea water and managed to find their way back on what had become a seven-hour return journey. Effective machines to the war’s end, the Hansa-Brandenburg floatplanes

“Since the submarine was now going full steam ahead, that reinforced the thought that the boat had been rendered unable to dive when the five Hansa-Brandenburgs opened fire. As we later learned first-hand during a test on the docks at Bruges, the SMK [Stahlmantelgeschosse, steel-jacketed] bullets could penetrate the smooth pressure hull of a submarine.”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Only one of the family survives. An IVL A.22 Hansa, the post-war Finnish licence-built version of the HansaBrandenburg W.33, is on show at the Suomen ilmailumuseo (Finnish Aviation Museum) near Helsinki Airport in Vantaa. Quotes via Peter Kilduff’s ‘Germany’s First Air Force 1914-1918’ (Arms & Armour, 1991) and ‘Luftwaffe Fighter Bombers Over Britain’ by Goss, Cornwell and Rauchbach (Stackpole, 2010).

found wide post-war use and further development by the maritime forces of Denmark, Finland Holland, Norway and Japan, some as late as the 1930s. www.aeroplanemonthly.com 73

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DATABASE ARMSTRONG WHITWORTH METEOR NIGHT FIGHTERS WORDS: TONY BUTTLER AMRAeS

INTRODUCTION TECHNICAL DETAILS IN SERVICE IN INSIGHTS

17

P76 P83 P86 P90

New era for night fighting In the heat of the night Testing times From the cockpit

IN-DEPTH PAGES

MAIN IMAGE: Meteor NF14 WS744 from No 85 Squadron at RAF West Malling, Kent. CROWN COPYRIGHT

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Meteor night fighters

New era for nig How the Meteor became the RAF’s first jet night fighter

ABOVE: The first Meteor NF11 prototype was WA546, flown at the end of May 1950. AEROPLANE

T

he de Havilland Mosquito was a huge success, but the advances made in military aircraft development following the end of the Second World War soon rendered the night fighter versions of this piston-powered aircraft obsolescent. In fact, the need for a replacement became quite urgent because the Mosquito was incapable of dealing with the new jet bombers expected to join the Soviet Union’s air arms. Therefore, in January 1947 specification F.44/46 was raised to open a programme for a new night fighter — this eventually led to the Gloster Javelin. However, for a number of reasons that aircraft’s development proved to be long and slow (the Javelin did not enter service until 1956), so in due course an interim Mosquito replacement with improved performance was also proposed to fill the gap. The 76 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

result was the night fighter version of the Gloster Meteor. Gloster’s first night fighter brochure was put together in October 1948. It described a converted two-seat Meteor T7 trainer powered by Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 engines. The design showed a 5ft (1.52m) extension to the basic Meteor nose to accommodate a 28in (71cm)diameter airborne interception AI MkIXB radar scanner (the development of the AI MkIXB, subsequently Mk9B, was abandoned in 1949). The project was accepted, but at this time Gloster was full up with single-seat Meteor work, so the night fighter development programme was farmed out to Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Ltd (AWA) at Coventry which, like Gloster Aircraft, was a member of the Hawker Siddeley Group. This company’s design team was led by H. R. Watson. Separate to this,

from September 1945 Meteor F3 EE348 had been used as a radar test-bed with an American AN/ APS-4 radar (called the AI Mk15 in the UK) mounted in its nose. Specification F.24/48 of February 1949 covered the new Meteor interim night fighter, which, it was now decided, was to be fitted with the AI Mk10 radar. This was the designation given to the American SCR-720B equipment. Two crew were required because this radar could not be operated just by the pilot, which was why the aircraft had to be based on the T7. The Meteor trainer’s windscreen and canopy were revised, and the pilot and a navigator/radar operator were to be seated in tandem in a new pressure cabin; ejection seats were not required. Performance had to be comparable with that of the Meteor F4, and a speed of 435kt (806km/h) was considered acceptable when carrying

underwing drop tanks. Endurance of at least two hours was required at 30,000ft (9,144m), in addition to fuel for 15 minutes’ combat. A mock-up was completed at the end of 1948 and Armstrong Whitworth at Bitteswell converted T7 VW413 into an aerodynamic test prototype. It featured a 4ft (1.2m)-longer nose, and in this form was first flown on 28 January 1949 by Armstrong Whitworth test pilot Bill Else. In March the F8’s tailplane was added to VW413, extending overall length to 48ft 6in (14.8m). Sqn Ldr Eric G. Franklin DFC AFC, the company chief test pilot, took the re-configured aircraft into the air on 8 April. As such, VW413 was now considered to be aerodynamically representative of the NF11, the designation given to the new night fighter mark. The Aeroplane & Armament Experimental Establishment at Boscombe Down performed brief AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

DATABASE Meteor night fighters

handling, longitudinal stability and manoeuvre tests on VW413 in September and October 1949 with the objective of gathering advance information on the night fighter’s potential flying qualities. In general it was considered that the type would have adequate longitudinal stability for night operations, but it was recommended that lighter ailerons should be fitted to improve the lateral control qualities and that the landing characteristics be investigated further because of excessive ‘float’. Pilots considered that this would be a hazard on a normal-length runway at night, so an opportunity had arisen to increase drag in the landing configuration to the benefit of the aircraft overall. With an F8-style tailplane and a pressurised cockpit, the first true night fighter prototype was WA546, which flew on 31 May 1950. Franklin was again in the pilot’s seat. This was a completely AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

new airframe, although to save time many of the NF11’s major components were similar to or even interchangeable with those of the single-seat Meteors. In particular, the wing was very similar to that used by the PR10 or the earlier F3, with rounded tips and a span of 43ft (13.1m) because the higher wing area was required to balance the additional weight. However, because the nose had to house the interception radar scanner, the four 20mm cannon had been displaced to the wings. At one stage WA546 appeared with wingtip tanks but these were never standard. Every NF11 had a distinctive fairing on the bottom of its radome to cover the lower bearing bracket carrying the scanner, which protruded outside the line of the lower fuselage. The fuselage still resembled the T7, with the pilot and navigator seated under a massive canopy, which hinged to

starboard. Cabin pressurisation came from tapping the Derwent 8 compressor to give an equivalent cabin altitude of 24,000ft (7,315m) at 40,000ft (12,192m). WA546 was used for radar development testing at Defford. The second prototype was WA547, and the third WB543, which featured a strengthened centre section, wings and undercarriage and was identical to the planned production standard except for a different radar, the AI Mk17 (also carried by WA547). WB543 was delivered in June 1952 and the first production NF11 was WD585, which became airborne on 19 October 1950. WD590 onwards introduced spring-tab ailerons which considerably improved the type’s flying characteristics, control harmony between ailerons and elevator, and the rate of roll. Another aircraft fitted with wingtip tanks rather than the normal underwing variety was

WD604, tested by the A&AEE in March and April 1952. Without external wing tanks the NF11’s handling characteristics with the standard and modified wingtips (with or without tip fairings) were found to be near-identical, but the modifications required to fit tip tanks could not be introduced to the production line for about another year. That meant retrospective modifications for a large number of aircraft already delivered, which would be expensive, so the tip tanks were abandoned. In future the NF’s internal fuel capacity was usually supplemented by both ventral and underwing tanks. Incidentally, for combat the NF11 would release its external underwing tanks but keep the ventral tank. In August 1951, AWA reported that extra landing flaps outboard of the nacelles had been flight-tested and later production Meteors would incorporate them. www.aeroplanemonthly.com 77

DEVELOPMENT

night fighting

Meteor night fighters

ABOVE: Meteor T7 VW413 was given first the NF11’s longer nose and then an F8-style tail for aerodynamic trials. AEROPLANE

The first production contract was placed on 31 May 1949. It covered 200 aircraft delivered between November 1950 and December 1952 with serials WD585-WD634, WD640-WD689, WD696-WD745 and WD751WD800. A second contract for 192 examples followed on 22 December 1950, but in the event 40 of these were delivered as NF12s (see below). The NF11 serials were WM143-WM192, WM221-WM270, WM292WM307 and WM368-WM403, delivered from July 1952 until March 1953. The first aircraft to join the RAF was WD599 with No 29 Squadron at Tangmere in 1951.

The first squadron to re-equip on the type, in March of that year, was No 39 at Fayid.

NF12

The next development was the NF12. Here the nose was even longer but better streamlined to accommodate an American APS-57 radar. Another visible change would in due course be the fairing-in of the tail ‘acorn’, to improve the airflow and help to balance the additional side area of the nose. With the British designation AI Mk21, the APS-57 was a big improvement over the wartime AI Mk10. It could detect

targets at twice the Mk10’s range — up to 20 miles (32km) for larger targets and 15 miles (24km) for a Meteor-size aeroplane — and the navigator was able to direct its scanner with a joystick rather than the set of tilt-selectors provided for the older equipment. In addition, the AI Mk21 had an ASV (anti-surface vessel) capability, and experienced navigators found that the Mk21 set would show runways and airfield detail quite well; consequently, that allowed them to use the equipment as a landing aid. NF11 WD670 was re-fitted for a trial installation as a prototype

NF13

The next night fighter variant to fly, though numerically third in the list of designations, was the NF13, a ‘minimum-change’ aircraft externally near-identical to the NF11 but specially kitted-out with tropical equipment for service in the Middle East, a region to which the earlier mark was not suited. Extra equipment took the form of a cold air ventilating or air conditioning system plus a radio compass (the latter marked by a D/F loop aerial placed underneath the cockpit canopy behind the navigator). These changes made the new version 450lb (204kg) heavier than the original NF11. On 23 December 1952, AWA’s Flt Lt J. O. Lancaster DFC took the first example, WM308, into the air. The 40 NF13s manufactured, serials WM308-WM341 and WM362-WM367, were delivered between January and March 1953. 78 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

ABOVE: Early production NF11 WD597 posed for a series of publicity photographs. Note the cannon protruding from the wing leading edge. VIA TONY BUTTLER

and introduced what in the end proved to be a 17in (43.2cm) nose extension that took overall length up to 49ft 11in (15.21m). The Mk21 also saw the removal of the earlier under-nose fairing. The extra weight was compensated for by the addition of more powerful 3,800lb Derwent 9 engines, which boasted an improved re-lighting capability. This not only enabled the powerplant to be revived at higher altitudes, but gave the crew the added comfort of more consistent overall engine re-lighting characteristics. Boscombe Down acquired WD670 with its new nose (but at the time still with Derwent 8s) for brief handling trials in June and July 1952. Handling both with and without underwing tanks was considered to be satisfactory and similar to the NF11. However, the extended nose had produced a marked destabilising effect directionally and rudder overbalance was found during sideslips at low altitude, while at high altitude severe fin stalling was encountered, described as “a most unpleasant and dangerous characteristic.” As a result a second NF12 prototype was produced. WD687 was another former NF11 re-fitted with the extended nose to make it aerodynamically fully representative of the NF12. However, it introduced a modified fin with fillets both above and below the tail ‘acorn’ bullet, which increased the gross fin area by approximately a square foot. These changes, together with a 17.5° restriction each way on the AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

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DEVELOPMENT

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rudder travel, eliminated both the fin stalling and the rudder over-balance troubles — they also provided satisfactory handling. The order covering 100 NF12s (and also 100 NF14s) was placed on 28 February 1951, but at that point it referred to additional NF11s. It was subsequently amended, and the NF12 production serials were WS590WS639, WS658-WS700 and WS715-WS721, all delivered between May and September 1953. Eric Franklin made WS590’s maiden flight on 21 April 1953, and the first unit to receive the NF12 was No 238 Operational Conversion Unit.

NF14

The ultimate Meteor night fighter was the NF14. It used the same equipment as the NF12 but introduced some improvements, not least in that the old ‘Forth Bridge’ greenhouse canopy was discarded and replaced by a two-piece, clear-vision, blown sliding hood which when assembled showed all the characteristics of a frameless canopy. The view out was much better than on earlier marks, and

ABOVE: No 25 Squadron NF12 WS719 on a training sortie out of Waterbeach. KEY COLLECTION

according to Flight this hood was “immensely popular” with the crews of No 85 Squadron, one of the units to receive the new type. The magazine’s article added that the NF14 was officially described as “the fastest version of the Meteor yet produced” (one assumes this referred to the night fighter Meteors only). It had apparently been intended to fit the American APQ-43 radar into the NF14, but by now the Meteor night fighter’s future was very short-term and it just wasn’t worth the design effort to undertake such a modification. The APQ-43’s dish was also too large to fit inside the current nose, although the nose on the NF14 itself was longer than previously, a 17in (43.2cm) stretch taking the overall length to 51ft 4in (15.65m) and making

this the longest night fighter variant of all. Production NF11 WM261 was used for a trial installation of the clear long sliding hood canopy, which made it a ‘prototype’ NF14. The A&AEE at Boscombe tested WM261’s new hood in the blower tunnel in 1953, the Establishment stating that this feature was an improvement and had been declared safe. An auto-stabiliser was used to eliminate high altitude instability, and for the first time ejection seats were installed in a night fighter Meteor. The first production aeroplane was WS722. It made its maiden flight from Baginton on 23 October 1953, piloted by Bill Else. Deliveries started on 6 November and the first front-line unit to get the new mark was No 25 Squadron from March 1954

onwards. The 100 NF14s produced carried serials WS722WS760, WS774-WS812 and WS827-WS848, and were delivered between November 1953 and May 1954. Strangely, development of the NF12 and NF14 was not made public until December 1953 and April 1954 respectively, some time after their first flights had been recorded. Manufacture of the entire run of night fighter Meteors was undertaken by AWA at Baginton, and the type became the standard RAF night fighter until the Javelin entered service. Production for the RAF amounted to 355 NF11s (including three prototypes), 100 NF12s, 40 NF12s and 100 NF14s. Such was the NF14’s popularity within the service that it became known as the ‘queen of the skies’, but sources also report that

BELOW: A three-ship of Meteor NF13s from No 39 Squadron. Nearest the camera is WM308, the first example of the mark. AEROPLANE

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Meteor M Me ete teor or night n niight fighter fi fighters ghters

ABOVE: Meteor NF14 WS841 No 264 Squadron, RAF CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY

during exercises the type was incapable of reaching the flying altitudes of RAF jet bombers like the Canberra, and so could not intercept them. After withdrawal from the front line, the radars were removed from some NF14s and replaced by UHF radios, which gave them a new lease of life as training aircraft. As such, the modified type was known unofficially as the ‘NF(T)14’.

TT20

The NF14 did not mark the end of the Meteor night fighter story, because in 1956 the NF11 was turned into the TT20 target tug for the Royal Navy. The Fleet Air Arm’s piston-powered Fairey Firefly tugs needed to be replaced, while those NF11 airframes replaced in the front line by NF14s were now surplus, so it proved ideal to convert the Meteors. Specification TT179D was drawn up to cover the tug Meteor, and altogether 50 examples were modified to satisfy the Navy’s requirements for a high-speed aeroplane to tow targets for both shore and ship-based ground-toair gunnery practice, at home or overseas. The conversion involved mounting a wind-driven (windmill) ML Aviation G-Type winch on a pylon over the starboard inner wing between the engine nacelle and fuselage. This was used to pay out or haul in a 6,100ft (1,860m)-long cable. A tail guard prevented any fouling of the rear control surfaces by the cable. The fact that the NF11 was a two-seat aircraft was important because an operator in the rear

ABOVE: Second production NF14 WS723 in the colours of No 85 Squadron. CROWN COPYRIGHT

cockpit was responsible not only for the winch but also a cable cutter, which in the event of an emergency could dispose of the target. The TT20 could carry four 3ft by 15ft (0.9m by 4.6m) or 4ft by 20ft (1.2m by 6.1m) high-speed, radar-responsive sleeve targets stowed in the rear fuselage and launch them while flying. The targets themselves carried ‘near-miss’ recording gear plus a conductive cable and target microphone, so that hits and nearmisses could be signalled via the towing cable to an indicator on the rear cockpit control panel. The four targets were housed in cylindrical canisters and the door of a ‘D-section’ mouth projecting at the lower end through the fuselage skin would open downwards to eject a target. Successive targets could be released in the air with new ones substituted. Both the radar and all of the guns were taken out, but such was the weight of the winch and its cable that the TT20’s all-up weight,

and thus its performance and general flight characteristics, proved to be little different from the NF11. WD767 served as the TT20 prototype and first flew in this modified form on 5 December 1956. Previously an NF14, WS844, had in 1955 trialled the towing of a banner target, and over an eight-year period starting in 1957 TT20s were used to investigate the towing characteristics of a range of targets. Twenty British and six Danish aircraft were converted by Armstrong Whitworth at Bitteswell, and the remaining British examples by the Royal Navy Air Yard at Sydenham, Belfast.

Projects

AWA made at least five proposals for further developments of the NF11. Three had new engines — the AW60 was to be powered by Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire jets, the AW61 by Rolls-Royce Nenes and the AW62 by de Havilland Goblins (this third study appears to have been drawn in October 1950 specifically for the

Swedish Air Force). On top of this there was the AW63 fitted with the APQ-43 radar, while the AW64 introduced staggered side-byside seating and wingtip tanks. There was a proposed study into flap blowing where an NF11 was to be modified by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Four Turbomeca Palouste wingtip jets would be fitted, and run at maximum rpm to blow air through a 0.04in (1.02mm)-wide blowing slot. All equipment not required for the trial would be removed but the radar operator’s seat was retained in order to accommodate an engineer observer. It was proposed to fit plain flaps both inboard and outboard of the main engines, provision would be made for drooping the ailerons, and the option was there to blow air over both the flaps and the ailerons or just the flaps alone. The drawing was dated 22 February 1955, and the aircraft allocated for the tests was prototype WA546, but this proposal was not turned into hardware.

BELOW: TT20 WD767 towing a target banner. KEY COLLECTION

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Anatomy of the Meteor

night fighter

ABOVE: Meteor NF11 WD617 powers into the air, showing well the long ‘radar nose’. AEROPLANE

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he Meteor night fighter had a long, slender fuselage, a low wing and a tricycle undercarriage. Its wing was tapered on both the leading and trailing edges and the horizontal tail was located high on the fin. The inner mainplanes and fuselage were assembled from three main units: a front section with the nose wheel, a centre fuselage and wing centre section which included the nacelles and main landing gear, and the rear fuselage and empennage. Their structure employed all-metal stressedskin manufacture throughout. The fuselage was built around four longerons, with the front made up from a stiff internal box-like structure, around which was attached a lighter contour-forming framework and skin. Along with the engines and their nacelles, the centre section included the main fuel tank and provided attachments for the Dowty tricycle undercarriage. The four longerons were then carried on through into the rear fuselage AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

where they were built up to receive the light alloy stressed skin. The mainplanes had a conventional two-spar structure, again with a light alloy stressed-skin covering, and the

rear spar was provided with additional depth to accommodate the jet pipes in a feature known as the ‘banjo’. Six main ribs were employed in the wing centre section with both spars and ribs built in stainless

METEOR NF SPECIFICATIONS POWERPLANTS NF11 and NF13: two Rolls-Royce Derwent 8s, 3,700lb thrust each NF12 and NF14: two Rolls-Royce Derwent 9s, 3,800lb thrust each DIMENSIONS Span: Length: Height:

NF11 AND NF13 43ft 0in (13.11m) 48ft 6in (14.78m) 13ft 11in (4.24m)

NF12 43ft 0in (13.11m) 49ft 11in (15.21m) 13ft 11in (4.24m)

NF14 43ft 0in (13.11m) 51ft 4in (15.65m) 13ft 11in (4.24m)

GROSS WEIGHT (without external tanks) NF11: 16,542lb (7,503kg) NF13: 17,223lb (7,812kg) NF12: 16,990lb (7,707kg) NF14: 17,287lb (7,841kg) PERFORMANCE Maximum level speed: NF11: 580mph (933km/h) at sea level, 547mph (880km/h) at 30,000ft (9,144m) NF14: 585mph (941km/h) at 10,000ft Ceiling: NF11 and NF13: 40,000ft (12,192m) NF14: 43,000ft (13,107m) ARMAMENT Four wing-mounted 20mm cannon

steel, and the wing had simple all-metal ailerons together with (between the nacelles and fuselage) hydraulically-operated split flaps, plus slotted airbrakes on both upper and lower surfaces. The all-metal tail used two-spar stressed-skin construction; its fin was integrated with the fuselage, and both the rudders and elevators were all-metal. The above all relates to the Meteor single-seat day and two-seat night fighters and trainers, but the NFs introduced a pressurised T7 trainer-type fuselage with an extended nose to house the radar scanner. They had long-span wings with the four 20mm guns mounted outboard of the engine nacelles, an F8-style tail unit and external tanks which were considered to be a normal fitting. The large forward portion of the nose was made of dielectric material to permit the scanner to operate properly, and in the cockpit the pilot was seated at the front with the radar operator/navigator behind. All of the structure between the nosewheel bulkhead and the front wing spar bulkhead had been sealed to form a pressure cabin, with pressurisation supplied by tapping the Derwent 8 engine’s compressor. On the NF11, NF12 and NF13 the crew were enclosed under a single, heavily-framed hood which was hinged for access and which, in an emergency, could be jettisoned by either occupant. The NF14 introduced the two-piece clear-view sliding canopy on rails plus MartinBaker ejection seats — the long dorsal protuberance on the NF14 was a guide rail for the canopy. The main internal tank held 325 gallons (1,478 litres) of fuel, and the night fighters could carry a 180-gallon (818-litre) ventral tank and two underwing external tanks. www.aeroplanemonthly.com 81

TECHNICAL DETAILS

The role modifications produced an aircraft that looked very different to its day fighter brethren

Meteor night fighters Meteor NF14

Meteor NF11

Meteor NF14

Meteor NF14

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In the heat of

the night Never ideal for the role, the NF Meteors nevertheless served the RAF well

IN SERVICE

ABOVE: The first Meteor NF11 operator was No 29 Squadron at Tangmere. It flew the type from July 1951. KEY COLLECTION

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eplacement of the ageing Mosquito night fighters began in July 1951 when the first Meteor NF11 was delivered to No 29 Squadron at Tangmere. By August this unit was fully equipped, and had to perform the task of introducing a jet fighter to the role. By the end of the year three more squadrons had converted. As of 1954 the UK-based Meteor units operating NF11s within Fighter Command were No 29 Squadron still at Tangmere, 85 at West Malling (which flew the NF11 from September 1951 to August 1954), 141 (Coltishall, September 1951 to September 1955), 151 (Leuchars, April 1953 to September 1955) and lastly 264 at Linton-on-Ouse (November 1951 to November 1954). As it turned out, 29 also proved to be the last squadron to use this version, relinquishing its final examples in November 1957. Within Fighter Command the Meteors shared their night fighting role firstly with the Vampire NF10 and later the follow-on Venom NF2 and NF3. During 1952, the NF11 made its appearance in Germany when AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

it joined Nos 68 and 87 Squadrons serving with the 2nd Tactical Air Force. In due course the front-line squadrons to receive the mark were Nos 68 and 87 based at Wahn and 96 and 256 at Ahlhorn. 68 acquired its aircraft from March 1952; the unit was re-numbered as No 5 Squadron in January 1959 and kept the version until August 1960, while 87 used the NF11 between March 1952 and November 1957. 96 re-formed

on the night fighter in November 1952 and gave it up in January 1959. 256 re-equipped in November 1952 — another unit to see a change of number, it became No 11 Squadron in January 1959, and under its new identity it kept the by then quite dated NF11 right through until March 1962. At one point, 68 put together a three-aircraft display team on the NF11. Many surplus examples subsequently found their way to overseas air arms.

ABOVE: A simulated night scramble by an NF11 crew. VIA TONY BUTTLER

Since only 40 examples of the NF13 were built, specifically for tropical use, no UK-based front-line units were ever equipped with the mark. It served only with Nos 39 and 219 Squadrons, both of which, to begin with, were based at Kabrit in the Suez Canal Zone. They re-formed on the NF13 in March and April 1953 respectively (219 had also used the NF11 briefly from October 1952), but with the British withdrawal from the Canal Zone 219 was disbanded in September 1954 and 39 was moved to Luqa in Malta; the latter lost its NF13s in June 1958. Surplus examples were subsequently refurbished by AWA and delivered to Egypt, France, Israel and Syria. Although overall the Meteor night fighters stayed in the front line for a reasonable period, the early NF11 was itself replaced by the NF12 and NF14 with their more modern airborne interception (AI) radars. The NF12 reached Fighter Command service in 1954 and went on to serve with eight squadrons: 25, first at Tangmere and later West Malling, operated the NF12 and www.aeroplanemonthly.com 83

Meteor night fighters

ABOVE: A four-ship of No 85 Squadron’s NF11s up from West Malling in May 1952. AEROPLANE

the NF14 between March 1954 and March 1959; 29 at Leuchars had the NF12 briefly from February to July 1958 (in fact, after it had begun to receive Javelins); 46 at Odiham flew it from August 1954 to March 1956 (the squadron used the NF14 over exactly the same period); 64 had NF12s at Duxford from August 1956 to September 1958; 72 at Church Fenton flew NF12s and NF14s between February 1956 and June 1959; the NF12 replaced the NF11 with West Mallingbased 85 in April 1954 and was flown by the squadron until October 1958, alongside the NF14 for the whole period; 152 at Wattisham had both NF12s and NF14s from June 1954 to July 1958; and, finally, 153 at West

Malling employed both from March 1955 to June 1958. Since the NF12 and NF14 used the same type of radar, they were operationally interchangeable, and RAF units could employ the two versions together quite easily. Therefore, the NF14 was flown alongside the NF12 by Nos 25, 46, 64 (which flew the NF14 from December 1956 to September 1958), 72, 85, 152 and 153 Squadrons, but in addition it equipped two further others. 264 at Linton-on-Ouse was the first, replacing the NF11 from October 1954 — this unit was redesignated as No 33 Squadron in September 1957 and then moved to Leeming, where it kept the NF14 until July 1958. Second was No 60 Squadron at Tengah in

Singapore, which used the NF14 between October 1959 and September 1961. The NF11, NF12 and NF14 went into service with the night fighter Operational Conversion Units, Nos 228 and 238 OCUs at Leeming and Colerne respectively. Other training units to fly night fighter Meteors included the Central Fighter Establishment’s All-Weather Night Wing and All-Weather Development Squadron, while examples also went to the Empire Test Pilots’ School. The first time the Meteor NF had a chance to prove itself came with Exercise ‘Ardent’, held between 4 and 12 October 1952. The type’s task was, in the main, to intercept incoming Avro

Lincoln and Boeing Washington piston-engined bombers, but the results were not particularly successful and suggested that the control systems needed to be improved. On top of this, many aircraft suffered from unserviceable radars, but the real worry was that a few English Electric Canberra jet bombers also took part and the participating night fighter force (which further included Vampire

ABOVE: WD630, a TT20 belonging to No 3 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit at Exeter. VIA TONY BUTTLER

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ABOVE: No 85 Squadron NF14s airborne over the South Coast of England. AEROPLANE

The NF11 was also used by No 527 Squadron, but not in a front-line capacity. Based at Watton, the calibration squadrons of the Central Signal Establishment were in August 1952 merged and re-designated as No 527 Squadron. Over the next few years this unit flew several different aircraft types, including some NF11s between January 1953 and August 1955. After their withdrawal from front-line service, some NF14s were refurbished, having the radar taken out and replaced by UHF radio. As such, these airframes were used by Nos 1 and 2 Air Navigation Schools based at Stradishall, where they stayed until 1965. The task of the re-fitted aircraft, now known as

‘NF(T)14s’ (although this apparently was not an official designation), was to provide practice for navigators in fast jet operations at low level and high speeds, a situation where current electronic aids could not match the human eyeball. These airframes had large areas of day-glo added to the camouflage, or in some cases were repainted in a silver/day-glo scheme. The TT20 target-towing conversion of the NF11 was in the end used by the RAF, the Royal Navy, Air Ministry/MoD experimental establishments, the Royal Danish Air Force and a Swedish civilian target-towing contractor. The type was at first intended for service with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Requirements

Units to provide target-towing services and radar targets for, and to make other forms of mock attacks against Royal Navy warships, enabling them to practice their air defence skills. As such the TT20 equipped 728 Squadron at Hal Far in Malta and the civilian-manned Fleet Requirements Unit based at Hurn in Dorset (which was operated by Airwork Ltd). When the TT20 entered RAF service it joined the civilian-manned UK-based Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Units (Nos 3 and 4 CAACUs at Exeter and No 5 CAACU at Woodvale), and in the Far East No 1574 Target Facility (TT) Flight in Singapore. From 1970 the Navy’s target tug Meteors were replaced by the Canberra TT18.

BELOW: Impressive formation flying by the NF14s of No 264 Squadron from Linton-on-Ouse. In the lead is WS841, its black fin and rudder bearing the code letters HMT for then unit CO Sqn Ldr H. M. Tudor DFC AFC. AEROPLANE

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IN SERVICE

NF10s) was unable to intercept any of them. These flaws helped prompt the arrival of the later Meteor NF marks. In flight the NF11 proved to be very heavy fore-and-aft, but laterally as light as a Meteor F8 single-seater. There were some development problems. For example, as noted, having the radar in the nose meant that the guns had to go in the wings — in fact, they were spaced up to 26ft (7.9m) apart, which meant that the normal ammunition belt feed mechanism would not fit. Consequently a new flat mechanism was used, but this kept stopping after just one round had been fired. In due course, better links improved the stoppage rate, but with the guns so far apart their shooting range and harmonisation became a critical element in the success of any interception. The NF14 was never involved in a conflict and its UK operations primarily involved interceptions of incoming unidentified aircraft, training, practice and exercises. No 46 Squadron was the first to lose its Meteors for the Javelin, while the last UK-based NF 14 squadron was 72. However, in the Far East the NF14 had a new lease of life, albeit a brief one, when it equipped No 60 Squadron, replacing its day fighters to provide all-weather defence for Singapore. This was the Meteor’s final front-line RAF service, and on 17 August 1961 WS787 performed the last operational sortie by an RAF Meteor night fighter, a patrol with No 60 Squadron.

Meteor night fighters

Testing times

Many modified Meteor night fighters contributed a good deal to development programmes

ABOVE: NF14 WS838 served with the Royal Radar Establishment at Pershore, the A&AEE at Boscombe Down and RAE Bedford. The attractive overall yellow scheme dated from its time with the RAE. PHIL BUTLER

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nlike the single-seat day fighter Meteors, the night fighters were not used to such a large extent as test-bed aircraft, but a good number were still employed in research work. In December 1953, three NF11s joined the Rapid Landing Flight at Martlesham Heath, a unit formed specially to assess the possibilities of recovering fighter aircraft in bad weather at very close time intervals. Betterknown, though, are several NF11s that took part in the firing trials of new and experimental air-to-air missiles and other missile systems. They proved ideal because the type’s lengthened nose provided valuable space for a variety of electronic equipment. For example, the Fairey Blue Sky beam-riding air-to-air weapon, eventually re-named 86 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

Fireflash, saw WD743, WD744 and WD745 being allotted to Fairey Aviation for trials. They operated with the firm from late 1952 until May 1959. To begin with they were based at Cranfield where the necessary modifications were undertaken, but after Fairey’s Cranfield site closed they moved on to Manchester’s Ringway airport, close to the Heaton Chapel factory where the missile work was centred. A more advanced air-to-air weapon was the de Havilland Blue Jay, which entered service as Firestreak. Three more NF11s (WM372, WM373 and WM374) were used for trials with this missile in Australia. Sent there in 1954-55, all three were based at Edinburgh Field, from where they conducted missile trials over the Woomera rocket range. For its trials programme WM374 was

painted glossy white overall; this aircraft was lost on 24 May 1958, but WM372 and WM373 continued in use until they were struck off charge in March 1960. Back home, between 1953 and 1958 WM232 was employed by de Havilland Propellers at Hatfield as a target for Blue Jay’s infra-red homing head. For this it was painted black overall and fitted with additional electronic equipment. WD604, after it had lost its wing-tip fuel tank installation, was involved with the Blue Jay trials programme at Hatfield too. Blue Jay/Firestreak was succeeded by the latergeneration Red Top infra-red air-to-air missile also developed by de Havilland Propellers, and for this programme NF12 WS635 found employment as a target aircraft from 1958 until 1962. More generally, the Air

Department of the Telecommunications Research Establishment (TRE) based at Defford used NF11 WM180 from 1953 for general ‘homing eye’ and camera development work. Other guided weapons to recruit NF Meteors in their development programmes included the Vickers Blue Boar TV-guided stand-off bomb designed for the ‘V-bomber’ force, which saw NF11s WM262 and WM295 being delivered to the Vickers airfield at Wisley in 1953. By the time Blue Boar was cancelled in 1954, WM262 had gone to Australia to take part in the weapons trials at Woomera. The massive Vickers Red Dean air-to-air missile (also cancelled, in 1956) was another to have a NF11 operating with the TRE, which by then had become the Radar Research Establishment (RRE), in this case WD686. AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

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ABOVE: NF11 WM374 fitted out to carry the Fairey Fireflash air-to-air missile. VIA TONY BUTTLER

performance proved to be so poor that it was eventually abandoned. In 1958, WD790 joined Ferranti Ltd at Edinburgh, where it was used as a target for air-to-surface missile radars. Afterwards this Meteor came back to the RRE to serve again as a test-bed for new radars, this time with the equipment under development for the forthcoming Panavia MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft, later the Tornado). Ferranti fitted a long, pointed nose radome to NF14 WM261 during 1960 for a Red Garter radar — the aircraft’s overall length in this new form became 57ft 8.65in (17.6m), which made it the longest Meteor ever flown. The company had WM261 registered as G-ARCX in September of that year for its role

as a radar development test-bed, but it was not flown as such until January 1963. Two further NF14s appeared on the British civilian register. Rolls-Royce had WS829 registered as G-ASLW in September 1963, using it as a ‘hack’. When the decision was taken to retire it in 1969, the aircraft was sold on and became part of an illicit effort to supply Meteors to Biafra, boosting the territory’s combat capabilities during its civil war with Nigeria. G-ASLW never made it, crashing off Cape Verde during its delivery flight on 6 November 1969. For the same reason, that August WS804 had been registered G-AXNE in the name of Target Towing Aircraft Ltd. Following Foreign Office intervention, it was impounded at Bissau.

BELOW: Ferranti’s NF14 G-ARCX on display during an event staged at Edinburgh’s Turnhouse airport in June 1968. ADRIAN M. BALCH COLLECTION

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IN SERVICE

Previously, WD686 had been involved with the trials held at Boscombe Down of the Green Cheese anti-submarine weapon, and after Red Dean was dropped it moved on to RAE Bedford. There it took part in gust research, remaining until 1967. Staying in the field of radar research, from 1952 WD686 and WD687 took part in the AI Mk17 development programme at TRE/ RRE Defford. WD687 was also used to test an AI Mk18 radar. Later WM295 went to Defford for airborne interception radar development work, and in due course NF14s WS832 and WS838 were selected for AI radar research at Defford. The RRE used NF11 WD790 in development of the Red Garter tail-warning radar device for the ‘V-bombers’, but this equipment’s

Meteor night g fighters g

NF Meteors

overseas Although by no means so prolific as the single-seat Meteor, the night fighter was exported in modest numbers

ABOVE: A fine study of Armée de l’Air-operated NF14-747 during its trials service with the Centre d’Essais en Vol. VIA TONY BUTTLER

A

ustralia

Australia acquired a large number of Meteor F8 day fighters, but in addition one of the NF11s sent over for the Blue Boar weapon trials, WM262, had RAAF serial A77-3 allocated. This was delivered in August 1953, but on 16 September 1955 it crashed when taking off at Mallala and was written off.

Belgium

Belgium acquired 24 former RAF Meteor NF11s in two batches of 12, delivered in 1952-53 and 1956 respectively. These were given Belgian Air Force serials EN-1 to EN-24 and covered the former WD726, WD775, WD777, WD728, WD729, WD730, WD727, WD731, WD732, WD733, WD735, WD736, WD602, WD724, WD622, WD594, 88 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

WD760, WD661, WD590, WD596, WD741, WD763, WM221 and WM263. Just as in the RAF, these machines replaced the Mosquito. They stayed in service with 10 and 11 Squadrons of 1 Wing at Beauvechain for five years, during which time around half of them were lost. Unusually, although carrying their Belgian serials on the rear fuselage they kept their original RAF identities under the wings. Ten survivors passed into civilian ownership for use as target tugs. Given the new serials NF11-1 to NF11-10, they lasted in this role until 1959.

Denmark

Twenty NF11s were ordered by Denmark early in 1952, diverted from an RAF contract. Serials 501 to 520 were supplied between November 1952 and March 1953 as new-build airframes (the

intended RAF serials had been WM384 to WM403) and they joined Eskadrille 723, staying in service in this role for six years. With their front-line service over, 14 were scrapped, but serials 504, 508, 512 and 517 to 519 were returned to AWA to be converted into TT20 target-tugs for further service with the Station Flight at Karup.

Egypt

The Royal Egyptian Air Force (soon afterwards the ‘Royal’ part was deleted) ordered six reconditioned ex-RAF NF13s. Former serials WM325, WM326, WM328, WM338, WM340 and WM362 were re-numbered 1427 to 1432 and delivered between June and August 1955. Relatively little is known about their service with the Egyptian Air Force, but during the Suez campaign in

November 1956 one NF13 intercepted and attacked an RAF Vickers Valiant, failing to inflict any damage on the bomber. Soviet designs had replaced these Meteors by 1958.

France

A total of 32 NF11s were acquired by the French Air Force to equip the 30e Escadre de Chasse Tout Temps (All-Weather Fighter Wing) at Tours-St Symphorien, where once again they replaced the Mosquito. A further nine were received for use as trials aircraft, initially split between the Centre du Tir et de Bombardement (CTB) at Cazaux and the Centre d’Essais en Vol (CEV) at Melun-Villaroche. Their former RAF serials were WD619, WD628, WD631, WD655, WD669, WD674, WD683, WD698, WD701, WD756, AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

DATABASE Meteor night g fighters g

ABOVE: Meteor NF12 serial 476 of the Syrian Arab Air Force at Bitteswell on 1 July 1954. RAY WILLIAMS

Israel

The Meteor night fighter was acquired by the Israeli Defence Force/Air Force (IDF/AF) in 1956 in the form of six ex-RAF NF12s. However, because of the impending Suez crisis three of these airframes were held back under an embargo, their final delivery being delayed until well after the war had ended. The airframes involved were ex-WM366, WM334, WM312, WM309, WM320 and WM335, given the new Israeli identities 4X-FNA to 4X-FNF. WM312, WM320 and WM335 were the aircraft embargoed. They were not delivered until the spring of 1958 — in fact, WM335 was lost on its delivery flight and never reached Israel. The night fighters served with 119 Squadron but were already pretty well obsolete, and within a couple of years they had been replaced. Even so, on 28 October 1956 one of the then newly-acquired NF12s intercepted and destroyed an Egyptian Ilyushin Il-14 airliner on a flight from Syria to Egypt. It was known from intelligence sources that this aircraft was carrying high-ranking members of the Egyptian general staff. This action was called Operation ‘Tarnegol’, and for Israel was a potential opportunity to incapacitate much of Egypt’s high command on the eve of the planned Suez campaign. It was the first aerial victory recorded by 119 Squadron, but Operation ‘Tarnegol’ itself was kept secret

for another 32 years, not entering the public domain until January 1989.

Sweden

Sweden had a small association with the long-nose night fighter Meteors. Originally, two T7 trainers had been purchased for target-towing duties by Svensk Flygtjänst AB, a civilian organisation under contract to the Flygvapnet. In due course Svensk Flygtjänst also acquired four TT20s from the Royal Danish Air Force, the original RDAF airframes 512, 517, 508 and 519 being registered respectively as SE-DCF, SE-DCG, SE-DCH and SE-DCI. These were some of the aircraft previously used at Karup for target-towing, Svensk Flygtjänst holding contracts to perform that function for the Danish military as well as for Sweden. The company flew these surviving TT20s until 1966.

Syria

In May 1954, six surplus ex-RAF NF13s were supplied to Syria — the former WM332, WM336, WM330, WM337, WM341 and WM333. In Syrian Arab Air Force service they were numbered 471 to 476 and formed the country’s sole night fighter unit. Few details are known of the careers of these airframes while in Syrian hands, but much of the equipment used by the SyAAF was replaced fairlyy soon afterwards by b Soviet types.

ABOVE: Meteor NF11 501 Eskadrille 723, Royal Danish Air Force

CHRIS SANDHAM-BAILEY

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

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IN SERVICE

WD783, WM153, WM164, WM235, WM243, WM265, WM296 to WM307, WM368 to WM371 and WM375 to WM383. Those from WM368 onwards were delivered as brand-new aircraft from January 1953 and given numbers NF11-1 to NF11-25 in order of their RAF serials. The rest (NF11-26 to NF11-41) followed follo d in 1954-55 after a brief period in RAF service, but the relation of French identities to the original RAF serials for these later

machines has not been established. During 1957 and 1958, EC 30’s NF11s were replaced by France’s own Sud-Ouest Vautour IIN, but some surplus airframes were transferred to the Armée de l’Air’s night fighter training unit, CITT 346, at Mérignac. The CEV’s Meteors were used for missile and radar development work — NF11-6 became a chase aircraft for the Concorde programme, and one flew as an engine test-bed with a SNECMA S-600 ramjet under each wing. Two ex-RAF NF14s, WS747 and WS796, were acquired by the CEV during 1955, being renumbered NF14-747 and NF14-796. Then in June 1956 it received two surplus RAF NF12s, WM364 and WM365 (as NF13-364 and NF13-365), which were employed on research work at Brétigny. To round the deliveries off, in November and December 1974 six surplus TT20s (WD649, WD652, WD780, WM242, WM255 and WM293) were supplied to France with their target-towing equipment removed, to be used as a source of spares for the NF11, NF13 and NF14 fleet. After their arrival they never flew again. In the end, CEV operated quite a considerable fleet of night fighter Meteors, which it used for all manner of research duties. The last were not retired until the late 1980s; NF14-747, for example, was apparently still in service in 1983.

Meteor M etteor eor n eo nig night gh htt fi fig fighters gh hter ters

From the

cockpit

Pilot P ilot aand nd nav-radar nav-radar insights insights into into the the Meteor Meteor NF NF family family

ABOVE: Crews generally liked the Meteor NF14, but were aware of its performance limitations. AEROPLANE

D

espite looking somewhat ungainly, the Meteor night fighter had a very strong and well-built airframe and extremely reliable engines. The practical Mach number limit when not carrying wing tanks was 0.81 (it was 0.76 with tanks), but at such speeds hitting targets was difficult due to ‘porpoising’ and other airframe movements. However, at lower speeds the type was very steady and a good gun platform. It could outmanoeuvre contemporary day fighters, and only the Vampire and Venom would better the NF Meteor in dogfights. Pilots report that as an aerobatic aircraft it was delightful, though spinning was prohibited because it produced very heavy control forces and a violent pitching. One weakness was the NF14’s maximum landing weight — if the aircraft was still carrying its full load of gun ammunition, to keep the weight down it had to be landed with under 125 gallons (568 litres) of fuel aboard. 90 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

Consider also, in that context, the fact that a go-around could use up as much as 60 gallons (273 litres). Fred Butcher flew the night fighter versions for a few months during his time at OCU. In all he piloted the Meteor F4, T7, F8, NF12 and NF14, although he only accumulated around 50 hours on the latter two. He considered that by far the best for a pilot was the F8, but that the NF12 and NF14 were also quite pleasant and relatively easy to fly. However, their asymmetric handling was similar to that experienced on all Meteors, which became very hard work on the leg muscles. Because of the large radar scanner in the nose, they were heavier than the equivalent day fighters, meaning that they were down on performance and not quite so nice to handle, despite being stable gun platforms. Butcher recalled that one could get the NF12 and NF14 up to 40,000ft (12,192m), but that it was a struggle towards the end of the climb and these Meteors

would wallow a lot once you had got there. For night work the NF14’s large, clear canopy did not make much difference compared to the NF12’s heavily-framed version, but of course it would have done had the type been used as a day interceptor fighter. These Meteors were able to cope with medium jet bombers of the 1950s like the US Air Force’s North American B-45 Tornado and Soviet equivalents such as the Ilyushin Il-28 ‘Beagle’. The agile Canberra, however, proved an extremely difficult target to intercept. Heavy piston bombers like the Avro Lincoln and Convair B-36 could also be dealt with. Invariably, you would meet the target head-on and, at such closing speeds, a pilot had little time to execute a turn to get onto his tail. It was a lot easier if you were vectored in from the side by ground control. John Lewer confirms this. His experience on the NF14 came right at the end of its service career when he was training as a navigator at

Stradishall. He remembered that in some conditions the mark’s AI Mk21 radar had a poor pick-up range, typically of the order of 12 miles (20km). The NF11’s AI Mk10 radar at times had even less range, sometimes as poor as 2-4 miles (3-6km). Therefore, if the Meteor and its bomber target were flying in opposite directions the fighter pilot would have to begin his turn very quickly — at a distance of about 7 miles (11km) — to enable the Meteor to get in behind the bomber. It needed a pretty exceptional pilot to be able to judge this manoeuvre correctly. Flying on a dark night, despite not being able to see a thing outside, did make it a little easier to get onto a target’s tail. After having spotted the target, the crew could use their radar to manoeuvre into an attacking position. Head-on interceptions or attacks from above were the best solution because direct attacks from the rear usually involved a long tailchase. Fred Butcher’s navigator-radar on the later Javelin was Peter AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

DATABASE Meteor night g fighters g

ABOVE: Before delivery, NF11 WM239 goes vertical. AEROPLANE

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Mk21 was in general much better than the NF11’s AI Mk10 equipment, once the Meteor was in position the Mk21 set proved to be very good at ‘painting’ and tracking any kind of target aircraft. Because the Meteor had only gun armament, intercepts had to be very tight to be classified as successful — that is, featuring a ‘roll-out’ range of approximately 200 yards (180m) on Mach 0.9

targets. Such interceptions, of course, assumed that any target would fly straight and level for a long period, so if the bomber began manoeuvres to try and shake off its pursuer during night attacks the antiquated radar might take some time before it picked this change up. This was certainly a problem for the NF11’s equipment, since the target blip might be lost from the radar screen altogether.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The author wishes to thank the National Archives at Kew, Phil Butler, Flt Lt Fred Butcher, Flt Lt Pete Jones and Plt Off John Lewer for their assistance.

ABOVE: The third production NF14 was WS724, here taking off from Church Fenton. It was with No 72 Squadron at the time. VIA TONY BUTTLER

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INSIGHTS

Jones, who from 1955 to 1958 served with No 25 Squadron at West Malling flying the Meteor NF12 and NF14. Peter observed that the NF Meteors were purely “a first try and the best available” in an era when jet fighter airframes and engines had only recently come into use. Initially the threat came from the Tupolev Tu-4 ‘Bull’, the Soviet version of the B-29 Superfortress, which could be countered fairly easily, but pretty soon the Soviet Union introduced its highperformance Tu-16 ‘Badger’ jet bomber, which was potentially too fast for the subsonic Meteor. The radar’s range was so poor that the preferred “displaced head-on set-ups” were not really practicable. Therefore, World War Two-style 90° intercepts had to be used instead — a ground controller would manoeuvre the Meteor onto a course which would make the target cross the path of the fighter at 90°, ideally at a distance of about a mile ahead. With the majority of the Meteor NF squadrons using NF12s and NF14s, whose AI

Other sources confirm that high-flying targets were especially difficult to deal with. A climb to an altitude in excess of 40,000ft (12,192m) would take a long time, and once there it proved difficult to keep the Meteor at this height. Even the slightest turn could induce a loss of altitude. The bomber might release chaff to try and obscure the radar blip, while the slipstream from piston bombers could make for a very rough ride in the fighter. The wing guns were normally aligned to concentrate at around 400 yards (365m) ahead, so there would be scatter at lesser and greater ranges. Some pilots considered that the wing gun position prevented the Meteor NF from being a truly successful air-to-air platform because there was a theory that the wings would flex under g loads while in the firing pattern, but unlike the day fighter versions there was no tendency to snake. That much was proved by air-to-ground firing, a secondary role for the NF variants. The high level of training of RAF aircrew helped make the most of the aircraft, good co-ordination between pilot and radar operator of course being essential. All in all, despite usually having to be flown to their limits to secure an interception and the fact that they were inferior to later-generation jet bomber types, during their period in service with front-line squadrons the night fighter Meteors — the last such aircraft to serve the RAF, as from the Javelin onwards the term ‘all-weather fighter’ came into use — were considered to be “operationally adequate”.

Events JERSEY INTERNATIONAL AIR DISPLAY 10 September

Reviewed by Ben Dunnell

ABOVE LEFT: Cold War classics come together — SB Lim-2 leads J 29F. BEN DUNNELL ABOVE: Cyrus Brantenberg low over St Aubin’s Bay in his Beaver. BEN DUNNELL BELOW LEFT: The Swedish Air Force Historic Flight’s SK 60E, AJS 37 Viggen, SK 35C Draken and J 29F in four-ship formation. BEN DUNNELL TOP: A fine entrance by Remko Sijben with the Boomerang. BEN DUNNELL

The sun-drenched island of Jersey, and a line-up of aircraft as tantalising as the season will produce — oh, if only more airshows could be like this… As the Swedish Air Force Historic Flight’s silver Saab four-ship of SK 60E, J 29F ‘Tunnan’, SK 35C Draken and AJS 37 Viggen flew past in concert, one had the feeling of this being the Jersey International Air Display’s crowning glory, for the moment at least. Event organiser

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Mike Higgins was the first to bring the Swedish vintage jets to Britain, and every time they have offered something different. In the quartet came for a spectacular head-on fan break, spraying Saabs across the sky. For half an hour they took centre stage, offering a sequence of characterful solo displays in the late afternoon blue. Marvellous moments. Yet rarer still, arguably, was the earlier pairing of the J 29F with a former Cold War

adversary, the MiG-15, here represented by the Norwegian Air Force Historical Squadron’s two-seat SB Lim-2. Never in the modern era had these types flown together, something not lost on pilots Olle Norén and Kenneth Aarkvisla. The Scandinavian flavour was indeed strong. Also over from Norway, Cyrus Brantenberg made a landing and take-off from the water of the St Aubin’s Bay display site in his DHC-2 Beaver floatplane LN-NCC, an ex-Air America mount. It was, in fact, one of two South-east Asia veterans on the programme, as the Postbellum Foundation from Teuge in the Netherlands brought ex-US Air Force O-2A Skymaster N590D for its British show debut. Jersey has a great reputation for ‘firsts’, and another came in the form of Remko Sijben

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

with his CA-13 Boomerang. The little Australian fighter gave a spirited performance in its owner’s hands, its inaugural appearance at any major event since Sijben imported it to Europe. Hopefully, where Jersey leads, others will follow. While RAF involvement is a shadow of its former self, headlined as ever by the Red

Arrows on a record-breaking 50th visit to the island, the chance to see Sea King search and rescue demonstrations from both the RAF and Royal Navy was not to be sniffed at, given the helicopter’s impending retirement. And if military fast jets were lacking, no-one could have gone home unhappy with the classics, not least the Fly Navy Heritage

Trust’s Sea Vixen. In the mighty twin-boomed fighter, Simon Hargreaves gave a superb demonstration of restrained power. In an era when all too many civilian airshows can appear decidedly similar, Jersey always shines out, and the 2015 edition must go down as one of the finest. Best British display of the year, perhaps? It’s certainly right up there.

THE VICTORY SHOW 4-6 September The 1,200hp from three Continental R-975 nine-cylinder radial engines began to kick up a huge dust cloud, their bellow drowning out the Rolls-Royce Merlin in a Hispano Buchón which was getting airborne a couple of hundred yards away. But seeing as we are at the Victory Show, at Foxlands Farm near Cosby, Leicestershire, the site of the UK’s biggest combined historic military vehicle and historic aircraft gathering, it comes as no surprise that the R-975s are heaving a trio of Sherman tanks off into the arena for what must be the most authentic World War Two battle recreation you can see anywhere. The show is now in its 10th year, and this particular ‘Johnny-come-lately’ will not make the error of missing another event at Cosby. The aerial component may have been smaller than you would see at a dedicated airshow, but any organiser would have the participants seen here at the top of their wish list. The two most celebrated newcomers to the 2015 historic aircraft scene, the Bentwaters-based Seafire IIIc PP972 and the Aircraft Restoration Company’s Blenheim, were both present on the lush Leicestershire turf. The Seafire was giving its first public solo display, the previous two post-restoration appearances having been in the Spitfire tailchase at Flying Legends, and as part of the Biggin Hill ‘Hardest Day’ commemoration (see page 22). An unrestricted, but discreetly supervised, flightline walk (just £3!) gave visitors the chance to get right up close to the assembled warbirds, and photograph or study some normally unavailable details, such as the catapult-spool mountings and arrestor hook on PP972. The Seafire was flown by Dave Puleston, who also flew one of the two Trig Aerobatic Team Pitts S-1s alongside Richard Grace. Richard was later to close the show with a scintillating display in the family Spitfire IXT ML407. The Victory Show saw the debut of Sussexbased Will Greenwood in his Allison-powered Yak-3 D-FLAK, flown in a dogfight sequence with Cliff Spink in the ARC’s Buchón. Peter Vacher’s Battle of Britain veteran Hurricane I

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Reviewed by Tony Harmsworth R4118 was flown by Carl Schofield in formation with the Blenheim, before the latter broke away for John Romain to again show just how attuned he is to the handling of this early-war machine, the fully-glazed nose helping it appear considerably more lithe than in its former incarnation as a Blenheim IV bomber. The Royal Netherlands Air Force Historic Flight B-25J Mitchell Sarinah was

accompanied by Maurice Hammond’s two P-51D Mustangs for several passes, and then flew a solo display. Although the headlining Vulcan scratched after nose gear retraction problems at the Scottish Airshow at Prestwick the previous day, vintage jet enthusiasts did get to see a rare appearance by the Classic Air Force Meteor T7. An absolutely outstanding event, and highly recommended for next year.

ABOVE: Richard Grace and Dave Puleston flying Spitfire IXT and Seafire IIIc respectively, banking round the Cosby ‘bend’. CLIVE HUBBARD BELOW: Blenheim and Hurricane I made for a choice pairing. MIKE SHREEVE

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Sales Executive, Aviation Key Publishing is Europe’s foremost transport publisher and is renowned around the globe for its wide range of magazines and media.The company produces marketleading publications and its aviation portfolio includes AIR International, AirForces Monthly, Airliner World, Combat Aircraft, FlyPast and Aviation News. We are looking to recruit a Sales Executive to work within our Aviation team. Reporting to the Senior Advertisement Manager, Aviation, you will be responsible for looking after the advertising needs of your customers. You will possess the following experience: • A minimum of two years sales experience • Successful key account management • A track record in exceeding individual and team sales targets • New business development • Strong negotiation skills You will be: • • • • • •

Self-motivated and possess a proactive attitude to conducting business Dedicated to finding creative sales solutions Able to work well under pressure and meet deadlines Competitive, ambitious and goal-orientated Friendly, sociable and outgoing A provider of excellent customer service

Whilst not essential, interest in or experience of aviation would be beneficial. In return, Key Publishing offers excellent rewards and incentives; 25 days holiday per year, a company pension scheme, a great environment for learning and career development, as well as the opportunity to get out and meet customers and readers at events. Key Publishing Ltd is an Equal Opportunities Employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Applicants will be invited for interview based on merit. If you are up to the challenge and want the chance to work within a fun, dynamic sales team, please send/email your CV with a covering letter for the attention of Ian Maxwell, Senior Advertising Manager, Aviation, stating why you are the right candidate for this role. Alternatively call Ian on +44 (0) 1780 755131 to register your interest.

Contact details: Ian Maxwell - Senior Advertising Manager, Aviation Key Publishing Limited, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincolnshire PE9 1XQ Tel: +44 (0)1780 755131 Email: [email protected] Website: www.keypublishing.com The closing date for applications is Friday 16 October 2015.

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AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Books Book of the Month

Harrier Boys: Volume One by Bob Marston published by Grub Street

Subtitled ‘Cold War Through the Falklands 1969-1990’, this is the first volume of a two-part work; Volume 2, covering the second-generation Harrier GR5/7/9, is scheduled for 2016. While the text follows the now timehonoured series formula, a change has been made to put a photo rather than a painting on the cover. Most appropriately (and most impressively), this depicts the author hovering in a GR3 overhead Gütersloh in 1984. Within the 18 chapters are some great stories of pilots pushing the boundaries, confronting emergencies, defending British interests in the Falklands, practising to provide NATO’s only truly survivable close air support force in West Germany, and organising the odd inter-squadron or inter-service beer-drinking race. There is, though, a more serious theme, namely that flying the Harrier was an extremely demanding business and that too many pilots died in the course of duty. Indeed, a whole chapter is devoted to Harrier ejections. It would be invidious to pull out one particular story as a favourite, as there are many to choose from. Heinz Frick’s account of his test flight in GR3 XZ994 from Dunsfold on New Year’s Eve 1981, when virtually all military airfields were closed, is just one such gem. After suffering a severe engine problem, he was forced to make the quick decision to conduct a glide approach — at 230kt — into a dark and air traffic-less Boscombe Down. Having used all 3,000 yards of the runway, he made his aircraft safe. Exiting the cockpit and sliding to the ground down the wing, he walked in search of habitation. After a while, he located a police post with lights inside. Frick introduced himself with a cheery “Anybody home?”, to which a policeman replied: “What the f*** are you doing here? Sarge, there is a bloke dressed as a pilot on the wrong side of the fence”. Exhibiting a similar state of disbelief, the sergeant suggested: “Tell him to get back over the fence. The fancy dress do in the mess does not start until 8pm.” This is a goldmine of stories. The only slight down-side concerns the illustrations; while the selection is good, the standard of reproduction hovers just above ‘acceptable’. Nevertheless, this one fully justifies its five stars. Denis J. Calvert ISBN 978-1-909808-29-4; 9.5in x 6.5in hardback; 192 pages, illustrated; £20.00

★★★★★

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

False Dawn: The Beagle Aircraft Story by Tom Wenham published by Air-Britain Publishing

The latest blockbuster from Air-Britain is another book no mainstream publisher would have ever considered, but it is welcome as the first detailed account of the Beagle company and its antecedents, Miles and Auster. The situation for Beagle was not easy. The new company was tasked with unrealistic production figures — for instance, 500 A109 Airedales, an aircraft of which just 43 were built. Miles studies led to several prototypes, but only the B206 entered production. Throughout the long story of those times it becomes evident that the engines used were not producing enough power, so performance suffered and made the Beagle types uncompetitive with the surge of American Piper and Cessna imports. Later came the B121 Pup, which achieved useful export sales — a country-by-country breakdown lists these, together with B206s sold abroad. The military development of the Pup, the Bulldog, attracted a good deal of foreign interest but only the prototypes are covered here, production being undertaken by Scottish Aviation. Eventually Beagle went into receivership, a sorry story described in depth. The final pages are devoted to individual aircraft production histories with tables detailing registration crossreferences, military Auster conversions and biographies of some of the main individuals involved. National Archives references are quoted to enable readers to carry out their own research. This has not been an easy book to review because of its extreme detail — some may say there is too much — but it is a definitive history, well illustrated with colour and monochrome photographs, drawings and colour adverts for the types. If one is being ultra-critical, it could be said that there are a number of pages unrelieved by illustrations, making for a rather hard read, while captions are in an extremely small typeface, somewhat trying even for a Specsavers customer! Mike Hooks

Reviews Rating ★★★★★

Outstanding

★★★★★

Excellent

★★★★★

Good

★★★★★

Flawed

★★★★★

Mediocre

Enough said

‘A definitive history, well illustrated’

ISBN 978-0-85130-479-3; 8.5in x 12in hardback; 454 pages, illustrated; available from Air-Britain at £59.99 (£39.99 to Air-Britain members)

★★★★★

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Books Republic P-47D Thunderbolt aux couleurs françaises by Jean-Jacques Petit published by l’Association pour la Préservation du Patrimoine Aéronautique

This is a very good French-language account of the Thunderbolt in French service with units both at home and overseas, as far afield as Oran and Rabat. Many aircraft are illustrated in colour side-view drawings together with unit badges. Armament arrangements are shown, as are long-range fuel tank configurations. The large number of interesting photographs will delight ‘Jug’ buffs, but knowledge of the French language is necessary to get the best out of it. Nevertheless, recommended. Mike Hooks No ISBN; 8.25in x 11.75in softback; 120 pages, illustrated; available from The Aviation Bookshop at £24.99 plus £4 p&p

★★★★★

Finnish Fighter Colours 1939-1945: Volume 2 by Kari Stenman and Karolina Hołda published by Mushroom Model Publications

This is one of Mushroom’s bigger series of hardbacks — we have not seen Volume 1, which appeared in September 2014, and the page numbering carries on the sequence from there at page 211! The aircraft covered here are the Hurricane, Caudron-Renault CR714, Curtiss Hawk, Bf 109 and the indigenous VL Myrsky, plus some captured types. Text describes the aircraft and operating units with detailed tables giving serials, delivery and struck-off-charge dates, hours flown, remarks and in some cases constructor’s numbers. Perhaps the most fascinating types here are the captured Russian ones, such as the Polikarpov I-15 and I-153 biplanes, of which 21 were operated with 14 being written off. Three I-16 monoplanes were captured, one a two-seat UTI trainer, and there were three LaGG-3s. A single P-40M Warhawk force-landed in Finland and was thought to be a Kittyhawk; it was only used for practice flights. The final section details various units and their aircraft and has some information on Fokker D.XXIs, Brewster B-239s (both of which were featured in Volume 1) and other types. Appendices list fighter units, 96 www.aeroplanemonthly.com

structure, aviation ranks, a map showing 49 Finnish airfields and aerial victories. The book is splendidly illustrated with photographs and a large number of colour drawings by Karolina Hołda — the yellow I-153 in German markings is particularly interesting. A loose slip-in page shows in colour MPM kits of aircraft in Finnish marks. This is a first-class treatment of its subject, and we look forward to the forthcoming ‘Finnish Bomber Colours 1939-1945’. Mike Hooks

The photo selection deserves sp special mention for the number of images im evoking the comment ‘not seen se that one before’, and reproduction re can be classed as good. Denis De J. Calvert ISBN IS 978-1-4728-0837-0; 9.5in 9. x 6.5in hardback; 184 pages, illustrated; il £13.99

★★★★★ ★ ‘A very good account’

ISBN 978-83-63678-44-9; 8.5in x 12in hardback; 206 pages, illustrated; £35

by David Morris published by Amberley

★★★★★

Polish Spitfire Aces

by Wojtek Matusiak and Robert Grudzien published by Osprey

While it is a well-known fact that Polish pilots made a significant contribution during the Battle of Britain in summer 1940, that country’s involvement with the Spitfire goes back to June 1939 when a team of Polish test pilots arrived in the UK to fly a number of aircraft types. This volume follows the familiar ‘Aircraft of the Aces’ formula with first-hand accounts, excellent colour artwork and useful appendices, but here the text is particularly interesting and, in just a few places, whimsical and offbeat. A contemporary report describes how Flt Lt Tadeusz Koc was shot down near Dunkirk by Fw 190s but made it back to the UK and his squadron in record time (via Spain and Gibraltar) without recourse to the French underground. In April 1943, the Northolt Wing undertook a number of ‘RAG’ missions, their purpose being to act as a Russian fighter squadron flying over the English Channel in an attempt to confuse the enemy. Some of the Polish pilots spoke the language fluently and all radio communications had to be in Russian; the exact purpose of these sorties, though, remains unclear. Also included is an official 1940 report by the Station Commander at RAF Northolt on the typical qualities of ‘The Polish Fighter Pilot’. Marked ‘Secret’, it underlines some well-known characteristics but debunks others: they are “imbued with the determination to exterminate Germans”, “their sense of humour is quick and akin to our own” and “Polish pilots seldom take alcoholic drinks”.

Royal Navy Search and Rescue

‘First-class treatment of its subject’

‘The text is particularly interesting’

Th sub-title ‘A Centenary The Celebration’ is explained by the fact Ce that th the first successful military rescue re using an aircraft took place on 19 November 1915, when Sqn Cdr Cd Richard Bell-Davies, OC No 3 Squadron, Sq RNAS, landed his Nieuport Ni 12 in Bulgarian territory to rescue a downed fellow aviator. Fo For this action he was awarded th the VC. David Morris, as curator of ai aircraft at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, is no stranger to the writing of aviation titles and here covers the 100 years of Royal Navy SAR in commendable detail and with unquestionable accuracy. While the earlier years, including World War Two use of the ub ubiquitous Walrus, are well re represented, it is the post-war em employment of RN helicopters — Ho Hoverfly, Dragonfly, Whirlwind, We Wessex, Wasp, Sea King, Lynx and (b (briefly) Merlin — that occupies the gr greatest number of pages. The aircraft themselves receive all du due attention, but it is the stories of th the crews and their sometimes in incredible rescues that are the main fo focus of the text. Photos are nu numerous, mostly from official sources and well reproduced. None is more surprising (to today’s reader, accustomed to the surely well-intentioned impact of health and safety regulations) than the shot on page 33 of a Hoverfly training flight at Gosport in 1949. The he helicopter is in the hover so some distance above the ground, wh while a ‘survivor’ is seen climbing up a precariously-dangling rope la ladder attached to the side of the co cockpit. The pilot, meanwhile, can be seen in the right-hand seat we wearing full naval uniform, complete with peaked cap. Denis J. Calvert

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‘PATRI CI A LYNN’ RB-57s

PATRICIA

LYNN

During the Vietnam War, reconnaissance was a hazardous business. Among the US Air Force assets that ran the gauntlet were the clandestine ‘Patricia Lynn’ RB-57Es WORDS: DOUG GORDON

T

he role of the Canberra light bomber in Southeast Asia has been well documented. Martin B-57Bs of the USAF’s 8th and 13th Bombardment Squadrons, and English Electric Canberra B20s of 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, played a significant role in efforts to contain Viet Cong infiltrations into South Vietnam. However, less is known about the small number of RB-57Es that flew photo-reconnaissance and electronic intelligence (ELINT) missions under the codename ‘Patricia Lynn’, named after the wife of the project’s lead engineer.

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On 6 May 1963, two RB-57Es landed at Tan Son Nhut in South Vietnam to form Detachment 1 of the 33rd Tactical Group. These were specially-modified B-57Es, previously used for target-towing. Directed by the USAF’s ‘Big Safari’ programme office, General Dynamics fitted a re-designed nose to contain a 36in KA-1 forward oblique camera and a KA-56 panoramic camera. The bomb bay was altered to accommodate a KA-1 vertical camera, a K-477 day and night camera, a Reconflex infra-red line scanner and a KA-1 left oblique camera. The RB-57s commenced operations as soon as they arrived at the Saigon

base. On 7 May, the inaugural mission was flown by one of the ferry crews, pressed into service because the regular crews had not arrived. The ‘Patricia Lynn’ aircraft performed day and night photo-reconnaissance of Viet Cong targets with marked success. Initially, they operated both north and south of the border, though this changed later. Results proved excellent, and very soon the two aircraft were flying regular sorties. US forces in South-east Asia were thus provided for the first time with an efficient night reconnaissance capability, albeit a limited one. An attempt was made in August 1963 similarly to equip the RF-101 Voodoo,

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

not unlike the ‘Toy Tiger’ modification tried briefly in 1962, but this proved of negligible value. Until the advent in theatre of the RF-4C Phantom II, the RB-57 would be obliged to perform virtually all night recce. There was, of course, a good deal of co-operation between the different components of Detachment 1. If one of the daylight RF-101 missions produced photos of a suspected truck park on the Hoˇ`Chí Minh trail, for example, then an RB-57E night mission would be tasked to check it out using infra-red (IR). Aerial reconnaissance in South-east Asia was fraught with many difficulties, whether day or night. The RF-101s

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

worked primarily over South Vietnam as single ships. Sorties over Laos were usually, but not exclusively, two-ships. The RB-57s always flew singly. Both types were involved in various mission profiles, but the majority of daylight taskings in the early days involved medium-altitude vertical photography. When weather was a limiting factor — and it frequently was — the aircraft were obliged to adopt a ‘high-lowhigh’ profile in order to fulfil the requirements. The night mission performed by the RB-57s was, at that time of the conflict, arguably, the most hazardous. By day, in bad weather and over mountainous, forested terrain with

inadequate maps, simply navigating and locating the IP (initial point) was difficult enough. This was compounded at night, when all the crew had to guide them were their respective instruments. An efficient terrain-following radar (TFR) had not yet been developed. Pilots often relied on their standard pressure altimeter telling them how high above sea level they were. It was incumbent on them to factor in terrain elevation. The ‘Patricia Lynn’ RB-57s continued to operate throughout 1964. That December, Detachment 1 received two further aircraft. Both of them carried a TFR under the starboard wing.

ABOVE: RB-57E 55-4264, flown in this photo by Gene Durden and Ernie Perkins. This aircraft was shot down in October 1968. HANK HOLDEN

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‘PATRI CI A LYNN’ RB-57s RIGHT: Detachment 1 aircrew in June 1965 with Lt Col Roy Marsden, who was the commander at this time. GAYLE JOHNSON

A new role came in early 1965, when the RB-57s began regular nocturnal bomb damage assessment (BDA) missions into Laos. Codenamed ‘Steel Tiger’, these sorties teamed the RB-57s with B-57 bombers flying out of Bien Hoa and a C-130A flare ship from the 6315th Operations Group.

The C-130 dropped flares and the B-57s attacked any exposed targets such as trucks, bridges and boats on rivers. The RB-57E subsequently made a BDA run over the target area. For mission planning purposes, the operational areas of north Vietnam were divided into zones called Route

Packs. RP I was below the 18th parallel and RPs II, III and IV above it. The most dangerous areas were RPs V and VI, the former bordering Laos to the west and the latter centred on Hanoi and Haiphong. The predictability of the sortie timings posed as much of a problem

for the RB-57 pilots as it did for the RF-101s. So-called route target missions down rivers, roads and trails were generally performed at altitudes of between 3,000 and 8,000ft. They were flown day after day, or night after night, at the same time. No wonder, then, that the ‘bad guys’ often set up traps to shoot down the aircraft. Night area cover missions were flown along parallel lines, and aircrews experienced a significant amount of small arms fire. On 5 August 1965, the ‘Patricia Lynn’ RB-57E detachment suffered its first loss. Serial 55-4243 was hit by small arms fire while on a low-level night recce duty. The crew were close to home and ejected near Tan Son Nhut. Both men landed safely, but the aircraft was destroyed. A further RB-57E arrived in November, bringing the fleet back up to four. Upon activation at Tan Son Nhut in February 1966, the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing took control of all relevant assets in theatre, including the RB-57Es of Detachment 1. These were soon subject to systems improvements. RB-57E 55-4249 returned to General Dynamics at Fort Worth early that May for an update to its recce suite, soon a regular occurrence for all the detachment’s aircraft. This first upgrade enhanced the IR system with a re-modelling of the Texas Instruments RS-10. In addition, a KA-2 split vertical camera configuration was installed, together

with TFR, a TV viewfinder, a 5,000ft radar altimeter and a magnetic recorder for the IR system. The ‘Patricia Lynn’ RB-57E pilots began flying night recces over the north in the early months of 1967. Bill Reeder, who completed 36 such sorties, was assigned a number of special missions that often took him and his back-seater as far north as RP III. “The night missions had some built-in problems”, Reeder recalled. “Most were IR missions, and due to [the] resolution [of the equipment] we

target was determined based on reconnaissance flown [for] several nights in progression before the actual attack. The other difference in the programme was that bomb damage assessment would be conducted immediately following the attack, before the enemy could remove evidence of the relative success or failure of the mission. The assessment was to be done using infra-red reconnaissance. The responsibility was assigned to the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing.”

‘We had to fly night missions at 2,000ft or lower. In most of our target areas there were mountains much higher than that’ had to fly them at 2,000ft or lower. In most of our target areas there were mountains much higher than that. The only thing we had to navigate with was visual, and often that was under a low cloud deck. When doing IR at night I would turn my cockpit lights nearly off so I could see the ground. This was much tougher for the back-seater, because he had his eyes in the IR scope and he was blind when he looked outside… “One night I flew with a back-seater who had never flown with me and had not done much night work. We got over the target area at about 8,000ft, with an undercast up to 7,000ft. The weatherman had told me that the ceiling would be 2,000ft, so we did the best we could to locate our position by radio and then I started a slow, turning descent in the soup. We broke out at about 1,600ft and did our target cover.”

❖

In September 1967, Hank Holden, a navigator with the ‘Patricia Lynn’ detachment, was assigned to a task force looking into the problem of executing successful night interdictions on targets along the Hoˇ`Chí Minh trail, particularly the Mu· Gia· and Tchepone (Xépôn) passes and the A Shau valley. The main issue was not how to locate the target but how best to guide fighter-bombers to it and show them where to drop their ordnance. After much deliberation ‘Combat Skyspot’, as the programme was designated, was ready for testing. A date was set for late November 1967. Hank Holden says: “The programme called for the use of Strategic Air Command’s TSQ-81 bomb scoring radar to guide attack aircraft to predetermined target co-ordinates for ordnance release. [One] difference between this and other combat test programmes was that the target for the mission did not require identification immediately prior to the strike. The

The target area selected for the combat test was the region in north-eastern Laos known by planners as ‘Steel Tiger’. This was the area where the Hoˇ`Chí Minh trail exited North Vietnam through the Mu· Gia· pass and wound its way down through the mountains to various entry points into South Vietnam, beginning with the Tchepone pass and then the A Shau valley. The mission was flown as scheduled. F-4Cs were guided to the target area in the Tchepone pass and dropped their ordnance. An RF-4C from the 16th TRS was to fly a BDA mission two minutes after the strike, with a ‘Patricia Lynn’ RB-57 in the hands of Holden and Reeder as a back-up if something went wrong. The target was a truck park just west of the pass. A 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron EB-66 provided stand-off radar jamming. In the event, the Phantom had to abort, and the RB-57E flew the BDA through a wall of anti-aircraft and small arms fire. The recce suites and camera configurations of all the photoreconnaissance aircraft were constantly changing and developing. The Det 1 RB-57Es received regular updates. 55-4264 was given two new cameras: the 12in-focal length KA-82 and 24in KA-83 high-resolution panoramic cameras, developed for the Lockheed SR-71. Unfortunately, ’4264 was shot down in October 1968. Its pilot on that mission was Capt James J. Johnson, with Maj Phil Walker as navigator. “Our call sign was Moonglow 11”, recalls Walker. “All Det 1 missions used the call sign Moonglow. The first mission of the day would start with 11, then 12 [and so forth]. “We departed Tan Son Nhut at about 10.00hrs for a series of recce strips along canals and area covers over suspected areas of VC [Viet Cong] activity. The first target was a 10 or 15km strip along a canal about 30 miles north-west of Saigon. The camera

LEFT: A view of RB-57E 55-4243 at Tan Son Nhut in 1963. This was one of the first two aircraft delivered to Detachment 1 in May 1963. It was later lost to small arms fire while on a low-level night recce mission on 5 August 1965. Note the Royal Lao Air Force Beaver in the background. DAVID KARMES

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‘PATRI CI A LYNN’ RB-57s was the KA-56 lo-pan. At the time, all our missions were restricted to no lower than 4,500ft AGL to avoid small arms fire. The weather was overcast at about 5,000ft, with the ceiling decreasing as we progressed down the target run. “Everything seemed to be going well as we pulled off the target to the right and started climbing out to our next target. The ‘Pat Lynn’ aircraft had the flight controls removed from the rear

’chute very close to mine. I asked him if he was OK; he couldn’t hear me and took off his helmet, so I figured he was OK… “Looking down, I saw that I was going to land in a small, round pond, so I tried all the sideslip parachute tactics I had ever been shown. I simply managed to rotate myself 360 degrees and landed in the pond, at the very edge, where my ’chute flopped over onto a large bush. I was in about 3-4ft

‘I remember thinking, “Dammit, ‘JJ’, stop goofing around... Oh s***, ‘JJ’ doesn’t goof around in the airplane”’

BELOW: Ill-fated RB-57E 55-4264 sits in the concrete revetments at Da Nang in January 1964. By now, the ‘Patricia Lynn’ aircraft had been painted black overall. USAF

cockpit, and as a result the back-seater had nothing much else to do except operate his equipment, most of the time. My head was in the cockpit and I was checking out the camera to be used on the next run. “In what must have been a very short time, ‘JJ’ asked me to check number two engine for fire or smoke. I looked and could see none, but even from the rear seat I could only see part of the engine. He then said, “Get ready to bail out, bail out”. Between the “get ready” and “bail out”, I remember thinking, “Dammit, ‘JJ’, stop goofing around. I’m having trouble getting this camera to operate properly… Oh shit! ‘JJ’ doesn’t goof around in the airplane, this must be for real.” “I then put on my gloves and, after trying to remember the proper ejection procedure for the RB-57, decided to use the procedure for the nav seat of the RB-66, which I had flown previously. Fortunately the procedures are the same, pretty much. Anyway, I closed my eyes, pulled up the left handle, the right handle and squeezed the trigger. I heard a lot of noise, felt the ’chute open and opened my eyes, wondering what the hell I was doing there. I heard and felt the airplane go in and explode, and saw ‘JJ’ in a

of water, and in a mild state of shock. I eventually took off my helmet, which sank into the pond, listened to one of my two survival radios, and then realised that I had to disable my own seat beeper. After doing that I tried a call or two on the radio, and got no response, so used my signal mirror on a passing aircraft.

❖

“Sometime during the 45 minutes to an hour we were on the ground, I heard an AK-47 shooting at something but saw no bullet impacts. My only thought then was, “Boy, ‘JJ’ is in deep trouble”. He later told me that he heard the shots also, and, seeing no bullets impacting near him, thought, “Boy, Walker is in deep trouble”. We never did find out who was shooting at whom, nor did it ever occur to me to un-holster the .38 revolver I was carrying. “We got picked up by an Army ‘Huey’, and were carried to their camp — Cu Chi, I think. We were fed, saw a medic and changed clothes. After we got to Cu Chi, I found out that the airplane had been in a hard, uncontrolled roll to the right with a fire warning light and other indications of bad things happening out there in

the right wing. The final finding — a best guess, actually, since there was no physical evidence to view; the aircraft impact was in VC territory and the only crash site investigation was to bomb the wreckage to ensure no evidence of the cameras we carried survived — was that the right wing had taken a small arms hit, caught fire and burned through the torque tube which controlled the right aileron.” Roger Wilkes flew with Det 1 from September 1968 to September 1969 as operations officer. He says of the recce cameras: “[They] came out with super detail, but you had to fly slow to keep the image motion compensation and to provide a 60 per cent overlap. I didn’t like the idea of flying slow at 4,000ft above the ground, flying at 200kt, so I went to the intelligence people and said, “Do you really need 60 per cent overlap? Why don’t you designate, and on some of these flights I can go at 400kt and get you 20 per cent overlap. That makes it a hell of a lot better for me as far as ground fire is concerned”.” Wilkes was responsible for developing another of the systems used in the RB-57E. “I visited an army unit, and they had a night scope which was about 4.5in in diameter and about 2ft long. They used it in the helicopters and so on, and it made night almost day. I got specs from that and I corresponded with the Rome Air Development Depot at Griffiss AFB, New York. They gave me a short version and I was able to put it where the gunsight of the B-57 normally was, but the ‘E model’, of course, did not have a gunsight. The only thing I didn’t like with it was when somebody would be up popping flares from an airplane. You had to close your eyes. But it did make it easier to see that you were on the flight line that you drew on the map that night.” Det 1 began performing ‘Moon River’ missions in April 1968. These were night sorties using the RS-10A infra-red scanner and the VR-7 realtime viewer. Flown in co-operation with the US Navy, their purpose was

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: This photograph was taken by an RB-57E over the Mekong Delta in May 1969 — the aircraft was heading west in the early morning, hence the long shadows. Its altitude was not below 2,000ft AGL, and the camera was the KA-82, scale 1:3000. The photo interpreter (PI) analysing the images saw something in the village square, highlighted it, and made the enlargements, revealing a somewhat gruesome scene. The detail is a testament to the quality of the camera. DOUG GORDON COLLECTION

to detect Viet Cong activity along the waterways in the Rung Sat area south of Saigon. The accent was on real-time recce and real-time response. This region was chosen because it was a major water traffic supply route for hostile forces, and because it was flat, with the land/water contrast facilitating easier navigation. RB-57E real-time reconnaissance operations were problematic. The

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

aircraft really needed an up-to-date computerised navigational system with a rapid read-out capability in order to work effectively. The need for the navigator to divide his time between navigation and scopeviewing meant that partial coverage was the most that could be hoped for. Nevertheless, ‘Moon River’ was generally deemed successful and rewarding.

Night missions at 2,000ft over the Mekong Delta are described by Col Robert Broughton, who flew with Detachment 1 from 1969-70. “Tracers are fancy fireworks when they are going down, but can be deadly when they’re coming up at you. We had a night vision scope that mounted on the centre of the glare shield. It looked like a long 500mm camera lens. It was rather heavy and had to be removed

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‘PATRI CI A LYNN’ RB-57s we had to fly at a very low speed to meet the speed compensation and overlap capability of the systems. As we planned the mission, we really worked at the edge of the envelope. To accomplish the requirements we needed to fly at just above stall speed, at about 1,000ft above the ground with gear and flaps down. “During planning, we noticed an Army airfield a few miles from the target co-ordinates, so we simulated a landing attempt at the field in order to avoid tipping off the enemy if there was indeed a PoW camp there. For the same reason of not alerting the enemy that we suspected a PoW camp there, we were only allowed one pass. So, we launched and headed for the target. On approach, the front-seater lowered landing gear and flaps, I turned on all camera systems at highest rates and we completed a missed approach at the Army airfield. Then, max speed back to Tan Son Nhut to get the film developed. I wish I could tell you if they found the camp, but the pictures were classified in a compartment that we weren’t cleared to view.” ABOVE: Max Minor and Phil Walker return to Tan Son Nhut after Walker’s 100th mission in 1968. 55-4245 had, as can be seen, by now acquired some nose art. JOHN HARRIS

BELOW: Passing through Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, during August 1967 was RB-57E 55-4245.

USAF

from the mount during take-off and landing. The eye-piece protruded over the back edge of the glare shield and guaranteed a harsh emasculation in the event of ejection. The question was, what do you do with it when it’s not mounted? Put in your lap, I guess! “The night runs on the Mekong proved to be more hazardous than they were worth. We could spot the sampans [small wooden boats] and draw small arms fire, but co-ordination with the gunships [USAF AC-47s] and clearance for them to do their job was difficult and time-consuming.” Col John Harris, commander of Detachment 1 from December 1968 to November 1969, remembers how the operations were not to everyone’s taste.

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“At night we flew the canals and rivers in the delta and southern part of South Vietnam. The sampans were easy to spot with the ‘real-time’ IR if the crew could keep over the canal — quite a feat on a dark night. Some got quite good at it. The Army objected because that was their thing. They used OV-1 Mohawks, but we could get detail that they couldn’t. They had to bring back their film, develop it and have it read by an interpreter, but we could see immediately what was going on.” Larry Champion, a back-seater who was with the detachment from 1970-71, recalls an unusual mission: “The target planners wanted us to fly even lower than we had ever done with the KA-82 and -83 cameras. To do so,

❖

The RB-57Es of Detachment 1 flew thousands of missions during the South-east Asia conflict: over North and South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. As newer platforms became available, the former ‘Patricia Lynn’ — by now re-designated as ‘Rivet Lock’ — aircraft were phased out, operations finishing during August 1971 with the de-activation of the 460th TRW. In eight years of operation, they had produced a great deal of vital reconnaissance material and sought to pioneer new technologies. All the more reason, therefore, to bring this once highly-classified programme into the limelight.

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PRODUCTION

MARKETING

GROUP MARKETING MANAGER Martin Steele MARKETING MANAGER Shaun Binnington

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AEROPLANE

commemorations Luftwaffe ‘Ginas’

LI S HIN

AEROPLANE NOVEMBER 2015

Planes TV F_P.indd 1

14/09/2015 09:12

The Bradford Exchange F_P.indd 1

10/09/2015 10:38