I have been writing up a family history for a friend concerning his father’s wartime service on a secondment from 42 to 47 Squadron. While in Egypt a flight in their Beaufort involved a crash landing. Three days later the crew were posted to No5 Middle East Training School, where in 9 days they did 9 flights, all virtually under an hour. These flights were in the log book as L.T.A. , many also marked as “deflection 10K”.
I have tried to research this acronym and I wonder if someone can confirm or correct my supposition that L.T.A. might stand for Landing, Approach, Take Off and 10K for the crosswind speed in knots? The only recent aviation acronym I can come up with was “Lighter Than Air”, but the photograph of the belly landing crash does not suggest the Beaufort landed that way.
Thank you all
WZ
By: WZ862 - 6th March 2016 at 16:16
Ross
Thank you so much for your time and knowledge in solving this one.
WZ862
By: Ross_McNeill - 4th March 2016 at 11:18
Ahh..DE119 on 6th Nov 1942. Gianaclis to Shandur. The u/c pump packed up in flight and they were unable to lower the u/c.
As a crew they avoided the unpleasantness at No.5 METS in Sept – nearly every incident was considered by the AOC as carelessness.
All the training that had incidents was listed as Torpedo Training with only one exception being low flying training.
Ross
By: WZ862 - 4th March 2016 at 10:17
Ross
My apologies. I did post yesterday to reply but it does not seem to have “stuck”.
He was Flying Officer T J Jeeves 983621. His pilot was F/O Tom Lockhart, who he flew with the vast majority of his time from OTU onwards into 42 and 47 Squadrons, before they seem to have been parted.
By: Ross_McNeill - 2nd March 2016 at 17:53
The abbreviation ALT is Attack Light Torpedo so a corruption to LTA – Light Torpedo Attack.
The same as Screw Machine for Machine Screw in the blanket stacker lingo.
WZ826 what was you bods name I may have some details on him?
Ross
By: Sabrejet - 2nd March 2016 at 16:47
My reservation regarding ‘ALT/LTA’ interchangeability is that if the term is ‘Air Launched Torpedo’ (ALT), then LTA makes no sense. I could understand the usual stores lingo of, ‘Torpedo, Air Launched’ (which would be TAL), but LTA would be ‘Launched Torpedo Air’ and I can’t see why anyone would abbreviate the term in that way.
By: Arabella-Cox - 2nd March 2016 at 14:54
I’m not sure if this helps, but I have found reference here to LTA & HTA standing for Lighter / Heavier Than Air flights.
Might be barking up the wrong tree, but thought I would mention it.
The only other thing I could think of given this was a new geographical area to the crew – Local Training Affiliation?
By: WZ862 - 2nd March 2016 at 12:19
Jack thanks for adding to the debate. Sadly, I no longer have the log book in my possession. I thought of having a look in the crew training stage entries off Wick (flying from Skitten) and their base Leuchars generally, to see if I could find mirror LTA 10K or 15K entries. I did not put in #1 that the last flight was 2x10K and 2x15K in the personal diary he had, so I suspect they flew two attack profiles with that as the two speeds of the target. 10K might be considered the top speed of a merchantman, I guess. The Mediterranean targets for the RAF were usually cargo ships. My latest thought was it may not have been a rebuke on their poor mission performance but the regular scheduling of practice in Egypt.
WZ
By: jack windsor - 1st March 2016 at 20:58
hi,
with the flights only lasting 1hr-ish and 9 in 9 days, could LTA be Local Training A—- ? just a thought, I will get my hat…
bye the bye was the gentleman returned to his sq. after these flights?
regards,
jack…
By: WZ862 - 1st March 2016 at 12:45
Ross
I am convinced. I had thought the No5 M.E.T.S temporary posting was because of a missed / poor approach on landing. I now think they were sent back to practice attack approaches because of mistakes made during the abortive strike they had participated in the day before the crash. It was possibly the first time they had dropped a torpedo, despite service over the North Sea earlier, and I suspect someone did not like their attempt.
Thank you to everyone who debated the point for me.
WZ862
By: Ross_McNeill - 28th February 2016 at 19:01
Not many aerial torpedo attacks on shipping where from head on or full astern. By choice they all were ‘deflection’ of varying angle.
I remain to be convinced of a reality where the Beaufort in 1942 Middle East theatre would regularly take off, climb to position, carry out a deflection shot at target circa 10,000 ft and return to base ‘all virtually under an hour’.
Ross
By: Sabrejet - 28th February 2016 at 17:41
Not convinced: ‘LTA’ vs ‘ALT’, ‘k’ vs ‘kt’ and why ‘deflection’? I think we’re talking about two different things here?
By: Ross_McNeill - 28th February 2016 at 16:16
It’s a maritime practice torpedo attack – more usually written ALT.
10k is 10 knots ie target speed.
http://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?4359-TTU-Training
Ross
By: Sabrejet - 28th February 2016 at 15:56
Air Gunner – deflection might refer to target practice (deflection shoot?) 10k might be 10,000 ft?
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February 28, 2016 at 2:23 pm