Wartime Reading!

The first book I remember reading was about the adventures of Wimpy the bomber bought for me during the war (the real war) with line drawings and adventures in Europe and the Far East. When older my Uncle Arthur gave me his copy of aircraft recognition RAF wartime types. He was a fitter on Halifax bombers.
Ray

Hi Avion Ancien

Thanks for your interest and copy of the Seamew Ad. There was a series of similiar advertisements running at this time. It would nice if we could get a full set.

Here is a Flight advert. from 12 March 1954. Is this a darkroom trick? Or a brave pilot!
Ray

Where I am at this moment you cant see the smog for the rain!
Ray

According to the Flight edition of 2 July 1977 in the Worlds Airforces Article the LARF had been substansially supplied with Soviet military equipment in the previous year. Many Russian advisors were working in the country. Mig-23 interceptors 2 squadrons. Mig -27 strike aircraft and a few 2 seat Mig-23U’s totaling some thirty aircraft, a few Tu-16 bombers and a squadron of 12 Tu-22 Blinders. These last mentioned aircraft are possibly partially Soviet crewed, and some sources have put the inservice figure as low as FIVE machines! In service are 60 Mirage 5D fighter bombers, thirty 5DE intercepters, ten 5DD trainers and ten 5DR reconnaissance aircraft. The transport arm remains largely Western equipped with eight C-130E Hercules, nine C-47’s and a VIP Jetstar. Nine Super Frelons for ASR and ASW, 12 Mil-8’s, 3 Bell 47G’s, ten Alouette Threes, and three Alouette Two’s with a single Agusta built AS-61A-4 on order for VIP duties. Twelve ex French Air Force Fouga equip the training units, together with three T-33A’s and two Mystere 20 Mirage radar trainers. As stated at the begining of the message this was what the Libyans were equipped with at the time of the little war with Egypt in July 1977! Years later they were much better equipped and attacked large countries like Chad.
In July 1977 the Egyptian Air Force currently operated mainly Russian equipment and total numbers reflect aircraft acquired and not necessarily those operational! A bomber force has some 25 Tu-16 Badger G’s, some armed with AS-5 Kelt ASM’s, and a similar number of IL-28 light bombers. Fighter bomber units are equipped with about 120 Su-7’s, although some suggest a figure nearer 80, and nearly 150 Mig-17’s which also double in the low level intercepter role. To help maintain the Mig’s, China has provided spares and about 30 engines. Also in the strike role is a Mig-27 Flogger D unit with 18 aircraft first seen the year before in the annual military parade in October. Also noted were 16 Su-20 variable geometry attack aircraft out of a possible 48 relinquished by Russia.
Interception missions are flown by some nine squadrons in Air Defence Command equipped with 108 Mig-21MF’s integrated into a Soviet established air defence system which includes SAM’s and radars. In addition there are about 150 Mig-21PFM’s and about 100 F attack aircraft ; a number equipped for reconnaissance. Supplementing these are about 24 Mig-23 Flogger B interceptors, six two seat Mig-23U Flogger C combat trainers, and 38 Mirage IIIEE’s originally ordered by Saudi Arabia for operation by Egpyt. A few Mig-19’s remain in service but in second line service. This then is most of the EAF in service in July 1977 of course they had the usual support aircraft but I leave that to other subscribers to this query.
Ray

The real truth!

Tell me, why on earth does it matter? How does the when have any bearing on anything? How independent was ANY Air Force at that time? Remember, much of the work done by the RAF on the 1st of April 1918 was PRECISELY the same as that carried out on the 31st of March. And, as you almost certainly know Martti, that a great deal of that work was at the direct request of the Army. Contact patrols to cover any advance, aerial reconnaissance, photographic reconnaissance, artillery observation, bombing. I think your understanding of the term independent is wrong. You are looking at it all literally when actually the services were interdependent on each other.

Regards,

kev35

Just a few lines to help set the above message in LEGAL jargon.
According to the excellent book ‘ The Paladins’ by John James published by Macdonald 1990. The British Prime Minister Lloyd George in AUGUST 1917 persuaded the War Cabinet to set up a sub-commitee to consider (a) home defence against air raids, and (b) the existing organisation for the study and higher direction of aerial operations. The first recommendation , produced in a fortnight, was that air defence of the capital should be brought under a unified command. This was done. The second recommendation came at the end of August. It urged the the creation of an independent Air Staff backed by an independent Air Ministry. The War Cabinet accepted this recommendation. The final result, in the creation of the RAF as it came out by the end of the year, is obviously the Royal Flying Corps as devised in 1910 by Henderson and Sykes, with detailed changes in light of war experience. The bill to set up the structure was drafted and became law by the end of November 1917. Trenchard became the first Chief of Air Staff in November 1917. Thus the organisation was in use well before April First 1918 which was the day selected to set the Royal Air Force as the nations only aerial force.
Ray

Strange that you should say that, and really shows how subjective this is, but in my younger spotting days we could always tell at a distance an ‘American’ Phantom by how dirty the air was behind it compared to an RAF one. We used to call them Smokey Joes.
Starfighters could lay some serious smoke aswel.

When I was in the RAF in the sixties we called them Smokey Joes as well, but the smokiest plane I ever saw taking off was at RAF Nicosia about 1961 in the summer when the temp. was about 100 degrees F. the aircraft in question was a Fairchild 119-G transport of the Norwegian Air Force supporting some UN setup in the middle east. It was trying to obtain enough speed for takeoff with the engines roaring at full bellow and the oily smoke hiding everything behind for hundreds of yards it hadnt left the runway when it disappeared from view behind a hangar and I waited for a nasty sound but it dropped off the edge of the plateau, managed to claw its way down the hill until it started to climb a little, luckily the contour continued to drop until it reached sealevel at Famagusta!

Even the French joke about it!

In a Parisian paper is a cartoon showing the Clemencau leaving France and two French sailors ashore watch the event. One says ” Battle of the Nile, Trafalgar. Another French warship goes to be destroyed by the English!”