Low level navigation

[BEagle]

Here's how it used to be done:


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Wonderful 'Mr Cholmondley-Warner' commentary!

[Solent Trout]

Good view of Swindon's Coate Water at 4:30, well pre-M4.

Thanks for sharing Beags.

[charliegolf]

Flying that high used to give Shy Torque a nosebleed!:ok:

CG

[Dengue_Dude]

Blimey, still got my Douglas protractor and Dalton computer.

Neither of which can suffer from flat batteries of course. Thanks Beags, you really need to get out more (says he who has just watched both bits . . .).

[Maxibon]

Fantastic Beags. Funny to think that the JP Low Level back in the 80s wasn't too far removed from these clips. "What are we going to do now John?", "Look out and fly accurately sir". It always amazed me that the QFI had the decency to call stude by his first name, opposed to 'spaz' or 'useless c**t' which seemed to be my adopted name....

[MG]

Good shot of Wittenham Clumps near Benson as well.

[Fox3WheresMyBanana]

Much appreciated Beags.
Brings back memories of tricky targets, like a one-man dinghy ("unknown"), and a "comms facility" that turned out to be an RAC phonebox.

[chopd95]

FNT in JP at Towers, Sqdn Ldr B.... J....o examining in right hand seat, low level phase, hit a snow storm, vis non existent, self says something to the effect of " aborting low level and climbing out", BJ response " correct , you've passed, I have control, let's stay down here and have some fun" !!

[stumpey]

That looked fun!

[India Four Two]

Back in the days when "countryside" really meant something!

[ShyTorque]

Flying that high used to give Shy Torque a nosebleed!
CG

"Nought feet"? that flight's often at two, followed by a couple of noughts.... :oh:

Yes, flying over things, rather than being so low that you have to go round them was far too boring (and would get you shot down, in our line of work). ;)

It wasn't me that bombed Cheltenham though.

However, I must say that now, over three decades on, in civvy street, following the purple track line on the triple GPS, rather than old fashioned clockwork navigating, does have certain attractions. It's all been paid for, so why not use it, especially as annoyances like the 500 foot rule have to be complied with?

In the old days our RAFG exercise air control orders said "not above 150 feet agl". :)

[Shackman]

Did you see that horse and rider - and no dayglo jacket!

[alisoncc]

Blimey, still got my Douglas protractor and Dalton computer.


Douglas looked like this.

http://www.users.on.net/~alisoncc/Douglas.jpg

Yup. Got one of them. Dalton long gone though. Think the Dalton went when I acquired an E6B. Still got that somewhere.

[Classic]

"What are we going to do now John?",

I think he was called Jim, wasn't he? :)

Anyone know where there's a link to that video? Brings back many memories...

[HighTow]

Was weird watching that recognising places around where I used to live. At 4:42 he passes to the SW of the old Roman Amphitheatre in Cirencester before crossing the old Tetbury road. 5:14 he's just SW of Colesbourne and 5:24 he crosses the escarpment just south of the western end of the Dowdswell Resevoir. I think it's Battledown he passes over in Cheltenham at the end. Shame he didn't go near any old airfields, would of been nice to see them.

[BEagle]

Anyone able to confirm the aircraft type?

I reckon it's a Bristol Beaufort T Mk. II.

[kluge]

BEagle - AH&N cockpit interior experts may help for the later parts of these great clips.

The reference to the opening footage says it is the low level raid on Eindhoven.

First vid at 0.23 shows inline engine - Mossie perhaps?
Points 0.18/0.27/0.38/0.45/1.15 look like Douglas Boston IIIs.

Further research yields this which may be the source of that part of the footage:

RAF Bomber Command's famous Eindhoven raid - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD4Yxbw79wM)

Mosquito's, Boston's and Ventura's took part apparently. Interesting comment related to the challenges of coordinating different ac types and TOT.

Re the comments at 3.55 - 'Mr Cholmondley-Warner' a relative is he? ;)

[BEagle]

Yes, the intro. to Pt.1 certainly shows a Mosquito engine nacelle and several Bostons.

The video was made in 1943, according to the date on the flight log. By that date, Beauforts were no longer in front-line service, having been superseded by the Beaufighter. The Beaufort was relegated to the training role and would have been used for the type of training shown.

The start sequence shows an interior shot; the control column is definitely an early Bristol design (as used in the Blenheim) and the small triangular section of the upper part of the canopy frame is, I think, unique to the Beaufort. The engine nacelles are certainly not those of a Blenheim (which had an 'apron' undercarriage fairing) and the oil cooler intakes are certainly Beaufort / Beaufighter - but the canopy structure certainly isn't that of the Beaufighter.

There's the odd glimpse of the aircraft's shadow at low level - it looks a Bristol twin, rather than an Anson or Oxford.

Nope - no relation to Mr Cholmondley-Warner! Although I hope that I speak more like him than some contemporary TV presenter, kno' wh' uh mean, mate. Innit.

[kluge]

Looks like a Beaufort at 6.35 if you compare the cockpit framing with this pic:

Beaufort cockpit | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gocatters/4540992289/in/photostream/)

[Fliegenmong]

Great Videos BE thanks!!!, It's like the TeeEmm publications I thumb through now & again, but in video format! Thanks!! :ok:

[BEagle]

kluge, yes it's that small triangular section of the canopy framing which drew my attention:

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a341/nw969/Beauf.jpg

By the way, it was an e-mail from a chum which alerted me to these videos - all I did was to provide the links on PPRuNe!