Here's a little series of photos of Britannia XL639 arriving at Changi in July '62.
With a howl of reverse pitch coming across to the little hill under the control tower, where I am standing, Flight 6377 Britannia XL639 ‘Atria’ touches down on runway 20 at Changi at 1120 on 15th July 1962. The 205 Sqdn Shackletons, still changing over to Mk2's, are visible in the distance along with a 41 Sqdn RNZAF Bristol Freighter.
Captained by 511 Sqdn's Flt.Lt. C.Brown, an RAAF exchange pilot, Britannia XL639 taxies in using ‘inners’ only as the ground crew start to move towards the aircraft.
I can still remember the smell of 'parafin' (Avtur) as the Britannia's exhausts turn towards me! We lived in one of the married quarters on this 'embankment' behind the dispersal, as shown in an earlier photo, so the noise and smell were just taken for granted.
This was the best place for a plane mad teenager to be in the early '60s I'm sure.
The ground crew move towards the aircraft with the steps, auxiliary power unit and air-conditioning.
The logistics of getting the 'Changi Slip' Britannias out to the Far East and back on a daily basis was pretty complicated. A 511 Sqdn crew, under Flt.Lt.C.C. Brown, the Australian exchange pilot, had left Lyneham on the 12th July as Flight 6376 in Britannia XM491 routing to El Adem and Khormaksar where they overnighted. They next left for Gan, swopped now into this Britannia XL639 as Flight 6377. Obviously their aircraft was now carrying a different set of both passengers and freight, which stayed with the ongoing plane.
With the passengers gone it's time for the 'special Royal Navy' freight to be unloaded. The large 'Britannia Lift' platform has been pushed up to the front freight door, and a crane is also being used to unload. The presence of an RAF fire engine now in attendance and the fact that there's an armed guard visible just behind it, does point to something that 'goes bang' being brought in for one of the Navy's ships I guess.
A Valetta VW193 of 52 Squadron from Butterworth is just taxying in, with the usual line-up of 48 Squadron Hastings in the background.
Flt.Lt. Brown's crew were to leave Changi heading home as Flight 6378 on the 20th in Britannia XM497 to Gan and then on to Khormaksar for their overnight. Now they swopped onto their 4th Britannia XM490 as Flight 6379, arriving back at Lyneham, on the 22nd.That's 10 days after leaving the UK. In fact, this aircraft XL639 was back at Lyneham before them, having arrived there on the 17th with another 511 Sqdn crew under Flt.Lt.Slater. Of course that could easily have been under a 99 Sqdn crew.
David
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