NigG (#139),
...Though much smaller, the fighting effectiveness of the modern RAF must significantly exceed that of the 1950s' one...
True "up to a point, Lord Copper". But the RAF of (say) '58 was not all that different from that of '55. The threat then was still the Warsaw Pact bomber. Wiki tells us:
...The first strategic-missile unit became operational on 9 February 1959 at Plesetsk in north-west Russia...
The answer as ever (ignoring MAD) was still the fighter, and the Hunter was no more than an updated Meteor/Vampire. Agreed, its 'fighting effectiveness' was superior- but one chap can still only be at one place at one time. Numbers still count ! Dumping one-third of your fighting strength does not seem a good idea. Admittedly, in '57 the core of their ex-war people would be in their mid-thirties, but experienced, fully trained, and in full flying practice. And by then there would have been a growing proportion of NS pilots (608 got its first ones in '54) and in the event or likelihood of war, the ones who'd finished their NS would have been pulled back in one way or another.
No, I see "the dead hand of the Treasury" at work here. Nothing changes
...So I chose a field and landed, avoiding some high trees and a power-line that ran to a farmhouse. At the far end was a herd of cows. I taxied over to some barns and asked a farm labourer where I was. 'You be at Tring, Sir', said he. I thanked him and said I hoped the cows wouldn't be producing curdled milk. 'They be alright, Sir', with a broad grin. I took off and found my way back to Hanworth...
We're in another world, aren't we ? I could almost
smell the cows. It's in that last, warm summer of '38. What would today's farmer's reaction be ? Reach for his solicitor and sue the MOD for (think of a number) still-born calves !
...the pilot tried to turn-back to the airfield to land...
They drummed into me in the States: "
you cain't use a field you've left behind !"
Nice pics - thanks !
Danny.