I was a lowly co pilot on 47 Squadron at Topcliffe from February1952 until October 1952. Then it was to Coastal until 1964. My first trip was to collect the Queens staff from Mombasa. The first R.A.F. Duty for the new Queen. Our Hastings still had a hook in the tail to tow Gliders, but by that time gliders were " out" , and parachutes in. In April I went to Abingdon for three days to be briefed on carrying jeeps and trailers on a beam attached to the aircraft, in our case, if I remember correctly, underneath the pilots position, and well forward of the picture shown? The load was dropped by the navigator from the bay, again underneath the pilots. We went again to Abingdon on the 18th and did two heavy drops, each of two jeeps. 28th and 29th to do a parachute drop of troops. On 3rd May we flew to Luq with 18 paras, next day to Kasfareet. We had three days of formation flying then on the 8th we did a drop of 2 jeeps and 10 paras. May 12th Exercise Leap Year 1 started and we dropped Two jeeps, from the beam and 10 Paras and 6 containers out of the main door. On the 13th we dropped a jeep and a trailer and 10 Paras. I watched the next drop from the ground. Then we went up to Mafraq in Jordan for an exercise with the Arab Legion, but no drops. All very interesting. I was to be the co- pilot on a supply drop operating out of Thule to the British North Greenland Expedition, but as I was only a Sergeant at that time, and the Americans insisting on Pilots and Navigators being commissioned, I didn't go. The Hastings crashed on the drop and the crew were brought out by a U.S. Albatross which landed on the ice, used RATOG and brought the crew back to Thule. I hope all this is relevant!!