Tee Emm
16th Jan 2011, 11:58
I received this request and was wondering if any Pprune contributors could help who served with the RAF at Woomera during the British Nuclear weapons testing in 1953. The original "Elephant Ears" was the nickname given to an extra pair of air intakes on top of the fuselage for the RR Nene engine in the single seat Vampire Mk 30 and 31. Several RAAF pilots were killed when these aircraft encountered compressibility during high speed dives. This was due to loss of elevator control caused by airflow over the intakes.
From Ms Rosalind Jones.
"I am at present transcribing my father’s diaries which describe in 1953 a trip from Aus to London with 3 other chaps who were to be engaged on a secret mission code named Elephant Ears
My search on internet led me to the only reference I could find for “Elephant Ears” in your “Move Over Red Baron” article, so just on the off chance I wondered whether you had any knowledge of this project.
Unfortunately, Dad’s position was terminated some months later in England when he became ill and was subsequently evacuated and diagnosed with cancer.We have photos of his war experiences in the navy (“Bataan”) during Korean War and 8mm movies of his travels in 1953, but we have only just started to unravel these. The family has always been curious as to the nature of this secret mission, and by now I guess the information would be declassified if it were accessible.Thanks for your help,
Rosalind Jones
PS Dad was Aubrey Leggo (and was an electrical officer in RAN) His team members were Don Turnbull (no rank or other details), a British RNZ Air Force sergeant who was returning to the Air Ministry in Britain called David, and Arnold X a civilian rep from Vickers Aircraft Corp. – and that’s the limit of knowledge I have apart from the facts that their predeparture briefings were in Woomera and Salisbury where they met with aircraft design engineers and scientists. I guess your article may give some clues, as you describe that these ‘elephant ears’ caused problems with the aerodynamics of the fighter aircraft and perhaps this mission was to correct this design fault. It would be good to have this confirmed, even though it may have been relatively unimportant in the larger scheme of events during that period. Anyway, thanks for any input you might have.
From Ms Rosalind Jones.
"I am at present transcribing my father’s diaries which describe in 1953 a trip from Aus to London with 3 other chaps who were to be engaged on a secret mission code named Elephant Ears
My search on internet led me to the only reference I could find for “Elephant Ears” in your “Move Over Red Baron” article, so just on the off chance I wondered whether you had any knowledge of this project.
Unfortunately, Dad’s position was terminated some months later in England when he became ill and was subsequently evacuated and diagnosed with cancer.We have photos of his war experiences in the navy (“Bataan”) during Korean War and 8mm movies of his travels in 1953, but we have only just started to unravel these. The family has always been curious as to the nature of this secret mission, and by now I guess the information would be declassified if it were accessible.Thanks for your help,
Rosalind Jones
PS Dad was Aubrey Leggo (and was an electrical officer in RAN) His team members were Don Turnbull (no rank or other details), a British RNZ Air Force sergeant who was returning to the Air Ministry in Britain called David, and Arnold X a civilian rep from Vickers Aircraft Corp. – and that’s the limit of knowledge I have apart from the facts that their predeparture briefings were in Woomera and Salisbury where they met with aircraft design engineers and scientists. I guess your article may give some clues, as you describe that these ‘elephant ears’ caused problems with the aerodynamics of the fighter aircraft and perhaps this mission was to correct this design fault. It would be good to have this confirmed, even though it may have been relatively unimportant in the larger scheme of events during that period. Anyway, thanks for any input you might have.