Beverley or Hasting tales please
Another photo/tale.
Hastings IRIS 2 - TG560 A photo from my album showing Hastings IRIS 2 (TG 560) making its annual visit to RAF Thornhill, S. Rhodesia in 1952. IRIS 2 was based at RAF Watton. This IRIS (Inspectorate of Radio Services) Hastings carried the Group Captain CO of IRIS and his team in their specially adapted aircraft to check whether signals standards and Air Traffic Control procedures at RAF stations were up to standard.
Hastings IRIS 2 - TG560 A photo from my album showing Hastings IRIS 2 (TG 560) making its annual visit to RAF Thornhill, S. Rhodesia in 1952. IRIS 2 was based at RAF Watton. This IRIS (Inspectorate of Radio Services) Hastings carried the Group Captain CO of IRIS and his team in their specially adapted aircraft to check whether signals standards and Air Traffic Control procedures at RAF stations were up to standard.
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Another photo/tale.
Hastings IRIS 2 - TG560 A photo from my album showing Hastings IRIS 2 (TG 560) making its annual visit to RAF Thornhill, S. Rhodesia in 1952. IRIS 2 was based at RAF Watton. This IRIS (Inspectorate of Radio Services) Hastings carried the Group Captain CO of IRIS and his team in their specially adapted aircraft to check whether signals standards and Air Traffic Control procedures at RAF stations were up to standard.
Hastings IRIS 2 - TG560 A photo from my album showing Hastings IRIS 2 (TG 560) making its annual visit to RAF Thornhill, S. Rhodesia in 1952. IRIS 2 was based at RAF Watton. This IRIS (Inspectorate of Radio Services) Hastings carried the Group Captain CO of IRIS and his team in their specially adapted aircraft to check whether signals standards and Air Traffic Control procedures at RAF stations were up to standard.
IRIS. I came across them several times whilst I was a radio operator. Allegedly if one didn't do things by the book whilst in ATC, or if a transmitter or beacon was off frequency, this was reported and could lead to a black mark in one's book.
Oh, the dreaded IRIS! Rumours of their being out and about spread quickly and comms procedures improved markedly! ... unless, like one unfortunate, who was already airborne when they arrived unexpectedly. He was engaged in a 'difference of opinion' with a ground station and added a non-approved rider to his final message. IRIS picked it up and the culprit was summoned to explain. His attempted defence, that he was only making a closing remark for future contact -"See you next trip" (in brief form), was not accepted 
and wrath descended!!
and wrath descended!!
Memory further stirred re. Bevs - the Aden based Bevs had a run of engineering problems which left them with only one serviceable for some time. The callsign was MOBXG and it was soon after the change-over to the 'new' ICAO phonetics. One of my 'mates' who operated a lot on that aircraft 'modified' his callsign to MIKE OSCAR BLUNDERBUSS XMAS GURGLE and was happily contacted as 'Xmas Gurgle' for a while!
NO, your Caribbean extended stopover tale reminded me of an incident at the Castle Harbour Hotel at Bermuda. The crew were enjoying some sippers on the veranda when we were approached by an American gentleman:-
"Pardon me, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation and assume you are English. Would you by any chance have something to do with that aircraft (pointing across the bay to the airfield)?
Well, yes that's our aircraft, we are its crew.
"I've not come across that before, what is it called?"
It's a Handley Page Hastings of the Royal Air Force
"Excuse me for saying so but it must be quite elderly now."
It is and we will be replacing them with the Lockheed Hercules next year.
"That's very interesting. I have a collection of transport aircraft at home and would really like one to add to them. Would the RAF be willing to sell it do you think?"
I don't know. I suppose it would rather depend on how much you were offering.
"Well, I bought a USAF DC-4 for $6000, would that be acceptable?"
I can ask for you if that's a definite offer.
"It is, and I'd throw in the return airfares for the crew from Texas to England."
Right, give me your details and I'll send a signal to our HQ.
And so the signal was sent naming our wealthy new friend and the address of his Ranch. The reply from Upavon was Ops Immediate and tersely read "Proceed on itinerary as ordered".
Horses and water....
"Pardon me, I couldn't help overhearing your conversation and assume you are English. Would you by any chance have something to do with that aircraft (pointing across the bay to the airfield)?
Well, yes that's our aircraft, we are its crew.
"I've not come across that before, what is it called?"
It's a Handley Page Hastings of the Royal Air Force
"Excuse me for saying so but it must be quite elderly now."
It is and we will be replacing them with the Lockheed Hercules next year.
"That's very interesting. I have a collection of transport aircraft at home and would really like one to add to them. Would the RAF be willing to sell it do you think?"
I don't know. I suppose it would rather depend on how much you were offering.
"Well, I bought a USAF DC-4 for $6000, would that be acceptable?"
I can ask for you if that's a definite offer.
"It is, and I'd throw in the return airfares for the crew from Texas to England."
Right, give me your details and I'll send a signal to our HQ.
And so the signal was sent naming our wealthy new friend and the address of his Ranch. The reply from Upavon was Ops Immediate and tersely read "Proceed on itinerary as ordered".
Horses and water....
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IRIS
IRIS
I have posted previously on PPRuNe of my father's association with the IRIS series of aircraft. Mention of the visit of the Hastings to Bulawayo reminded me that somewhere I had an article that was in my father's possessions relating to a flight of a previous IRIS, this time Lancaster PA447 to S Rhodesia and then on to the Far East. We were stationed at RAF Watton at the time, in fact that is where I was born. Dad was posted to RAF Marham on Canberras and we left before the IRIS flight moved on to Hastings. Anyway attached is the article (if I succeed), I have no idea where it came from probably Air Clues or some such.
QP
I have posted previously on PPRuNe of my father's association with the IRIS series of aircraft. Mention of the visit of the Hastings to Bulawayo reminded me that somewhere I had an article that was in my father's possessions relating to a flight of a previous IRIS, this time Lancaster PA447 to S Rhodesia and then on to the Far East. We were stationed at RAF Watton at the time, in fact that is where I was born. Dad was posted to RAF Marham on Canberras and we left before the IRIS flight moved on to Hastings. Anyway attached is the article (if I succeed), I have no idea where it came from probably Air Clues or some such.
QP
Beverleys in Kenya East Africa (and a Pembroke)
Resupply at Lodwar A/F N. Kenya 1962 30 Sqn based at RAF Eastleigh
At RAF Eastleigh 30 Sqn Beverleys
Resupply at Lodwar A/F N. Kenya 1962
Passing Mt Kenya in a Pembroke to Lodwar A/F 1962
Pembroke at RAF Eastleigh 1962
Resupply at Lodwar A/F N. Kenya 1962 Beverley on right. Extremely hot !
Pembroke and Kenya Police Air Wing Cessna at Lodwar 1962
Lodwar A/F N Kenya
Signal lorries at Lodwar
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In Nairobi with 53 Squadron Bev’s from Abingdon for flood relief operating out of the brand new Embakasi airport in ‘59 or’60. Understaffed as usual, in the middle of the night I was tasked with refilling the overload oil tank on one A/C. WWII era re-oiling trolley positioned under port wing. Clamber up through freight bay to flight deck, back through Nav/Sig station and out onto port wing. Attach rope near oil filler on wing and throw remainder down over leading edge. Clamber back down and attach rope to trolley hose nozzle. Clamber back up, haul up nozzle and hose, lock the nozzle trigger open with a GS screwdriver and fix in oil filler. Back down again (think Gerard Hoffnung ‘The Bricklayers Story’), start the notoriously unreliable trolley engine and start the oil flowing. Climb back up, check it’s coming through OK, back down off the wing into the inner dog kennel to monitor the oil gauge(s?) on the 120 gallon overload tanks. The flow is painfully slow, due to the ancient trolley operating at over 5000’, and level creeps up ever more slowly, until it eventually stops at about 3/4 full. Climb back down assuming trolley is empty or engine stopped, (did you spot my error there?). Engine still running and trolley not empty. Dawn is now on the horizon, I am absolutely knackered and as I lean on the trolley gazing into the early light in the distance trying to engage brain, I realise that a large portion of the dawn sky is obscured by a black curtain hanging from the inboard section of the port wing. My tired brain could not compute, so I walked back to push the curtain aside. You are no doubt ahead of me here, due a malfunctioning gauge, I had pumped xxx gallons of oil all over a large area of pristine white concrete of Kenya’s pride and joy brand new airport. Cue panic stations, swiftly back to the line office to own up to EngO, Bill ‘Yacker’ Yates, ex-Catalina FE, who quickly organised a working party to move all 3(4?) of our a/c to a clean area a few hundred yards away before it was light, shovel readily available bondu sand on the oil slick, scoop it up and spread it off the concrete in the bushes. Whether the authorities ever realised we were responsible for the eyesore black patch I never knew. Perhaps as we were there on an aid mission, dropping food to people isolated by the floods, they chose to ignore it. As you can tell, the humiliation has stayed with me for over 60 years.
Now it can be told ... What a lovely story, thank you!
Years ago I was in the right hand seat (LHS Fred Da Costa) of a unique Handley Page Hastings transport (WD480) that had been configured with an external "bath tub" bomb bay. From Farnborough we went up to West Freugh in Scotland to do statistical testing of sonobuoys dropped in to the local Atlantic. The things had to work (including sinking after 24 hours ) before the whole batch was accepted by MoD.
Well there was,of course, a "wonders and blunders" small boat in the range to monitor proceedings . We trundled in , dropping the bloody things one at a time close to the boat. "Closer .,Closer!",was the cry from the boat.
At this point Tom Clarkson ( ex 617 who knew Gibson) called up from his Engineer Station downstairs and said "Let me take it from the parachute dropping window" which was under the nose.
Tom went down and we had the traditional "Left, left , steady, right a bit "etc.
Then he announced "O.K;. Dropped! Close enough?"
We then had an admission from the boat.
The sonobuoy had entered the water one side of the craft and bobbed up the
other.
Well there was,of course, a "wonders and blunders" small boat in the range to monitor proceedings . We trundled in , dropping the bloody things one at a time close to the boat. "Closer .,Closer!",was the cry from the boat.
At this point Tom Clarkson ( ex 617 who knew Gibson) called up from his Engineer Station downstairs and said "Let me take it from the parachute dropping window" which was under the nose.
Tom went down and we had the traditional "Left, left , steady, right a bit "etc.
Then he announced "O.K;. Dropped! Close enough?"
We then had an admission from the boat.
The sonobuoy had entered the water one side of the craft and bobbed up the
other.
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I was at Gan in 1958 and photo'd the first Beverley to visit Gan on 14th February 1958.
My photo taken at Gan 14th February 1958
This 47 Sqn Abingdon-based Beverley, serial number XB263, pilot F/Lt Peter Dudley, detached to FEAF flew in from RAF Negombo in Sri Lanka the advance contingent of Pakistani workers who were to do most of the construction work to convert Gan from a sleepy island with a short crushed-coral landing strip to a busy RAF staging post with an 8,694ft/2,650m long concrete runway.
The interesting point is that the nose of the aircraft sports the arms of the town of Abingdon (where it was based) and above that the arms the ribbon of the GSM annotated underneath "Malaya".
Beverley landing at Abingdon 1959
RAF Abingdon 1959. Hastings returns to Abingdon after a drop at nearby Weston-on-the-Green drop zone. Parachute door left open as Weston is about 10-miles up the road from Abingdon and just north of Oxford.
.
My photo taken at Gan 14th February 1958
This 47 Sqn Abingdon-based Beverley, serial number XB263, pilot F/Lt Peter Dudley, detached to FEAF flew in from RAF Negombo in Sri Lanka the advance contingent of Pakistani workers who were to do most of the construction work to convert Gan from a sleepy island with a short crushed-coral landing strip to a busy RAF staging post with an 8,694ft/2,650m long concrete runway.
The interesting point is that the nose of the aircraft sports the arms of the town of Abingdon (where it was based) and above that the arms the ribbon of the GSM annotated underneath "Malaya".
Beverley landing at Abingdon 1959
RAF Abingdon 1959. Hastings returns to Abingdon after a drop at nearby Weston-on-the-Green drop zone. Parachute door left open as Weston is about 10-miles up the road from Abingdon and just north of Oxford.
.
The "award" of the GSM Malaya came about when the aircraft carried out an operational drop of men from B Sqn, 22 SAS, on 9 Feb 58, in the Sekinchan area of Perak, Malaya. They were hunting a group of CTs led by Ah Hoi.
Beverley XB263/K of 47 Sqn was en route back to the UK after a proving flight to the Far East at the time Warmtoast's photos were taken. The aircraft had conducted various trials and given demos of it's capabilities in a tropical climate.
The "award" of the GSM Malaya came about when the aircraft carried out an operational drop of men from B Sqn, 22 SAS, on 9 Feb 58, in the Sekinchan area of Perak, Malaya. They were hunting a group of CTs led by Ah Hoi.
The "award" of the GSM Malaya came about when the aircraft carried out an operational drop of men from B Sqn, 22 SAS, on 9 Feb 58, in the Sekinchan area of Perak, Malaya. They were hunting a group of CTs led by Ah Hoi.
Thanks indeed for these details, I didn't know of these when I photographed this Beverley at Gan 63-years ago!
WT
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A short account of the drop and ground operation, and a couple of additional photos of the aircraft, from one of the troopers involved is on pages 8/9 of the link below:
http://raf-butterworth-penang-associ...stmas_2013.pdf
Last edited by lauriebe; 21st Nov 2021 at 02:25.
