Sabres
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On the 4th photo down there is a balloon flying behind the Ansons - presumably weather and not barrage!
I think Cliff Spink still flies a full sized one
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Five swords. Four Sabres & One Rapier Ahlhorn 1958
Sabres on static dispay at were 12 RCAF (410/439/441 Sqns), 4 RAF (2TAF) out of c300 a/c The flypast included 50: 36 RCAF, 24 RAF out of c.600 aircraft in total.
Even nerdier fact prompted by New BoB Film thread., the Station Commander at the time was Gp Capt J A Kent DFC* AFC aka Kentowski - Flt Cmdr with 303 Sqn during the Battle of Britain (CO 92 sqn for the last 6 days of the Battle)
The aircraft are lined up along the shorter now RW only runway, if they were taking off Westish or SouthWestish the roads are very close.
As a teenager I thought the Silver Jubilee Review at Finningley was impressive - however, only 74 a/c but I suspect as loud if not louder given F-4s, EE Lightnings, Harriers, Vulcans, Victors and Canberras + Gnats, JPs etc. (and an RAAF F-111)
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Location: Not far offa the dyke....
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On the 4th photo down there is a balloon flying behind the Ansons - presumably weather and not barrage
Used for initial parachute training - certainly into the 1980s
I suspect those in the 1953 review were there to demonstrate the capability; the photographs of the royal 'drive-by' show the balloon inflated and flown at only 100 ft or so, perhaps in readiness for the flypast. In the colour photo above, I think you can also see the silver envelope deflated and on the ground behind the row of Ansons.
During WWII, the balloons were manufactured by the aircraft section of the Lea Bridge Rubber Works and their successor company, Airborne Industries, still manufactures (or, at least, advertises) them today - last seen in use by the Belgian Army, as well as Thai and Korean units. (Other manufacturers of lighter-than-air aerial vehicles may be available!). Hope that solves your mystery, Langley....
Last edited by Squipdit Fashions; 30th Nov 2023 at 07:49. Reason: Name change and grammar
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And with a Tornado prototype as the finale.
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Lousy pictures, but this was 77 Sqn RAAF (MOGAS*) passing through Tengah on their way home to Oz in early 1969. Landed and taxied in as pairs, neatly turning into line on the main dispersal to shut down -a lovely example of ground-based formation flying!
* MOGAS = Malaysia's Only Group Attack Squadron.
* MOGAS = Malaysia's Only Group Attack Squadron.
Re. balloon history, It certainly does educate me, thank you very much: PPRUNE at its best.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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It went back to the USA about ten years ago.
That was one Haydon-Baillie's old T-33s, failed to get airborne at Duxford and went through the hedge. Both crew survived with some injuries. H-B did have half a dozen F-86s, ex German or something but they never flew with him, sold on by his estate after he died in a P-51 crash.
Single examples of the prototype Victor, Valiant and Vulcan took part in the flypast
The jumpmaster often used his boot to 'assist' the para in his first jump; if you stood at the edge of Queens Parade you could clearly hear them screaming as they exited the cage because they were only jumping from 800ft agl and the main parachute took so long to deploy you might not have time to use the reserve.
A new contracter later in the year used Short Skyvans operating in/out of Farnborough dropping at the already existing Hankley Common DZ. There were plans to re-develop the grass strip at Gypsy Hollow, Longmoor in order to shorten the transit time between the takeoff point and the DZ (I saw the plans) but this was overtaken when Nos 1 and 3 Paras moved to Colchester instead.
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I recall the balloon at Hankley Common (near my alma mater) often visible from the A3 as the next stick of victims was dropped! Also used to get a C-130 (not RAE's Snoopy!) on a seemingly endless low level orbit there, too low for para dropping I'd have thought, but maybe kit deliveries? (Probably asked before but don't remember the answer!)
I last saw one of those at Queens Parade, Aldershot in about 1995.<br />The jumpmaster often used his boot to 'assist' the para in his first jump; if you stood at the edge of Queens Parade you could clearly hear them screaming as they exited the cage because they were only jumping from 800ft agl and the main parachute took so long to deploy you might not have time to use the reserve.<br />A new contracter later in the year used Short Skyvans operating in/out of Farnborough dropping at the already existing Hankley Common DZ. There were plans to re-develop the grass strip at Gypsy Hollow, Longmoor in order to shorten the transit time between the takeoff point and the DZ (I saw the plans) but this was overtaken when Nos 1 and 3 Paras moved to Colchester instead.
Langley,you may know how JM got his MC,but otherwise `google` Wiki,`Operation Claret`;right at the bottom are `external links`;`How John Masters received an immediate MC`...Thread drift/digression but there is aviation content,I know,I was there...
Sadly JM died of C a few yrs ago....
Sadly JM died of C a few yrs ago....
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The T.33 did get airborne at Duxford, but at too low a speed. It failed to climb, but avoided some trees when crashing, and the back seater, Mr. Francis, escaped completely unhurt. He subsequently was awarded a bravery medal for rescuing his pilot, who was not in the best shape. Years ago, I had a long chat at Duxford with Mt. Francis, whose first name has escaped me, a couple of weeks after the crash.
I recall the balloon at Hankley Common (near my alma mater) often visible from the A3 as the next stick of victims was dropped! Also used to get a C-130 (not RAE's Snoopy!) on a seemingly endless low level orbit there, too low for para dropping I'd have thought, but maybe kit deliveries? (Probably asked before but don't remember the answer!)
On one occasion when they dropped some Ghurkhas we were asked to have an ambulance standing by when they landed back at Farnborough.
Apparently one of them managed to break a leg before he jumped. This would have been in the mid '90s because the MOD withdrew ambulances from Farnborough when Experimental Flying moved to Boscombe Down in '94 but under other MOD rules, an ambulance service was still required to be present during flying operations (we weren't yet a civil airfield where there is no requirement to have ambulance services based there) so the good old St John Ambulance Service were contracted to provide the service. When we told them they were to get an actual casualty, they were over the moon and transported the Ghurkha to Frimley Park Hospital in well under the required 7 minutes; I know because I timed them.
Last edited by chevvron; 4th Dec 2023 at 11:09.