FL600: Issue 13 august 2015

August 2015

Plus over 40 pages of the latest news from the industry, current training opportunities, and much more!

Welcome to the August 2015 edition of FL600!

Well, we’re back again and, already two thirds of the way through the year, time seems to have flown by. I’m sure a few of you noticed but there’s a gap in the release of FL600 again. One of the most problematic issues of such a small team trying to produce a publication like this is, when something happens in our personal lives, it has a massive impact in our ability to get this digest out. Mark and I do our very best but, sometimes, other things have to have our full and undivided attention and getting out a digest for our dedicated followers must take a back seat for which we humbly apologise. From the very beginning, we decided that FL600 should be free to download and read.

It was our way of saying thank you to all the customers and followers of Aviation Type Training Services. We are determined to keep it free but to do so we need your help! For those of you within the industry, please bring the website and digest to the attention of those who advertise your company products and services—this digest regularly attracts several thousand readers and is one of, if not the, most cost effective advertising platforms currently available to the aviation sector.

And to the enthusiast, this is as much your digest as it is ours! We always welcome contributions be it photographs, articles, or just letters to us so do please get involved and help us make this bigger and better!

Andy Kewley

@kewnet

Facebook group: Picture of the month Submitted by Shantha Kumar Kumar, the Red Bull Matadors pair See more great images at:

facebook.com/ groups/ ATTServices/ Cover Photo: JAMES LUCAS

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Headlines

News in brief from the aviation world

Industry News Special Feature Event Diary Advertisers Listing Air Brain

Articles from civil, military, commercial and space sectors

Museum Focus Training Calendar Fleet Deliveries

Flugwelt Altenburg-Nobitz Museum at Altenburg-Nobitz Airport, Germany

Dambusters Special

August & September Aerospace Events Diary

Industry Suppliers

Air Brain: Test your aviation knowledge with our monthly quiz!

Current training opportunities

Latest airline fleet additions from airfleets.net

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Have you visited an aviation museum over the summer? Perhaps you’ve ventured into the world of aero-modelling or kit building? If so, we would love to hear about your experiences!

We are looking for short narratives with accompanying images for future issues of FL600.

Contact us on: FL600@attservices.co.uk

NEXT ISSUE OUT: 11TH SEPTEMBER 2015 3

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Flydubai to start new passenger services from DWC to Amman, Beirut, Chittagong, Doha, Kathmandu, Kuwait and Muscat from 25th October.

Rockwell Collins is beginning to consider the strategies, partners and acquisitions required to make the avionics and information services provider a dominant player in the coming “era of applications and services” for airliners.

American Airlines have announced that, with immediate effect, they will no longer transport buffalo, elephant, leopard, lion or rhino trophies.

Russian airlines carried 41.2 million passengers in the first half of 2015, down 0.7% compared to the year-ago period.

Despite the first-half decrease, in June passenger numbers grew 0.6% year-over -year to 9.8 million, continuing a trend that started in May. HRH The Princess Royal pre-

sented 70 Squadron Royal Air Force with their new Standard on the 23rd July to mark the re-formation of the squadron wth Airbus A400 Atlas aircraft.

engines catching on fire on the runway.

AgustaWestland have announced it has signed a contract for the sale of ten AW189 commercial helicopters to RN-Aircraft, a subsidiary of the oil company Rosneft. The contract foresees that the new helicopters will be used for transportation purposes.

Mitsubishi Aircraft is expanding its aviation footprint in Washington. The Japanese company announced that it will partner with an American company, Seattle-based AeroTEC, to create an engineering A Coast Guard Helicopter hub in Seattle. made an emergency landing Lancaster Airport will receive on a golf course in Richmond a $157,000 federal grant to County Country Club, Staten Island, New York, on 2nd Aubuild a taxiway, U.S. Sen. gust. The chopper, heading Bob Casey has announced.

Casey, a Pennsylvania Defrom Atlantic City, New Jermocrat, said the money came sey, to Bayonne, New Jersey, had to land in emergency due from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal to fumes and smoke in cockAviation Administration. pit. The helicopter landed uneventfully and all 4 people Jetstar Airways in Northern aboard remained safe. The winter season is adding new cause of smoke is being invesdomestic New Zealand route, tigated. serving Wellington – Dunedin market. This route is to be Debris found on Reunion Isserved 3 times a week with land in the Indian Ocean is Airbus A320, starting 28th “conclusively” from missing October.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Malaysian prime A Kunming Airlines (KY) minister Najib Razak has conBoeing 737-700 scheduled to firmed. take off from Lijiang Sanyi Flybe, Europe's largest reInternational Airport was forced to abort its departure gional airline, has released its on the evening of 4th August, winter schedule to and from due to one of the aircraft's Bournemouth Airport.

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Flying Colours close to achieving ADS-B STC on Bombardier Challenger 604/605 Flying Colours says it is close to securing a Supplemental Type Certificate for ADS-B OUT in Bombardier Challenger 604 and 605 airframes, in line with industry mandates that start coming into effect in 2017.

The Bombardier Challenger 604 and 605 models were selected as the first for installation as it is one of the most

Automatic Dependent Surveillance - OUT (ADS -B OUT) enables the aircraft to report highly accurate position and status information to air traffic control, replacing the need for traditional radar. consistent airframes in the Flying Colours’ portfolio.

Flying Colours expects to have the accreditation validated by both Transport Canada and Europe’s EASA following FAA approval this autumn, the culmination of a full 12 months’ work by the St Louis team. The first Challenger 605

to be modified in accordance with the STC will be introduced this September, enabling Flying Colours to start taking orders for the solution during the NBAA Convention in Las Vegas the following month. It is also looking to expand into additional business aircraft models - the Challenger 300 Series being the most likely next type.

EASA has mandated that by December 7, 2017, all aircraft with a maximum certified take off weight exceeding 5,700kg or having a maximum cruise airspeed capability greater than 250 kts, be ADS-B OUT (DO-260B) compliant.

According to FAA rules, any aircraft that flies in airspace that currently requires a Mode C transponder will require ADS-B OUT capability by 2020.

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“We have invested considerably in our internal avionics, sales and engineering teams in conjunction with outside engineering resources to develop this solution,” commented Flying Colours Director of Sales Kevin Kliethermes.

“Our STC requires minimal downtime for installation and fully meets the mandate requirements for DO-260B compliance. By using a dual architecture design and proven interface technology, the solution will also provide for increased dispatch reliability, which is vitally important to our client base. “ The STC will be available for installation at all Flying Colours facilities upon issuance.

Story & Photo Credit: aero-news.net

Defence Secretary Announces RAF Tornado GR4 Extension The frontline RAF Tornado squadron spearheading Britain’s air campaign against ISIL in Iraq will be maintained in service for an additional year until March 2017 the Defence Secretary has announced.

In a visit to Baghdad, Michael Fallon announced that 12 (Bomber) Squadron will continue to offer the essential precision firepower, intelligence and surveillance needed for the counter-ISIL international coalition to provide vital support to Iraqi ground forces. With eight Tornados flying daily missions over Iraq the UK is playing a leading role in tackling ISIL. This announcement reaffirms Britain’s commitment to maintain the resilience of the attack, which has seen ISIL lose around 25% of the territory it once held.

Speaking in Iraq today the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “ISIL terrorists pose a threat the security of Iraq, Syria, the wider region and to the streets of Britain. It is therefore our duty to ensure that the UK continues to play its part to defeat this barbaric regime. Our aircraft have flown thousands of missions and RAF Tornados have carried out hundreds of strikes, helping Iraqi forces push back ISIL from the Kurdish region and out of key towns such as

Tikrit and Bayji. We want to ensure we maintain this crucial operational tempo and so we will extend the lifetime of Number 12 Squadron for a further year to March 2017.

This will allow us to sustain our effort, helping the Iraqis lead the fight on the ground.”

The Tornado GR4 remains one of the very few aircraft in the world that is able to operate day or night and in poor weather. Equipped with worldclass precision-guided Paveway bombs and Brimstone missiles the GR4s offer high precision attacks alongside low collateral damage. It can also be fitted with the RAPTOR reconnaissance pod which greatly increases the effectiveness of the aircraft in a surveillance role.

In response to the announcement, the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford said: “The decision to retain the third Tornado GR4 squadron for a further year is welcome news.

It is clear that the requirement for fast jet precision strike and intelligence gathering shows no sign of diminishing; extending the life of Number 12 (Bomber) Squadron will allow the Royal Air Force to continue to provide a unique and hugely valuable contribution to the coalition fight against Da’esh. I offer my sincere 7

“Tornado GR4 remains one of the very few aircraft in the world that is able to operate day or night and in poor weather. ” thanks to all the men and women of the RAF who operate and support this vital capability and for the part they have, and will continue to, play in the campaign.”

In his second trip to the country as Secretary of State for Defence, Mr Fallon also met with Iraqi Prime Minister alAbadi, the Iraqi Defence Minister Khalid Mut’ib Al-Obeidi and the Iraqi National Security Advisor Dr Falih al-Fayyadh to welcome the steps taken on political reform as the UK recognises the fight against ISIL is not one that will be won on the military tract. He also met with US Lieutenant General James Terry Commander of the Coalition Headquarters for an operational update.

Story Credit: gov.uk For more information see ISIL: UK government response page on GOV.UK

Airbus Patents a Concept Jet That Could Fly From New York to London in an Hour Take a ride in this plane and you could be across the ocean before the flight attendants have a chance to bring the beverage cart.

Airbus's design is just a wild -eye concept that won't be built anytime soon, certainly not within the one-year term for which the patent was approved.

Airbus recently filed for a patent for this design for a jet capable of traveling at a maximum of Mach 4.5. That's nearly 3,500 mph, fast enough to travel from New York to London in about an hour or get halfway around the world in the time it takes to watch an extended cut of one of the Lord of the Rings movies.

It's more than twice what the famed Concorde could do.

Airbus' concept would both a ramjet and a rocket engine to reach such ludicrous speeds.

speeds, according to the patent filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Once the rocket engine did its job, hydrogen-powered, wingmounted ramjets would take over.”

Says Mashable: “The rocket engine would kick in after the turbojets, and propel the craft vertically to supersonic

Airbus's design is just a wildeye concept that won't be built anytime soon, certainly not within the one-year term for

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which the patent was approved. But flying many times faster than the speed of sound isn't as crazy as you might think.

The Pentagon has spent the last decade testing hypersonic vehicles (andweapons)— experimental planes capable of flying Mach 5 or even faster.

After multiple failures, itsucceeded in 2013 with a Mach 5 test of the X-51A. (Tests of the Mach 20 HTV-2 didn't go as well.) The military now wants a new hypersonic plane to be ready for action by 2023.

Soon thereafter: Flying to Europe in less time than it take to actually get to the airport.

At least a person can dream.

Story & Photo Credit: popularmechanics.com

Vulcan excitement as second Shoreham visit added will be available at the airshow.”

THE Avro Vulcan, flying its swansong, will now be appearing at Shoreham Airshow on both days.

The Shoreham Airshow team announced this afternoon that it had managed to secure a visit from the bomber, an iconic example of British aerospace engineering, on Saturday, to add to the Sunday visit already planned.

The news means people will have two opportunities to see the plane in the sky over Shoreham Airport, on Saturday, August 22, and Sunday, August 23.

Airshow organiser Derek Harber said: “This year promises to be one of the best yet, which will be a hard act to follow after the success of the awardwinning event at Shoreham

Visitors are being encouraged to travel by train and use the shuttle bus service, which will take passengers directly to the airfield from Shoreham railway station. Mr Harber said: “We want the traffic to run smoothly and this will make life a lot easier for all attending. Flying is what Shoreham Airshow is all about and Rod Dean, the flying display director, has come up with some different displays. I try to Airport in 2014. We always try please all parties,” he said.

“There are those that like warto make the displays different each year and the highlight for birds and others who like fast jets. It will be earmuffs time many will be the swansong of the Avro Vulcan, which will be when the Royal Navy Sea touching down for the last time Vixen (both days) and the RAF Typhoon (Sunday only) apat the end of this year’s display season. It will now be ap- pear. The popular Airfield Atpearing on Saturday and Sun- tack and Scramble is back with more aircraft and more pyroday. technics to please the younger people will have generation. With more than 50 two opportuniaircraft appearing both days in a six-hour flying display, ties to see the one can be assured that there plane in the sky will be ample opportunity for over Shoreham the photographers to fill their lenses with some stunning imGeoffrey Lee, our assistant ages.” press officer, recently had the pleasure of doing an exclusive For a full list of participating aircraft go to air to air photographic sortie with this iconic aircraft and www.shorehamairshow.co.uk. several of these images will be appearing in our souvenir pro- Story & Photo Credit: gramme, or as some aircrew Worthing Herald say coffee table book, which Geoffrey Lee 9

Air Europa signs component deal with Lufthansa Technik Lufthansa Technik AG, international provider for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, and the Spanish private airline, Air Europa Lineas Aéreas S.A.U. (AEA), have signed a comprehensive long -term component supply agreement for the airline's future fleet of up to 22 Boeing 787 aircraft.

The contract will start with the arrival of the first Boeing 787 in March 2016. The Total Component Support TCS® agreement covers airframe and engine related component overhaul, engineering services as well as pooling and Home Base Lease. The component

“Since 2002 Air Europa has contracted Lufthansa Technik with different maintenance, repair and overhaul services.

Currently, Lufthansa Technik is providing landing gear services and is also executing overhaul services for a certain number of CFM56-7 engines.

supply will be realized via the Lufthansa Technik facilities in Frankfurt and Hamburg.

"For Air Europa, assurance in quality and flight safety is a key topic", said Alberto Linés, Maintenance & Engineering Director from Air Europa. "In the past we made good experience with Lufthansa Technik's support in different technical services. This is the reason why we have decided to expand our partnership with Lufthansa Technik to component services for our new Boeing 787 fleet, the future core of our long-haul operation."

"We are extremely proud that Air Europa has put its trust in our capabilities to deliver the optimal component services for the new Boeing 787 fleet, making the airline our first 787 customer in Europa", said Georgios Ouzounidis, Director Sales Europe, at Lufthansa 10

Technik. "This contract signature is the latest milestone in our long-lasting partnership which started in 2002. We will do our best to help ensure that Air Europa continues to meet its customers' expectations of providing a highly reliable product."

Since 2002 Air Europa has contracted Lufthansa Technik with different maintenance, repair and overhaul services.

Currently, Lufthansa Technik is providing landing gear services for the airline's Boeing 737NG and Airbus A330 fleets and is also executing overhaul services for a certain number of CFM56-7 engines. Lufthansa Technik Aero Alzey is overhauling the CF34-10 engines of Air Europa's Embraer E-195 Fleet.

Story & Photo Credit: aerotime.aero

Bizav making progress

Business aviation has made strides in 2015 and has somewhat recovered from the economic crash. Fly Corporate’s Rod Simpson looks at the market and the current trends.

As business aviation moves into the second half of the year, it’s a good opportunity to ask how the industry has fared so far in 2015. In general, while the industry has shown some promising signs, it is not out of the woods yet after the financial crisis.

“There is continued growth in flight activity in North America, up 1.9% so far this year,” says Richard Koe, managing director of industry intelligence experts WingX. “This is slightly short of the 2.5%

growth last year, but the consistently positive trend confirms the fundamental upturn in the powerhouse U.S. business aviation sector driven by solid economic growth with an expectation of a 2.8% GDP growth this year, and, in particular, a strong stock market and solid corporate profits.”

The firm also reports that flight volumes in Europe were up by 1.8% in the month of June compared with 2014.

Germany and France had particularly high activity, although there were many regional variations. North Africa and the Middle East have been affected by problems in the CIS area.

“We see the growth of in-flight activity reflected in heavy jets, 11

but also in the lighter jet segments, which for a long time post-2008 were subdued,” Koe says.

European charter fleet consolidating A consolidation of the European charter market is impacting the business aviation market. The market is very fragmented. Too many charter companies are flying just one or two aircraft. That is changing with several mergers announced in Europe, including Gama Aviation’s acquisition of Hangar8 and the sale of ExecuJet to the Luxaviation Group. This follows on the heels its earlier acquisitions of London Executive Aviation Continued on page 12

Continued from page 11 The smaller end of the general aviation market is certainly feeling the pressure.

Piper has announced that it is facing a workforce reduction of up to 20%. and of French operator, Unijet.

Those mergers make Luxaviation the world’s second largest business jet management company (after NetJets) with more than 250 aircraft. Luxaviation CEO Patrick Hansen has told Fly Corporate that he expects the company to grow to a fleet of 500 aircraft by 2019.

Charter customers, according to WingX, prefer the longrange globals. There is also strong demand for short-range flights in the Beechcraft King Air and Pilatus PC-12 turboprops and the Phenom light jets. The latest statistics from the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) paint a mixed picture for aircraft manufacturing. They show that hopes from an early upturn in aircraft deliveries are still to be fulfilled.

In total, 551 business jets and turboprops were handed over in the first half of this year – a fall of 6.8% compared with the same period in 2014. There

were ups and downs. Bombardier saw a rise in deliveries of the Learjet 70/75 and the new Challenger 350 while Textron’s Cessna unit pretty much held its own. Gulfstream saw a small drop in numbers (albeit with better revenues) and Embraer had a small fall in revenue and units.

The smaller end of the general aviation market is certainly feeling the pressure. Piper has announced that, due to a sales slowdown, it is facing a workforce reduction of up to 20%.

In fact, deliveries of pistonengined aircraft fell by 11.8% to 464 units in the half year with Cirrus, in particular, dropping by 16% in unit deliveries. Diamond Aircraft sold fewer trainers and delivered half the number of DA40 private four-seaters. The helicopter manufacturers suffered more with an 11% fall to 447 units although billings were up, due to a balance of larger helicopters. Nevertheless, there were some bright spots including Cessna’s increased sales of Skyhawks for flight training.

ing to Embraer statistics, just 8% of the world’s business jet fleet is up for sale, down to its lowest level since the 16% seen at the height of the financial crash in 2009. On the other hand, the boom in business aviation in China has slowed, and the current crisis in the Chinese stock market is creating uncertainty.

Despite all of this, there is robust product development in progress, although GAMA points out that there is “a need for streamlined certification processes and efficient validation mechanisms between regulatory authorities.” For the aircraft manufacturers, several new projects have been making progress. Dassault flew its prototype Falcon 8X in February and then added another two more development aircraft to the certification program.

Gulfstream made the first flight of the G500 in May, and Airbus launched the ACJ320 Neo, which promises a 16% improvement in fuel burn due to new Pratt & Whitney PW1100G or CFM LEAP-1A engines. After a long period of development, Honda announced preliminary certificaGAMA President and CEO tion for its HondaJet on March Pete Bunce explained that “our industry is still being buf- 27, paving the way for early feted by volatile global marcustomer deliveries. kets and contraction within the energy sector.” A reduction in Story and Photo Credit: the used aircraft inventory fly-corporate.com could help the OEMs. Accord12

Russia and India are negotiating upgrade of Su30MKI fighters Russia and India are negotiating upgrade of Su-30MKI fighters.

It was stated by the head of Russian delegation at the 51st Paris Air Show, Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), Konstantin Biryulin, TASS reports.

Speaking of the situation connected with the upgrade of Su30MKI fighters operated by India, the head of Russian delegation said that “at present Russia is negotiating upgrade of Su-30MKI aircraft with the Indian partners. The first Su-30MKI jets were delivered to India 20 years ago”.

“The upgrade includes fitting the aircraft with new communication and data transmission systems as well as new radars.

All these systems will be upgraded,” he noted.

According to the head of the delegation, Russia and India are preparing contracts for joint development of FGFA (fifth-generation fighter aircraft) MTA (multi-role transport aircraft). “Detailed and

final design of these two aircraft have been completed,” Biryulin said. “At present negotiations related to signing contracts for joint development of these aircraft are in progress,” he added. Biryulin also said that Russia submitted tender documentation for Su35 fighter to Indonesia.

“Documentation for Su-35 fighter required to take part in the tender was handed over to Indonesian partners,” he said.

According to Biryulin, Rosoboronexport is taking part in the tender for delivery of new fighters to Indonesia.

“In the course of preliminary negotiations the parties agreed that Su-35 is the best solution.

The aircraft is being operated

by Russian air forces and it has already proven itself.

Moreover, the Indonesian air forces have operated Su aircraft before,” the head of the delegation noted.

Russia is not considering the possibility of starting a licensed production of engines for military aircraft in China, Konstantin Biryulin said.

“Matters related to a licensed production of engines for military aircraft in China have not been considered,” Biryulin said while speaking about the possibility of launching the assembly of AL (for Su fighters) or RD (for JF-17/FC-1 fighters) engines in China.

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Russia is not considering the possibility of starting a licensed production of engines for military aircraft in China At the same time, he noted that PRC is still interested in Russian engines.

“The Chinese party purchases different types of Russian engines from time to time in order to assure the operation of previously purchased aircraft and to support production of JF-17/FC-1 Thunder combat aircraft,” he said.

“African countries are interested in purchasing Russianproduced weapons and military vehicles, including advanced aircraft like Su-30 fighters,” Biryulin explained.

He mentioned Ethiopia as a potential buyer of Russian aircraft (the country operates Su27 fighters).

“Ethiopia is also interested in purchasing Russian defense products. The country’s armed forces are equipped with Russian-produced vehicles and weapons,” he stated.

Story and Photo Credit: ruaviation.com wikipedia

Caribbean Airlines and Emirates in key deal

Caribbean Airlines have announced that it has signed a key new interline deal with Emirates – now the world’s largest international airline.

The arrangement gives customers a greater choice of destinations, easy transfers in key airports such as London’s Gatwick and New York’s JFK, and an opportunity to take advantage of through fares from the extensive Emirates network via London and New York to Port of Spain, Georgetown, Kingston and Montego Bay. The benefits to consumers will

people are unaware that Emirates carries more passengers to and from the Indian subcontinent than any other airline in the world

be tangible: a hassle free journey with a single ticket and the lowest available fares in both economy and business class.

For example, a passenger traveling from Mumbai, India, can fly on one of Emirates six (6) daily non-stop flights to their hub in Dubai, then connect to one of their three (3) daily non -stop services to London Gatwick (including the 380’s) and then connect to one of Caribbean Airlines four (4) weekly non-stop flights to Port of Spain.

“Caribbean Airlines is thrilled to expand our relationship with Emirates: which is a significant powerhouse in the airline industry. Emirates’ is well respected globally with an outstanding reputation” stated George Reeleder, VP Commercial and Customer Service, Caribbean Airlines. He further added, “Many people are unaware that Emirates carries more passengers to and from the Indian sub-continent than 14

any other airline in the world, or that they fly to 19 cities on the African content – all key markets for the Caribbean.

Simpler transits and connections with more destination options will make it easier for our customers to travel the world.”

As the co-operative agreement unfolds, Caribbean Airlines, the premier airline to the Caribbean looks forward to the opportunities that will become available through Emirates extensive network beyond Dubai to over 142 cities globally.

Caribbean Airlines envisages that other markets will open up allowing passengers seamless transitions through some of the world’s major cities. The complete co-cooperative agreement will be fully rolled out in the coming weeks.

Story and Photo Credit: aviator.aero wikipedia

Turning airplane seats around with a new design Airplane seats were all the literal rage last year. Thankfully, Zodiac Seats France of Zodiac Aerospace unveiled its new experimental airplane seat design.

The conceptual project HD31—short for "high density at 31-inch spacing"— began with the question many airplane CEOs have pondered: how could one fit more seats into short flight, narrowbodied airplanes?

The answer: armrest-less, hexagonal-shaped seats akin to the utilitarian post-war Berlin apartments, configured in a honeycomb-fashion so that passengers face their neighbors the entire flight. "By twicking [sic] the geometry and considering minimal space requirements and proxemy [sic] we ended up with the HD31 concept, showing yin-yang 7 abreast configuration," Zodiac Seats' Laurent Stritter told The Crea-

tors Project. "Surely with the direct eye contact people are used to in public transportation, but not in aircrafts." This would allow for a staggering number of new travelers—up to 30 extra seats per plane.

Putting aside inherit contempt for anything that might profit the big-ups in the aviation industry, the HD31 design does offer several benefits that would make traveling by plane actually somewhat comfortable.

Easy movie theatre-style folding capabilities would be included for easy entrance and exit (although the unspoken disdain towards the window and/or middle seat passenger for bathroom breaks will likely pervade) and the seats would be ergonomically shaped to eliminate the abhorred sensation of sitting on a clothcovered bricks.

And, in defying all sorts of airplane physics, there would

movie theatrestyle folding capabilities would be included for easy entrance and exit be four more—not less— inches of legroom.

For better or for worse, this conversation starter will remain in conceptual limbo. Zodiac did patent the design but ultimately opted to further pursue another project that was better suited their clientele.

"We are here to propose in the course of tradeshows some disruptive ideas (like HD31) to shake up to a conservative market with concept seats," Stritter explained. Still, the design does demonstrate there are possibilities for an airplane seat to be more than at outright pain.

As of now, though, airplane passengers reliant on popping in-flight sleeping pills won't have to worry about neighbors judgment-laden stares.

Story and Photo Credit: thecreatorsproject.vice.com Zodiac Seats France

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A group of US Airlines is teaming up against American, Delta, and United The dispute between America's three largest domestic airlines — American, Delta, and United — and the Middle Eastern trio of Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways just got more complicated.

A coalition of four US airlines— JetBlue, Hawaiian, Atlas, and FedEX — have spoken out against a request from the legacy carriers, which they refer as the "Big 3," to renegotiate America's respective Open Skies agrements with the UAE and Qatar. The alliance known as "US Airlines for Open Skies” (USAOS) submitted a letter on Monday to the US Government detailing the harm that could be done to their respective businesses, consumers, and the US economy should the government comply with the wishes of the Big 3. "The Big 3 do not speak for all, or even most, U.S. airlines," Hawaiian CEO and President Mark Dunkerley said in a statement. "Our coalition believes that the United States should honor its Open Skies commitments, which opens markets for U.S. carriers, promotes competition on international and domestic routes, and facilitates U.S. exports."

placed on the Open Skies agreements with the UAE and Qatar would constitute a violation of the agreement itself.

USAOS also point out that there could be political and national security consequences to restrictions placed Middle Eastern airlines. "The unilateral actions demanded by the Big 3 likely would provoke retaliation by the UAE and Qatar, encourage other Open Skies partners to take restrictive actions, deter countries from entering into Open Skies agreements with the United States, and raise questions about the United States’ commitment to the Open Skies regime," USAOS wrote in the letter.

This is crucial for major cargo carriers such as FedEX and Atlas — both of which have significant operations in the

In the letter, which was addressed to the secretaries of State, Commerce, and Transportation, USAOS stated its belief that any restrictions 16

Middle East. FedEX currently operates a major sorting facility in the Dubai and 44 flights a week in and out of the emirate. According to the coalition, both Atlas and FedEX operate support flights for US military operations in the Middle East.

While the large legacy carriers use their own interational flights to feed domestic routes, smaller airlines such as JetBlue and Hawaiian credit the growing presence of international airlines such as the Middle Eastern three with increasing traffic for their domestic services. In fact, JetBlue believes the Big 3's goal is to roll back the clock on the airline business. "JetBlue is not unfamiliar with efforts from the legacy carriers to stifle competition" JetBlue general counsel Continued on page 17

Continued from page 16 USAOS claimed that increased competition in the airline industry through Open Skies agreements will "generate approximately $4 billion in annual savings for passengers on U.S.international routes

that increased competition in the airline industry through Open Skies agreements will "generate approximately $4 billion in annual savings for passengers on U.S.international routes." USAOS also dimissed United, American, and Delta's claims that 800 airline jobs will be lost for every route they lose to a Middle Eastern airline. "The threat of job loss is just a distraction from the whole picture," Hnat said during the call. "There are other jobs to be created. It’s a just political distraction."

James Hnat said on a conference call with the media.

"Legacy carriers are trying to protect themselves ... Open Skies is good for trade, economic growth and politics."

The Big 3 haven't taken today's announcement without comment. In a swift response, the Partnership for Fair and Open Skies — the lobbying group representing United, Delta, and American — didn't mince words about the forma-

Furthermore, USAOS claimed

tion of the USAOS. "This is a meaningless coalition without a cause," Partnership for Fair and Open Skies spokesperson Jill Zuckman said in a statement to Business Insider. "The only risk to our Open Skies agreements is the Gulf carriers themselves and their massive, market-distorting government subsidies. Of the 117 Open Skies agreements with the United States, 115 are working beautifully."

Obviously, this is a dispute that's not going away anytime soon, and today's entry of a third party has added an extra wrinkle to the story. Stay tuned for more action.

Story and Photo Credit: businessinsider.com

Air Service Training announce open day Scottish based aviation training company, Air Service Training, have released an additional open day for 2015.

In a recent press release to Aviation Type Training Services, Neil Fortune of AST said “We will be on hand to answer all course queries in relation to our Pilot Training and Aircraft Engineering Courses from 2pm on the 7th October.”

A wholly owned subsidiary of Perth College UHI, and part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI), AST themselves have been a world leader in the field of Aviation training since 1931, making it arguably the longestestablished organisation of its kind.

Since its formation, AST has had a long and successful history of providing Pilot and Engineer training for the world's 17

airlines, maintenance organisations and military formations.

Training Pilots and Engineers for two of the most demanding professions in the world requires a very special approach, and complete dedication to the highest safety standards.

From its earliest beginnings, AST has focussed on the delivery of high-quality training ensuring the most stringent of safety standards.

Life motto drives Airman

Senior Airman Kyara Johnson, 94th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons loader, enlisted in 2013 and is now a member of the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, the first female to earn a spot on the crew.

"I've had people come up to me and tell me they just had to talk to me because they are happy that a female is on the team," said Johnson, who typically handles the music and video camera during air shows.

member of the Demo Team, her days consisted of loading bombs and missiles onto the F22 Raptor, the world's only operational fifth-generation fighter aircraft, as well as ensuring the weapons system remained up-to-date. On the road however, Johnson's life is far from ordinary. "We have early mornings and really long days," said Johnson. "You think it's going to be a long day, and it is, but it's so fun that you really don't notice it."

Since the performance aircraft isn't equipped with weapons and no weapon systems need to be checked, Johnson welcomes the opportunity to branch out of her career field, while remaining in the F-22 community. She also added that being a people person helps her with her new tasks as well.

Johnson, whose wide smile illuminates her face, adds that while she is working she doesn't see gender; she is just a person, same as everyone else.

"She is definitely a breath of fresh air for the team," said Tech. Sgt. Jonathan Billie, F22 Raptor Demonstration Team maintenance team chief.

"Her work ethic is astounding, you never have to ask her to do anything because she is already three steps ahead of you and she does it with a smile on her face."

During air shows, the Demo Team has a tent set-up to give the local community the opportunity to interact with Airmen, as well as learn about the Air Force and the aircraft. "We get a lot of people that come by, asking questions about the [F-22]. How it works and how fast does it go," said Johnson.

"You have to engage in conversation and make sure they are pumped up and ready for the demo."

Before Johnson began as a

While Johnson remains mod18

est in how she interacts with the crowds, her team chief, Billie, sees much more than Johnson lets on. "There isn't one specific story that I could tell and say 'Oh wow that was amazing,' because she does it every day," said Billie. "When we are out engaging with the public, watching her is awesome. It puts a smile on not only the people out there talking to her but it puts a smile on every [team member's] face, because she is just that good.

You can never show the American public when you are having a bad day and Kyara never has a bad day, It's awesome to have her on the team and we love her to death."

The ability to bring a smile to someone's face isn't something that Johnson finds hard. By applying her life motto; Live, Love, Life, to her daily routine, she said she can is able to accomplish almost anything.

"You can't let any and everything get you down, you have to look at the positive," said Johnson. "Things could be going so wrong, but you have to think about it, there's somebody who is worse off than you. So you have to count your blessings and be thankful."

Story and Photo Credit: jble.af.mi

Indian Flankers test British Typhoons on exercise Indian air force pilots (IAF) flying their Su30MKI Flankers provided stiff opposition for a UK Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon squadron during air combat maneuvering exercises just ended in the UK. Senior officers from both the IAF and the RAF were unwilling to discuss details, but AIN understands from informed sources with knowledge of the exercise that, in close combat, the thrust vector control (TVC) on the heavier Flankers more than compensated for the greater thrust-toweight ratio of the Typhoon.

The IAF is likely to buy another 30or 40 Su-30MKIs from the licensed Indian production line, boosting its fleet to close to300, especially after

last week’s formal withdrawal

by Delhi of the RFP for a Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

For Exercise Indradhanush IV, the IAF deployed four Su30MKIs from No 2 Squadron based at Tezpur to RAFConingsby, assisted by mid-air refueling from an IAF Ilyushin Il-78 tanker.

Logistics support was provided by anIAF C-17 and a C130J, and these transports also carried a special forces unit that exercised with its RAFcounterpart, including paradrops. Three previous exercises in the series included two visits by RAF Typhoons to India and an Su30MKI deployment to the UK in 2007.

However, that exercise was constrained by Indian security

19

IAF deployed four Su-30MKIs from No 2 Squadron based at Tezpur to RAFConingsb y, assisted by mid-air refueling from an IAF Ilyushin Il78 tanker rules that precluded the use of the Flanker’s N011M passive electronically-scanned array (PESA) radar. There were no such restrictions this time, although the rules that were agreed by both air forces for the exercise included a common maximum range for beyond-visual range (BVR) engagements. The Flanker and Continued on page 20

Continued from page 19 the Typhoon both carry a longrange infrared search and track (IRST) sensor that can supplement or replace BVR detection of opposing aircraft by their respective radars.

phoons performed simulated drops of Paveway II and IV laser-guided bombs. Although the Flankers can carry a much greater range of ordnance, they simulated only

additional licensed production, although some observers believe that more resources could be applied to the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia,

Scenarios for the two-week exercise gradually increased in complexity, ending with an 18 -aircraft mission in which the four Flankers joined six Typhoons in a ‘Blue’ Force that was tasked to escort two C130Js (one Indian, on British) into a drop zone, opposed by six jets of a ‘Red’ Force comprising RAF Hawks and more Typhoons. Although air-to-air engagement was the main focus of the exercise, the Flanker and Typhoon pilots also honed their air-to-ground skills. Ty-

‘generic’ weapons-dropping while in the UK.

instead. Meanwhile, Dassault Aviation seems confident of a firm contract from India for 36 French-built Rafale fighters within a couple of months, in lieu of the MMRCA deal.

Eric Trappier, CEO, told journalists at the company’s halfyearly-results press conference last week that the company was now committing to an increased Rafale production rate starting in 2018.

The status and timetable is not entirely clear for India's plans to upgrade the Su-30MKI fleet with an AESA radar; new displays including the Thales Topsight HMDS; and new weapons including the Indian Astra BVRAAM and theIndoRussian Brahmos cruise missile. The ending of the MMRCA requirement could theoretically free up funds for the upgrade, and the 20

Story and Photo Credit: ainonline.com

Ryanair July traffic up by 11% Ryanair, who describe themselves as “Europe’s favourite airline”, have released customer and load factor statistics for July which seem to substantiate their claim.

In a press release on the 5th August, Ryanair Chief Marketing Officer, Kenny Jacobs announced that Ryanair had become the first airline to carry 10 million international passengers in a single month.

“Ryanair’s July traffic grew by 11% to 10.1m customers, while our load factor jumped 4% points to 95%. This is the first time ever that any airline has carried over 10m international customers in one calendar month. For example we carried more customers in one month (10.14m in July) than Aer Lingus carried in a whole year (9.77m in 2014).” Jacobs explained. “These record customer numbers and highest ever load factors are due to our lower fares, our stronger forward bookings and the continuing success of our “Always Getting Better” customer experience programme, which continues to deliver stronger than expected traffic and load factors on our biggest ever summer schedule.”

The airline has undergone a number of significant changes in the way in which it interacts with its customers and has recently announced firm orders

customers can look forward to more service enhancements in the autumn, as we continue Year 2 of our AGB programme for a further 283 new Boeing 737 aircraft, as well as options for 100 more Boeing 737 MAX 200s, which will enable Ryanair to lower fares and grow traffic from 100m this year to 160m per annum by 2024.

In a press release to the airline’s investors, Jacobs said “Ryanair customers can look forward to more service enhancements in the autumn, as we continue Year 2 of our AGB programme, which include a new website, new app, new cabin interiors, new crew uniforms, improved inflight menus, reduced fees, and great new digital features such as ‘hold the fare’, as Ryanair continues to deliver so much more than just the lowest fares in Europe.”

The airline is making improvements to its operational methods too, a necessity with the vast number of bases currently standing at over 100. Each location has a base captain who is rostered to be on the ground 21

at base every Wednesday so his or her crews can talk about issues and their daily engineering forum means every aircraft in the fleet is discussed in a conference call between engineering chiefs and the Dublin HQ. Every snag is described, and if it cannot be fixed with local spares the responsible HQ engineer states how the solution will be provided, and adds it to his to-do list. Deferrable defects are not allowed to build up.

If Ryanair achieves its goal of 160m passengers per year, the airline will need lots of pilots for the future, and CEO Michael O'Leary is well aware of this, but he says Ryanair has never had a problem attracting them. In an interview with Flight Global in April, O’Leary explained that “he plans to go down the multicrew pilot licence (MPL) cadet training route, and hire more pilots at bases networkwide, so that the base really is their home. Significantly, he says the carrier will employ more pilots on direct contracts, rather than via the controversial self-employed system, but that this will be an evolutionary process. When an airline gets big, he says, it needs stability.”

Story Credit: Andrew Kewley

Lufthansa CEO says resolution of pilot talks unlikely before September

The chief executive of German airline Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) welcomed proposals by pilots to bring a long-running row over pay, retirement benefits and low cost expansion to an end but said talks would likely go on beyond the start of September.

The pilots have held a series of strikes since April 2014, costing the airline over 300 million euros ($326 million) in lost profit in an increasingly bitter dispute.

Last month, the Vereinigung Cockpit union proposed con-

cessions, including agreeing to an increase in the average retirement age and lowering costs. They said they hoped a deal to be reached by the start of September.

"It's very positive that VC has come to us for the first time in years of negotiations with a proposal that includes cost cuts," Carsten Spohr told journalists at event hosted by the Frankfurt ICFW press club.

But he said reaching an agreement by the start of September was unrealistic due to the complexity of the topics involved.

Analysts expect one sticking point will be the pilots' request 22

that the pilots working for the new Eurowings budget unit should be on a German collective labor agreement.

Management wants Eurowings to have operating costs around 30-40 percent lower than that of its main Lufthansa brand, to be at a level more comparable with easyJet (EZJ.L). "(Their offer) has meant that we are in talks," Spohr said.

"And only via talks can we solve this conflict."

Story and Photo Credit: Reuters

Record passenger figures sees Glasgow Airport ranked among the fastest growing in Europe Passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are among the fastest growing in Europe, according to the latest industry data for the continent.

The airport, which handled nearly four million passengers in the first six months of 2015, was the only UK airport outside of London to be listed in the ACI Europe Airport Traffic Report. The report covers all airport sizes and types of airlines, including chartered, legacy and low cost.

Glasgow Airport was ranked the third fastest growing behind Milan Bergamo and Porto among the 'Group 3' hubs airports which handle 5-10 million passengers per year.

Between January and the end of June this year 3,958,094 people passed through Glasgow Airport, up 13.8 per cent on the same six month period in 2014.

The six month period has coincided with the launch of a string of new routes from Glasgow, including Scotland's first regular service to Las Vegas in May, operated by Thomas Cook, and the UK's first ever flights with Canadian carrier, WestJet, whose GlasgowNova Scotia flights have been a big attraction. It also comes after Glasgow Airport recorded its busiest June on record last month, with nearly 906,000 passengers.

Next month will also see the first of four Virgin Atlantic services to Las Vegas take off from Glasgow, with Thomas Cook launching chartered flights to Cancun and Barbados from November, and Glasgow's first ever direct flights to Milan commencing in December, operated by easyJet. London Gatwick and Stansted were the only other UK airports ranked among the fastest

Gatwick and Stansted were the only other UK airports ranked among the fastest growing in 2015 growing in 2015, with respectively 5.4 and 16.9 per cent year-on-year passenger growth for the first six months of 2015.

Overall, the report found that EU-based airports had overtaken non-EU airports in terms of passenger growth.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe, said: “The first half of this year has seen solid passenger traffic growth for the European airport industry. However, where as recently as 18 months ago Non-EU airports were propping up weaker passenger traffic growth at EU airports, we are now through the looking glass. The situation has flipped and EU airports now lead the growth – reporting +5.1 per cent during the first half of the year, compared with +2.3 per cent at Non-EU airports.”

Story and Photo Credit: Herald Scotland

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Air freight slowdown continues The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing a slowdown in growth for air cargo demand in June.

Air freight volumes measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTK) rose just 1.2% compared to a year ago. This is consistent with falling trade activity and weaker than expected global growth.

Regional performance varied widely. Asia-Pacific, North American and Latin American carriers reported year-on-year declines (-0.3%, -3.3%, and 1.6% respectively) while European carriers reported that markets were flat. This was offset by the strong performance of Middle Eastern (+15.3%) and African (+6.7%) carriers to keep growth in positive territory.

The general trend of a weaker 2015 compared to 2014 can be seen in the half-year data. Air freight markets expanded by 5.8% in 2014; however year-to -date growth for 2015 stands at 3.5%. “The half-year report for air cargo is not encouraging. With growth of just 1.2% over June last year, markets are basically stagnating. Some carriers are doing better than others at picking up the business

that is out there. But overall it has been a disappointing first half of 2015, especially considering the strong finish to 2014. The remainder of the year holds mixed signals. The general expectation is for an acceleration of economic growth, but business confidence and export orders look weak. Air cargo and the global economy will all benefit if governments can successfully focus on stabilizing growth and stimulating trade by removing barriers,� said Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

half-year report for air cargo is not encouraging.

With growth of just 1.2% over June last year, markets are basically stagnating

erally weak trade growth, the region is the most exposed to the China market where government policies are more focused on stimulating domestic markets.

European carriers reported flat demand in June (0.0%), compared to a year ago and capacity rose 2.2%. Improvements in Eurozone business confidence have not led to increased air freight demand, and consumer confidence has been hit by the Greek crisis.

Growth for the year-to-date was -0.6%.

North American airlines experienced a decline of 3.3% year-on-year and capacity grew 2.8%. The positive impact of a modal shift to air as a result of the West Coast ports strike has faded and economic performance, despite some improvement in the second quarter, is subdued.

Growth for the first six months of the year was -0.4%.

Regional analysis in detail Asia-Pacific carriers saw a fall in FTKs of 0.3% in June compared to June 2014, and capacity expanded 4.0%. The region has experienced a notable slowdown in imports and exports over recent months, and latest data shows emerging Asia trade activity down 8%.

Growth for the year-to-date was 5.4%. In addition to gen24

Middle Eastern carriers saw the strongest growth with demand expanding by 15.3%, and capacity rose 19.2%. Airlines in the region have pursued a successful hub strategy connecting both long- and short-haul markets. Although some major economies in the region have seen slowdowns Continued on page 25

Continued from page 24 in non-oil sectors, economic growth remains generally robust, which is also helping to sustain demand for air freight.

Growth for the year-to-date is running at 14%.

Latin American airlines reported a fall in demand of 1.6% year-on-year, and capacity expanded 3.7%. Re-

gional trade activity has grown in the first half of 2015, despite continuing weakness in Brazil and Argentina. Unfortunately this has not translated into stronger demand for air freight. Growth for the year-to -date was -6.9%.

and capacity rose by the same amount. The Nigerian and South African economies have underperformed for much of the year so far, however regional trade has held up. Demand growth for the first six months was 4.8%.

African carriers experienced growth in demand of 6.7%,

Story Credit: IATA

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Contact us today: FL600@attservices.co.uk 25

Airbus welcomes Transaero as a new operator

Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest airline, took delivery of its first Airbus A321 aircraft.

The festive ceremony was held in Vnukovo international airport (Moscow) on the arrival of the A321 welcomed by the airline management, representatives of Vnukovo, Airbus and members of the media.

The aircraft is delivered as part of Transaero’s contract with ICBC Leasing Company.

Transaero’s A321, powered by CFM56 engines, features a two-class cabin layout seating 184 passengers (eight in business and 176 in economy ).

The spacious configuration offers unbeatable passenger comfort in both classes. The

airline plans to operate its A321 fleet on premium international routes.

aircraft, which are of low demand in the current market conditions.”

Olga Pleshakova, CEO Transaero Airlines said, “We are very pleased with this important step made towards further development of our cooperation with Airbus. I would like to express our sincere gratitude to the largest Chinese bank – ICBC Bank and its subsidiary ICBC Leasing, who trust Transaero as a reliable partner, which is highlighted by the implementation of the signed contract. The addition of highly efficient aircraft to the company’s fleet will contribute to enhancing the company’s profitability, optimizing the airline’s passenger capacity, and will see withdrawal of

"We are delighted to welcome Transaero, one of the leading Russian airlines, as a new Airbus operator. Transaero will undoubtedly benefit from the A321’s unbeatable operating costs and passenger comfort in all classes,’’ said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer, Customers.

26

Transaero Airlines launched services in November 1991, and currently serves more than 200 routes all over the world.

Story and Photo Credit: Airbus

Boeing, Vietnam Airlines sign exclusive pilot training agreement Boeing and Vietnam Airlines announced a five-year exclusive pilot-training agreement to support the Hanoi-based airline’s 787 Dreamliners.

Under the agreement, Boeing Flight Services, a business unit of Boeing Commercial Aviation Services, will provide flight training for the airline’s new 787 Dreamliner fleet at Boeing’s Singapore training campus. Nearly 90 Vietnam Airlines pilots are expected to undergo training this year.

“With Boeing’s experience and expertise, we are confident that we will have a smooth entry into service with the training and operational support they provide,” said Phan Xuan Duc, executive vice president, Vietnam Airlines. “This expanding cooperation will not only strengthen the relationship between Vietnam Airlines and

Boeing, but also provide Vietnam Airlines enough capability to master state-of-the-art technologies and enable Vietnamese pilots to directly operate the most modern aircraft in the world.”

“We are very pleased to provide pilot training to Vietnam Airlines with the industry’s best flight training as they take a very exciting step in expanding their Boeing fleet,” said Sherry Carbary, vice president, Boeing Flight Services. “This is just one way we are giving airlines a competitive edge, by creating tailored training solutions so they can focus on what really matters – keeping pilots and airplanes flying revenue flights.”

The 2015 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook, an industry forecast of aviation personnel demand closely tied to projections for new airplane deliv-

expanding cooperation will not only strengthen the relationship between Vietnam Airlines and Boeing, but also provide Vietnam Airlines enough capability to master state-ofthe-art technologies eries around the globe, projects a requirement for 226,000 new commercial airline pilots and 238,000 new technicians in the Asia-Pacific region through 2034.

This regional demand is forecasted to be more than North America and Europe combined. As with personnel demand, the Asia region also leads the demand for new commercial airplane deliveries over the next 20 years, with 14,330 new airplanes needed by 2034 according to Boeing’s 2015 Current Market Outlook.

Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier of Vietnam, operates more than 360 daily flights with its young fleet of modern aircraft.

Story and Photo Credit: Boeing

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Citation Latitude continues to stretch its legs on transcontinental flights Cessna Aircraft Companyhave recently demonstrated the trans-Pacific capability of its newly FAA-certified Citation Latitude between the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii.

The flights follow other recent successful transcontinental missions on the aircraft, including the first trans-Atlantic crossing in May and nonstop U.S. coast-to-coast flights in July.

“With certification achieved, we see the Citation Latitude demonstrating its impressive capabilities and performance during common customer missions,” said Kriya Shortt, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing. “Not only does this aircraft have exceptional mission capability, the all-new cabin experience allows passengers to take advantage of maximum comfort and productivity as they enjoy the flat cabin floor and six-foot-high cabin. Combined with its mid-

“Latitude flew a crew of two pilots and five passengers on the 2,147nautical-mile trip from Santa Barbara, Calif. (KSBA) to Maui, Hawaii (PHOG)

size acquisition price and low operating costs, the Latitude provides unmatched value and comfort for customers in the midsize class.”

The Citation Latitude flew a crew of two pilots and five passengers on the 2,147nautical-mile trip from Santa Barbara, Calif. (KSBA) to Maui, Hawaii (PHOG), making a direct climb to 43,000 feet and total flight time of 5 hours 45 minutes, which included a 17 minute hold prior to arrival. On return, the aircraft covered an impressive 2,473-nautical-mile direct flight from Maui to Scottsdale, Ariz. (KSDL) in 5 hours 45 minutes. On both the outbound and return trips, the Latitude had fuel reserves far exceeding NBAA IFR reserves.

The Hawaii mission took place on the heels of impressive coast-to-coast trips earlier this month. The Citation Latitude flew the nonstop 2,44228

nautical-mile trip from Santa Barbara (KSBA) to Bangor, Maine (KBGR), making a direct climb to 45,000 feet; its nonstop return flight to San Diego, Calif. (KSAN) covered 2,397 nautical miles.

This aircraft made its first trans-Atlantic crossing in May from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Valencia, Spain, en route to its debut appearance at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition. Expanding international access and visibility, the Latitude will make its Latin American debut at the Latin American Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in August, followed by additional tours in the Europe, Middle East and Asia regions later this year.

Story and Photo Credit: Textron Aviation

Airbus’ Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) certified by EASA on A330 Family Airbus has achieved EASA certification of its innovative Runway Overrun Prevention System (ROPS) technology on A330 Family aircraft.

This on-board cockpit technology, which Airbus has pioneered over several years, is now certified and available on all Airbus Families. ROPS is an alerting system which reduces exposure to runway overrun risk, and if necessary, provides active protection. Korean Air will become the first A330 operator to implement ROPS on its A330s in service in the coming months.

This EASA certification of ROPS on the A330 marks a key milestone in making ROPS available for line-fit and retrofit to all Airbus models.

ROPS was first approved by the European Aviation Safety

EASA certification of ROPS on the A330 marks a key milestone in making ROPS available for linefit and retrofit Agency (EASA) on the A380 in October 2009 and to date is currently in service or ordered on most of the A380 fleet.

ROPS is also part of the A350 XWB’s basic configuration, and in August 2013 was also certified for the A320 Family.

“Already in service on the A380, A350 and A320 Families, ROPS is the result of years of continuing research

by Airbus,” said Didier Lux, Airbus’ SVP Head of Customer Services. He adds: “This EASA certification for ROPS on the A330 Family is

an example where innovative technology and services meet for the benefit of operators and aviation safety, and is thus an important step to offering the enhanced operational benefits across all our aircraft."

Runway excursion – meaning either an aircraft veering off the side of the runway, or overrunning at the very end – remains the primary cause of civil airliner hull losses, particularly as other formerly prevalent categories of aircraft accidents have now largely been eliminated. Furthermore, various industry bodies including the EASA, NTSB, Eurocontrol and FAA recognize this and are fully behind the introduction of effective measures by commercial aviation stakeholders to eliminate the risk of runway excursions.

The Airbus A330 is one of the most popular widebody aircraft and has won over 1,500 orders, with over 1,200 delivered to some 110 operators worldwide. It is the most profitable and best performing aircraft in its class, with an average operational reliability of 99.4 percent.

Story and Photo Credit: Airbus

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AW168 achieves certification Agusta-Westland have announced that the new generationAW169 helicopter was issued with type certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 15 July 2015. Delivery of the first production helicopters to customers will now commence.

Agusta-Westland has achieved EASA type certification less than five years after the AW169 programme launch. This achievement has been made possible also due to the strong collaboration between the EASA and AgustaWestland teams.

With the AW169, AgustaWestland has responded to market demand for a new generation versatile lightintermediate twin-engine helicopter and has achieved its aim of greatly reducing the time to market, whilst meeting the most stringent operational

The AW169 4.6 tonne helicopter is the first all new aircraft in its weight category to enter the market in more than 30 years, setting new certification and safety standards

and safety requirements set by the certification authorities and by the market.

The AW169 4.6 tonne helicopter is the first all new aircraft in its weight category to enter the market in more than 30 years, setting new certification and safety standards and marking the operational readiness of the whole AW Family. The first units will be delivered from the Vergiate final assembly line in Italy.

A second AW169 final assembly line is being established at Agusta-Westland’s Philadelphia plant in the USA. AgustaWestland’s Yeovil plant in UK plays a key role in the production of rotor blades and the tail rotor transmission system.

A Flight Training Device (FTD) and a maintenance training simulator are already operational at AgustaWestland’s Sesto Calende 30

Training Academy in Italy, while a Level D Full Flight Simulator will be available in 2016.

More than 150 AW169 helicopters have been ordered by customers around the world to date, including framework contracts and options, for a wide range of applications including executive/corporate transport, air ambulance, law enforcement, offshore transport and utility roles. Designed with inherent dual-use capabilities, the AW169 is also ideally suited for the wide scope of para-public and government applications and will be able to meet military and naval requirements.

Story and Photo Credit: Agusta Westland helis.com

Robinson Upgrades R66 Police Helicopter Robinson Helicopter Company announced its R66 Turbine Police Helicopter with the FLIR Systems Ultra 8000 Infrared Camera and the Spectrolab SX-7 searchlight with 30-million candlepower has been reconfigured to include a multitude of upgrades.

This high performance 4-place police helicopter comes standard with a Garmin G500H Primary and Multifunction Display System (PFD/MFD), a Garmin GTN 635 touch-screen navigator, and a Garmin GTR 225A COM radio. Also standard are Boland’s 10.4” LCD monitor and two 6-channel audio controllers. A new streamlined instrument panel houses the Garmin G500H PFD/MFD along with traditional instruments and dual audio controllers. With the

G500H panel, the aircraft can be flown from either seat and dual audio controllers allow for independent radio monitoring and transmitting by the pilot or copilot.

To complete the package, Robinson expanded the R66 Police Helicopter options list.

New options include Genesys Aerosystems’ HeliSAS autopilot, Garmin’s GTN 650/750 navigators, FreeFlight’s RA4500 radar altimeter which displays radar altitude information on the G500H PFD, Technisonic’s TDFM 9000 radio in a variety of single to four band options, and Aerocomputers’ moving map system with View Sync 3D capability.

A fully-loaded R66 Police Helicopter, the first to come off the line with the new con-

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R66 helicopter comes with a Garmin G500H PFD and MFD System, a Garmin GTN 635 GPS, and a Garmin GTR 225A COM radio figuration, will be delivered to Night Flight Concepts in Bedford, Texas. The helicopter will be one of Night Flight’s platform aircraft for its Law Enforcement Air Support Entity (L.E.A.S.E.) program.

Base price for the R66 Turbine Police Helicopter has been set at $1,185,000.

Story and Photo Credit: Robinson Helicopters helihub.com

New PC-6 sales and service centre in Southern Africa

Pilatus Aircraft has appointed Pilatus Centre Southern Africa (PTY) as its authorised PC-6 sales and service centre for subSaharan Africa.

The new PC-6 distributor will be responsible for all future sales and maintenance activities of the legendary Pilatus Porter PC-6 within its territory.

Pilatus Centre Southern Africa is a long-standing, independent partner of Pilatus and has already acted with success for many years as the Sales and Service Centre for the PC-12 in the same territory.

Gerry Wyss, sales manager of Pilatus Centre Southern Africa said: “Pilatus Centre Southern

Africa is proud to start selling the PC-6, the World’s Leading STOL. The Porter is capable of operating from unprepared and rough airstrips in remote areas. With its unique short

“PC-6 distributor will be responsible for all future sales and maintenance activities of the legendary Pilatus Porter PC-6 take-off and landing capabilities, reliability and versatility this rugged aircraft is perfect for Africa – and we see big potential for it.”

Ignaz Gretener, VP general aviation at Pilatus added: "We 32

are delighted to have a strong and experienced partner to assist us with selling the PC-6 in Africa. Whether as a workhorse, a platform for aerial surveillance, as an air ambulance or as a parachuting or passenger aircraft, the Pilatus Porter PC-6 has decades of proven versatility and the capability to perform any role that comes its way in Africa.

Due to its solid construction, proven systems and features the PC-6 achieves highest reliability and lowest maintenance possible. We are absolutely certain that Africa offers plenty of opportunities for this unique aircraft."

Story and Photo Credit: African Aerospace Robert Adams

Port Lavaca woman awarded for best jet A Port Lavaca woman took home the award for best jet from a worldwide competition in Wisconsin.

Dianna Stanger won the "best jet" award from the EAA AirVenture Warbird Awards for her Aero Vodochody Albatros L-139. The EAA AirVenture is an aircraft convention that was from July 25 to 31 in Oshkosh, Wis. Stanger's jet is the only one of its kind in the world, according to the press release from EAA AirVenture. The plane was chosen based on appearance, landing gear, wings, engine,

authenticity and a number of other factors. The plane is a fighter jet that was originally manufactured by Aero Vodochody in the Czech Republic.

Stanger has worked since she acquired the plane in 2013 to restore, refurbish and customize the aircraft. The jet took about 2,700 hours to restore.

The jet is set to race Sept. 16 to 20 in the National Championship Air Races in Reno.

Stanger entered the jet that will be raced by pilot Vicky Benzing.

Stanger also has a number of aircraft she flies and works

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plane was chosen based on appearance, landing gear, wings, engine, authenticity other factors with nonprofit aviation organizations. At a Women in Aviation Worldwide 2015 event, she was named the "Most Dedicated Female Pilot Worldwide."

Story and Photo Credit: Victoria Advocate AOPA

Les Munro, last surviving Dambusters pilot, dies in New Zealand Les Munro, the last surviving pilot from the Dambusters bombing raids, has died in New Zealand at the age of 96. John Leslie Munro, known as Les, piloted a Lancaster bomber in the daring attacks on German dams in 1943, but was said to be “a little bit embarrassed” at the attention he subsequently received.

"He accepted the role he was sort of cast into in that, he did it not for himself, or for his own personal glory or honour,” Peter Wheeler, from the New Zealand Bomber Command Association, told Fairfax Media. “Everything he did was for the greater good of the people he flew with - and that's pretty much what he did all his life."

Munro, who died of heart problems in a hospital in Auckland, was a member of the RAF's 617 Squadron that famously conducted a series of surgical strikes against Germany’s Ruhr dams in Operation Chastise, known as the Dambusters raids, in which specially developed "bouncing bombs" were used to destroy heavily fortified dams.

His plane was hit by an antiaircraft flak shell and was forced to turn back before it was able to complete its attack.

In all, he flew 58 sorties over Europe.

In March, Munro offered to sell his numerous war medals to donate funds to the Bomber Command Memorial in London’s Green Park that honours his comrades. He visited the monument in 2013, saying it was a travesty it took so long to recognise the loss of the 55,573 airmen killed during the Second World War. "My war service moulded me as a man; it gave me the confidence in my own ability and taught me to get on with my fellow men and value comradeship,” he said. "It is because of that sense of comradeship and the equal importance of the act of remembrance that I now part company with my medals for the benefit of the Bomber Command Memorial."

Lord Ashcroft, the former Conservative Party Treasurer, subsequently made a donation of £75,000, which allowed Munro to give the medals to a 34

museum in New Zealand.

Air vice-marshal Mike Yardley, the chief of New Zealand’s air force, said Munro “epitomised the values of the defence force through his courage, commitment and comradeship. Les made a lasting impression and his valour will remain an inspiration to those serving in the Air Force, both current and future”.

After his war service, Munro worked as a farmer in New Zealand and later became mayor of a local council in Waitomo on New Zealand’s North Island. His death is believed to leave just two surviving members of the raids: George Johnson, a British bomb aimer, and Fred Sutherland, a Canadian front gunner.

Story and Photo Credit The Telegraph RAFBF/Adrian Brooks

Sweden revokes Iraqi Airways permit over poor safety record The Swedish Transport Agency (Transportstyrelsen) has revoked Iraqi Airways' traffic permit to operate flights between Iraq and Sweden using its own aircraft after the carrier failed to secure a Third Country Operators certificate (TCO) from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

A TCO confirms EU-wide compliance with international safety standards and is a mandatory requirement for any non -EU carrier wishing to serve the bloc.

Iraqi Airways to suspend flights to Sweden using its own aircraft In its letter to the Iraqi national carrier seen by ch-aviation, Transportstyrelsen ordered Iraqi Airways to suspend flights to Sweden using its own aircraft but left the door open to the carrier to use wetleased machinery.

"The decision by EASA to reject the application by Iraqi

Airways for TCO raises such safety concerns that the basis for continuing operations by Iraqi Airways with [its] "own aircraft" is not at hand and these operation[s] should not continue," it said.

The ch-aviation route database shows Iraqi Airways has served Gothenburg Landvetter, Malmรถ andStockholm Arlanda in Sweden.

Story and Photo Credit: ch-aviation.com Boeing

Grant covers college costs for young aviation enthusiasts A grant is giving seven high school juniors the chance to get a jump start in a career as an aviation technician with free college tuition, and books and fees covered.

Students' tuition to Pima Community College will be taken care of while they are in high

school, as will the two years after high school spent earning their Airframe and Powerplant certification. In addition to schooling, students will have paid summer learning opportunities and a paid summer internship in the aviation field upon completion of the program.

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For more information, contact Tim Murphy of Pima County JTED at email tmurphy@pimajted.org before Aug. 17. Only seven seats are available.

Story Credit tucson.com

Kenyan air transport firm adopts new maintenance software security management software, inventory control and fleet management applications for airlines.

Air transport firm Skyward Express (also known as Skyward International) has adopted an innovative aircraft maintenance software application that enables engineers to collaborate on mobile devices.

Skyward Express offers regional cargo and passenger services from Nairobi using a fleet of 3 Fokker 50s, 1 Fokker 100 and 2 Dash 8s.

The Maintenance, Repair and

Overhaul (MRO) software was developed by ADSoftware, a French firm. ADSoftware’s additional products include

data is automatically synchronized to search the right part number, raise the defect and create a provisioning request

ADSoftware’s MRO software enables aircraft engineers to interface maintenance activities from a mobile device with the Maintenance Information System (MIS). Engineers can work on an iPad and share with colleagues on a TV screen what the system generates.

By simply taking a picture of an identified defect, the captured data is automatically synchronized to search for the right part number, raise the defect and automatically create a provisioning request.

Photo & Story Credit: kenyandaviation.com

Woman sues Emirates for causing her 'permanent disability' A woman is suing Emirates Airlines over claims she was left permanently disabled after she slipped on an airline blanket while trying to help another passenger who was stuck in the plane's bathroom.

Marie Hobbs had filed for damages in the Supreme Court of Western Australia over the incident that occurred when

she was travelling on a flight from Perth to Dubai in August 2013. Ms Hobbs says she was asleep in hear seat when she was woken by noises coming from the toilet, The West Australian reported. In a writ filed in the court, Ms Hobbs claims airline staff did not come to the person's aid so she got up out of her seat to assist.

'Unbeknown to the plaintiff a blanket wrapped in a plastic 36

bag had fallen on to the floor of the aircraft,' the write states.

Ms Hobbs is seeking an unspecified amount of money for medical treatment, loss and damages as a result of her injuries and future economic loss.

Story Credit Daily Mail

Virgin Atlantic airline to cut 500 jobs

Virgin Atlantic is cutting about 500 managerial and support jobs just months after the airline announced a return to profit.

The carrier, controlled by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, said the aim was to create a simpler, more efficient structure with few management layers.

The cuts will be made through re-deployment and redundancies. In March, Virgin Atlantic said it made a ÂŁ14.4m pre-tax profit for 2014, after three years of losses.

The airline, based at Crawley, West Sussex, has not yet dis-

closed the locations of the job losses.

Craig Kreeger, the airline's chief executive, said: "To truly position Virgin Atlantic for long-term and sustained success, we need to be a more efficient and agile organisation

cuts will be made through re -deployment and redundancies that has the ability to invest even more in the areas that make Virgin Atlantic's customer experience unique. As a 37

people-oriented business, these are extremely tough decisions to take, but we know they are necessary," he said.

None of the cuts will hit frontline staff dealing with customers, Virgin said. The airline employs about 9,000 people.

Last year, Virgin Atlantic announced a ÂŁ300m programme of investment, part of which will see wifi installed on all its aircraft by the end of 2016.

The airline has also scrapped unprofitable routes.

Story and Photo Credit BBC Andrew Kewley

Delta Tops the Industry Again in On-Time Arrivals Not only is Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) well ahead of its industry rivals in on-time performance, it improved its record from the month before, too.

According to airline data provider FlightView, which released on-time arrival performance data for July, Delta flights were on time 80.9% of the time, up from 78.8% in June. "On time" means a flight arriving within 14 minutes of its scheduled time. Second place went to American Airlines Group, with a 76.6% ontime arrival performance, an improvement over June when the carrier was at only 71.9%.

The biggest gainer of all may be United Continental Holdings (NYSE: UAL), which moved from dead last with a horrendous 66.8% rating in June up to third place with 73.1% of its flights arriving on time, tying it with Southwest

Airlines. In June, the latter had been in second place with a small slide. The Chicago Business Journal suggests the new expanded flight schedule Southwest began offering last month may be the reason, because 87% of the airline's 13,500 flight attendants recently rejected a contract offer.

In fact, much of the airline industry is in tumult. American is completing its acquisition of US Airways, and United's pilots issued a strongly worded letter to management criticizing the decision to use $3 billion of its record profits to buy back company stock. They contended that there are much better things the airline can spend that money on, including further improvements in the company's on-time arrival performance and better training for company employees.

Although Delta is experiencing expanding capacity, wit-

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Delta flights were on time 80.9% of the time, up from 78.8% in June.

Second place went to American Airlines Group, with a 76.6% on-time nessing a 3.4% rise in the second quarter, it is also suffering a decline in passenger revenue per available seat mile, or PRASM. The company is expecting that to fall another 4.5% to 6.5% in the third quarter, but it is also successfully cutting costs, lowering debt levels, and like other airlines, buying back a lot of its stock.

Story and Photo Credit: investpedia.com wikimedia.com

Record crowds expected at Manchester Airport as summer season reaches its peak Manchester Airport is expecting Fridays in August to be its busiest days of the summer - with more than 280,000 passengers set to fly in and out.

Hub bosses expect August 14, 21 and 28 to be the most popular of the season, with around 94,000 passengers expected to pass through the terminals on each. The days are forecast to be the peak in what is set to be the airport’s busiest school holiday period ever. A surge in foreign family holidays is being put down to improving job prospects and good exchange rates. More than 3.4m passengers are expected to pass through the country’s third busiest hub over the summer.

That is a record-breaking figure and up from 3.35m during last year’s summer period. The previous best was prerecession in 2006. The top five most popular destinations this summer - Palma, Dublin, Dalaman, Dubai and Amsterdam.

A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “We’re expecting a record breaking summer with more than 3.4 million passen-

More than 3.4m passengers are expected to pass through the country’s third busiest hub over the summer gers anticipated to travel through Manchester Airport during the school holiday period. As highlighted by the variety of our most popular destinations this summer, we continue to be the UK’s global gateway from the north, with more than 22 million people within a two hour drive of the airport.”

Neil Robinson, business and tourism lecturer at Salford Business School, said the strong sterling and increased job security in Greater Manchester will help boost foreign family holidays this year.

He said: “I would advise people to hold off booking their summer holidays if possible until late July or mid August when there will be lots of good accommodation deals available in places like Turkey and the Spanish costas. If you take

your time you will be able to get some good bargains.”

The number one destination is Palma - and Neil says there are clear reasons which make this Spanish spot so popular.

He said: “The more popular destinations tend to be those that are more accessible and you can get there in about two or three hours. Clearly the strong sterling against the euro is also a big influence.

Palma has, in the past, been perceived as an older person’s destination but now it’s becoming quite culturally cool, accessible and it’s reinventing itself.”

The government’s decision to scrap air passenger duty for children could help out families looking to head abroad this summer. A Manchester Airport spokesman said: “MAG welcomed the Chancellor’s decision to abolish child APD. It was an issue we had been campaigning for on behalf of passengers for some time. This decision will undoubtedly give families across the UK a much greater choice when it comes to planning their holidays. MAG continues to campaign for reductions in APD, which will make UK airports with spare capacity more attractive.”

Story and Photo Credit: Manchester Evening News Andrew Stuart

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IAG 'to sustain thousands of UK jobs' with order for 31 Airbus planes The owner of British Airways, International Airlines Group, has placed an order for 31 Airbus aircraft valued at $5.2bn (£3.3bn) in a deal that the aircraft manufacturer said would sustain thousands of British jobs.

IAG is to buy 11 long-haul aircraft destined for BA’s Spanish sister airline Iberia, as well as 20 short-haul planes to be used for fleet replacement across the group, which includes the low-cost carrier Vueling. The group said it had negotiated a substantial discount to the $5.2bn list price from Airbus. It secured options to buy the planes in 2013, which it was now converting into firm orders. The aircraft will be delivered be-

tween 2016 and 2021.

Wings for all the various models are manufactured in Britain at Airbus’s plant in Broughton, and UK suppliers contribute to the aircraft landing gear and avionics. The engines for the eight A350-900s will be manufactured by Rolls-Royce.

Along with the A350s, IAG will be taking on three more A330 widebody aircraft, and 20 short-haul single-aisle planes, Airbus A320neos. IAG said the “modern, fuel-efficient aircraft will bring both cost efficiencies and environmental benefits to the airlines’ fleets”.

Airbus described the IAG order as “very significant for us”. The jet manufacturer’s

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Along with the A350s, IAG will be taking on three more A330 widebody aircraft, and 20 A320NEO’s chief operating officer, John Leahy, said it was “a great endorsement”.

The A350, regarded as Airbus’s direct competitor to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, entered service earlier this year and Airbus now has 780 firm orders for the model.

Story and Photo Credit: The Guardian Airbus

Liverpool John Lennon Airport draws attention to human trafficking Passengers flying in and out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport are being confronted by a giant walk-in art installation shaped like a gift box to draw attention to the issue of human trafficking.

The “gift box” is meant to represent the false promises made to people lured from their home country by traffickers.

The initiative from Merseyside Police’s protecting vulnerable people (PVP) unit comes just days after new slavery legislation came into effect giving the courts tougher sentencing powers against offenders.

On the outside of the 11ft high, brightly wrapped gift boxes - belonging to campaign group “Stop the Traffik”, who work closely with the United Nations - are promises such as “See the world and earn good money”.

Young women in Liverpool and throughout the rest of the country are being lured or coerced abroad But anyone who walks inside will be confronted with real life stories from UK victims showing the grim reality of what they face once taken abroad - such as sexual exploi-

tation, forced marriage, organised street crime, domestic servitude and forced labour.

The gift boxes were first used at the London Olympics and this week’s initiative follows ongoing work at the airport by the force’s PVP unit to raise awareness about the hidden issues of honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Young women in Liverpool and throughout the rest of the country are being lured or coerced abroad in similar circumstances often under immense pressure from their own family and community.

Detective Chief Inspector Natalie Perischine from the PVP unit said the giant gift boxes would get people talking about the issue and help the police to share information with potential victims.

ple pass through the airport every day to destinations throughout the world, including countries where harmful practices such as forced marriage and female genital mutilation are culturally still acceptable. However, these traditions are not acceptable in the UK and can constitute a whole range of offences covered by domestic violence legislation and the modern slavery act. Between 10,000 and 20,000 people are thought to be trafficked in and out of the country every year but only a small proportion of these cases are brought to the attention of the police and other agencies. We need to change that and one of the ways is by helping the victims themselves understand what is happening to them is wrong and can be prevented if

She said: “Thousands of peo-

Continued on page 42

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Continued from page 41

they speak out. It is also important to raise awareness of this global issue amongst the general public and by having these interactive art installations thanks to Stop The Traffik campaign group and the UN, we will be able to educate travellers about how they can help. The force has officers who are specially trained to investigate these crimes with sensitivity and I would encourage anyone who is a victim or has information to find the courage to come forward and speak to us. People can call officers on 0151 777 4079.”

anyone who is a victim or has information can call officers on 0151 777 4079

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, Jane Kennedy, is supporting the police initiative and has recently launched a new Victim Care Merseyside website for victims of these types of crimes.

Ms Kennedy said: “This gift box brings to life the grim reality of what may lie in store for those vulnerable victims who are lured by modern day slavers. It tells the true stories of real people who have been exploited and abused. By hosting this gift box at the airport, our aim is to increase awareness of this issue among people not just here on Merseyside, but also national and international visitors. Trafficking is not something that happens in other countries, it hap42

pens here too. We need to help people to spot the warning signs and make sure those vulnerable people who do become enslaved and rescued then have the care and support they need.”

If you are a victim of this type of crime, visit: victimcaremerseyside.org for advice on how to get help and report it.

For more information about the gift boxes and the United Nation’s global campaign visit: ungift.org stopthetraffik.org Story and Photo Credit: Liverpool Echo

United restores year-round service between Belfast and Newark United Airlines will resume direct year-round service between Newark International Airport and Belfast International Airport in 2016.

The route is the only direct link between Northern Ireland and the United States and first began operating 10 years ago.

It was discontinued for nine weeks between Jan. 6 and March 11 of this year, but in 2016, United will continue service three times a week during that same period.

“New York remains a popular destination for travelers and our Newark Liberty hub provides the most convenient route into the city as well as easy connections to hundreds of other destinations across the United States and beyond,” Bob Schumacher, United Managing Director

Sale, UK and Ireland, said in a statement released by the airport. “With this schedule change, we are offering our customers even more choice.”

The decision by United to return to full year-round service is seen as not only of great significance to the Belfast airport, but to the Northern Ireland economy as well. “Our one and only direct, scheduled trans-Atlantic service to Newark Liberty is a ‘lifeline’ for U.S.-owned firms and adds massively to efforts by Invest NI to attract additional and highly prized U.S. investment,” said Belfast International Airport managing director Graham Keddie. “We will do all we can to promote and market the service.”

When the service reduction was announced last year, representatives from Belfast Inter-

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The route is the only direct link between Northern Ireland and the United States and first began operating 10 years ago national Airport said they were “naturally disappointed” by the decision. The airport calls the service restoration “wonderful news for Northern Ireland.”

Story and Photo Credit: USA Today Belfast Aiport

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Monarch Airlines expands schedule for summer 2016

New routes from Leeds Bradford to Malaga and Manchester to Gran Canaria are part of Monarch Airlines’ expanded schedule for summer 2016.

The carrier has added 600,000 seats with an additional 3,200 flights over this year by raising capacity on a number of services.

carrier has added 600,000 seats with an additional 3,200 flights over this year

Extra frequencies have been added from Birmingham airport to Glbraltar and Ibiza; Gatwick to Ibiza, Rhodes, Paphos and Verona; Leeds Bradford to Naples and Manchester to Ibiza.

The flights went on sale Thursday, 6th August with prices starting at £35 one-way for a limited period.

Head of network development, Marjan Schoeke, said: “Following the strategic review of our network and looking closely at where and at what time our customers want to fly we have launched an ad45

ditional 600,000 seats to our summer 2016 flying programme. Next year’s schedule offers more flights to our most popular destinations as well as two new routes. This follows the launch of our summer 2016 programme last month where over 80% of the summer schedule went on sale.”

Story and Photo Credit: Travel Weekly planespotters.net Jorge Guerro

British Airways flight to Heathrow makes emergency landing in Montreal over 'bomb threat A British Airways flight bound for Heathrow made an emergency landing in Canada on the 29th July amid reports of a bomb threat.

The plane carrying 312 passengers and 16 crew members was on its way from Las Vegas to London when it was diverted to Montreal.

BA would not confirm the reason for the emergency stop, but it was claimed a bomb threat was made against the aircraft.

The airline said it landed safely at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport at about 11am UK time. Local police reportedly searched the plane

after passengers disembarked.

Ewen Sommerville, a genetics PhD student based in Newcastle, tweeted that his parents were on the flight and were told there was a "suspect device" on board. He said: "They were told it was [a] suspect device and they were diverted to Montreal, landed, evacuated, then plane was searched.

[I've] been told it's all calm."

A spokesman for Montreal Police said the pilot made a call to the airport saying there was an "emergency" during the flight and he wanted to land.

He would not expand on the nature of the emergency.

A spokeswoman for BA said: "Our flight from Las Vegas to Heathrow landed safely this morning at Montreal and cus-

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student based in Newcastle, tweeted that his parents were on the flight and were told there was a "suspect device" on tomers left the aircraft as normal after the captain took the decision to divert the aircraft as a precaution. The safety and security of our customers, crew and aircraft are our highest priorities at all times."

Story and Photo Credit: Evening Standard

Cadbury World creates chocolate aeroplane for Birmingham Airport The talented chocolatiers at Cadbury World have reached new heights with a chocolate aeroplane crafted especially for Birmingham Airport.

There is nothing plane about Cadbury World’s latest creation, for the talented chocolatiers have reached new heights with a chocolate aeroplane crafted especially for Birmingham Airport.

Weighing over 70kg, the equivalent of 1,555 standard Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, the impressive creation comes complete with white chocolate propellers and the iconic Cadbury logo. Finished with a bronze lustre to give a metallike shine, as well as a silver lustre for a window effect, the plane took the chocolatiers just two days to create, and is on display in the departures lounge at Birmingham Airport now.

The unique plane has been crafted to celebrate a partnership between Cadbury and the airport which also includes the

Weighing over 70kg, the impressive creation comes complete with white chocolate propellers

creation of a giant timeline wall detailing major milestones in Cadbury’s 190-year history.

mer, it also reinforces our relationship with Cadbury which is a fellow local Midlands brand.”

Diane Mitchell, marketing manager at Cadbury World, said: “Our chocolatiers are known for their impressive creations, and we’re delighted to add this chocolate aeroplane to the list. We love collaborating with other local businesses to celebrate the city, and hope that visitors will enjoy seeing the creation as they jet off on holiday.” Richard Gill, Birmingham Airport’s head of commercial, added: “Having such a globally recognised brand at Birmingham Airport, through both its range of products within our commercial space and now this wonderful chocolate plane creation, is fantastic. Not only is this a fun spectacle for those jetting off from Birmingham Airport this sum-

To see the work that goes into creating one of these showstopping chocolate sculptures, a time-lapse video will be on display at Birmingham Airport to view.

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Birmingham Airport achieved its busiest ever June with almost a million passengers passing through the terminal.

A record 988,916 people used the West Midlands airport during the month, beating the previous best set last year by almost three per cent. Longhaul traffic experienced significant growth in June, up 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Story and Photo Credit: Birmingham Mail

Newcastle International Airport celebrates its 80th birthday The Tyneside transport hub is celebrating eight decades of flights - and is already looking ahead to the 2030’s Newcastle International Airport has recently celebrated its 80th anniversary and bosses are already looking ahead to what the airport will be like when it celebrates its centenary. “We’re very proud of our role in the North East,” said planning and development director Graeme Mason. “And the 80th anniversary is a chance to celebrate that.

We’ve come a long way since July 26 1935 when the then air minister, Philip CunliffeLister, flew in on a De Havilland Dragon Rapide.”

From a small wooden hut on the far side of the airfield, NIA has grown to see more than 4.5m passengers a year, with long haul flights to Dubai with Emirates and

United Airlines’ direct service to New York, and hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers heading abroad with budget airlines like easyJet and Jet2.

One man who has seen much of its growth is Dave Laws, who started out as an airport fireman 35 years ago before rising through the ranks to become the business’ chief executive.

But while looking back on eight decades of flights, it is to the future that the airport is looking, with plans out to 2030.

“The airport in 2030 will look very different,” Mr Laws said.

“In the last decade we have seen a great deal of change with customers now looking to check in online or on their phone and that will continue. I think the way security screening is done will be transformed, our retail, food and

from a small wooden hut on the far side of the airfield, NIA has grown to see more than 4.5m passengers a year drink offeirng will develop further and aircraft technology will develop further. Already we’re seeing things like the 787 Dreamliner, which has a much lower environmental impact. And though people say technology will mean people will travel less, if the North East economy grows as we hope and it becomes a globally competitive region, then people will travel because you’ve always in the end got to meet people and shake hands. People’s aspirations are also greater and the world has been opened up by air travel - and we want to be able to serve that from Newcastle, without them having to travel long distances to Edinburgh or Manchester.”

Story and Photo Credit: Chronical Live

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Airport group’s fears over Red Arrows visits

Fears have been raised that the famous Red Arrows may never land at Blackpool Airport again due to lack of safety cover.

Members of the campaign group Save Blackpool Airport have said they have been in contact with one of the air display team’s liaison officers confirming the decision. In the past when the team has been performing at Blackpool Air Show they have landed at Squires Gate and parked the aircraft in a holding area close to the Morrisons supermarket.

But now they will have to fly in from their base at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire and then return straight after the display.

The move will disappoint their scores of fans who often watch

over the airport fences off on the sand dunes to see the spectacular jets land and take off.

The email from the liaison officer states: “At present the situation is that Blackpool Airport is no longer on the Reds’ calendar which is not only a disappointment for the faithful followers at Morrisons but is

another blow for Squires Gate since losing commercial flights also more difficult for the team operationally as Blackpool is a good location to use for other displays. A small team of us are working on trying to get a sufficient level of cover, particularly fire cover which currently falls well short of con49

tract requirements.”

Rob Blower, chairman of the Save Blackpool Airport group, said it was very disappointing and another blow for the airside operation at Squires Gate since losing commercial flights last October. He said: “It is a real shame. We believe it is down to lack of suitable fire cover, although the Airport has just bought a new fire tender. It is a shame for the community and a shame for the airport which has such a rich aviation heritage and such good links with the Red Arrows over the years.” No one was available to comment from airport owners Balfour Beatty.

Story and Photo Credit: The Gazette

Isles of Scilly travel company acquires new 'James Bond style' aircraft A travel company which provides a vital link between the Isles of Scilly and the mainland is adding a bit of glamour to its fleet after it acquired a new 'James Bond style' aircraft.

The Steamship Group further strengthened transport links to the islands with the acquisition of another aircraft for its inhouse airline Skybus. Skybus took delivery of the Islander at Land's End Airport in time for the busy summer holidays, but earlier this year the aircraft had a rather different guise – in the new James Bond movie blockbuster, Spectre. The eight -seater Islander, registration GBUBP, was bought for an undisclosed sum by the Steamship Group from Glasgowbased Cormack Islander Aircraft, who last year chartered it for the new Bond movie.

It was painted black with a special rinse-off paint, given a new registration number and used in a thrilling flight sequence filmed in the Austrian

Alps with Bond star Daniel Craig at the controls. The aircraft even features in a trailer for the new film, which is released in October and will be the 24th Bond movie. An aircraft 'stunt-double', using a mock-up built by the film's special effects team, was used for the ground action scenes rather than the real aircraft, which was returned to Scotland where the black paint was washed off.

Since then it has undergone routine maintenance and been resprayed in Skybus colours, ready to enter service on the Isles of Scilly route.

Rob Goldsmith, chief executive of the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group said: "It's quite fun to think that the latest addition to our Skybus fleet will be making a little bit of movie history."

The new Islander brings the Skybus fleet to eight, with four Islanders and four Twin Otters operating to St Mary's Airport on the Isles of Scilly. The

earlier this year the aircraft had a rather different guise – in the new James Bond movie blockbuster, Steamship Group also operates the Scillonian III passenger ship and the freight vessel Gry Maritha, providing lifeline transport services to the islands. Mr Goldsmith added: "The new Islander gives us significant new air capacity and underlines our commitment to invest in strengthening links to the islands and enhancing our facilities and services for passengers. This summer is our biggest ever flying schedule and introducing an eighth aircraft gives us even more flexibility to respond to demand."

Skybus operates scheduled services from Land's End, Newquay and Exeter airports and recently announced a price freeze and longer flying hours for the winter season, starting in November. The aircraft acquired by the Steamship group is visible in the latest James Bond film trailer, albeit painted black.

Story and Photo Credit: Western Morning News 50

Before the bombs fell Target identified Ripples of movement The Manchester connection A legend is born Preparing to chastise After me, the flood A measured success The dogged ghost story From fact to fiction Beyond the legend Acknowledgements 51

Page 52 Page 54 Page 58 Page 61 Page 64 Page 66 Page 70 Page 82 Page 84 Page 85 Page 91 Page 94

Before the bombs fell On the night of May 16th, 1943, nineteen Lancaster bombers took off from RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. They had three primary targets: the MĂśhne, Eder and Sorpe dams and two secondary ones, the Lister and the Eneppe dams.

Of the nineteen planes, five would be held in reserve during the attacks.

But the story of this now infamous squadron starts long before the attacks on the dams.

The 1911 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica has only one definition of "Ruhr": "a river of Germany, an important right-bank tributary of the lower Rhine." The use of the term "Ruhr" for the industrial region started in Britain only after World War I, when French and Belgian troops had occupied the Ruhr district and seized its prime industrial assets in lieu of unpaid reparations in 1923.

The development of the region into an urbanized industrial area started in the late 18th century with the early industrialisation in the nearby Wupper Valley in the Bergisches Land.

By around 1820, hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textiles, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes here. And in even more workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manu-

factured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal. History has no established name for this phase of the industrial revolution, but one could call it the early water-powered industrial revolution.

As the machines became bigger and moved from water power to steam power, locally mined coal and charcoal became expensive and there was not enough of it. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new coal mining area along the Ruhr river. Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and for outward transport of finished products. By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the central cities of Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund.

The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke, used in blast furnaces, producing iron and steel. In this period the name Ruhrgebiet became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were exhausted, the mining industry moved northward to the Emscher and finally to the Lippe, drilling ever deeper mines as it went. Locks built at MĂźlheim on the Ruhr led to the 52

expansion of MĂźlheim as a port. With the construction of the Cologne-Minden railway in the late 19th century, several iron works were built within the borders of the present-day city of Oberhausen.

The population climbed rapidly. Towns with only 2000 to 5000 people in the early 19th century grew in the following 100 years to over 100,000.

Skilled mineworkers were recruited from other regions to the Ruhr's mines and steel mills and unskilled people started to move in. From 1860 onwards there was large-scale migration from Silesia, Pomerania, East Prussia and Posen to the Ruhr. Many of them were Polish speakers and they were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in Herne of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers' Union.

Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in so-called "miners' colonies", built by the mining firms. By the end of the Prussian Kingdom in 1870, over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.

During World War I the Ruhrgebiet functioned as Continued on page 53

Continued from page 52

Germany's central weapon factory. At a big Essen company, F. Krupp A.G., the number of employees rose from 40,000 to 120,000 or more, in four years.

They were partly women, partly forced labourers.

In March 1921, French and Belgian troops occupied Duisburg, which under the Treaty of Versailles formed part of the demilitarized Rhineland. In January 1923 the wholeRuhrgebiet was occupied as a reprisal after Germany failed to fulfill World War I reparation payments as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government responded with "passive resistance", letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by

the occupation forces. Production and transport came to a standstill and the financial consequences contributed to German hyperinflation and ruined public finances in Germany and France, as well as several other countries. Passive resistance was called off in late 1923, allowing Germany to implement a currency reform and to negotiate the Dawes Plan, which led to the withdrawal of the French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925.

By the outbreak of the Second World War, the Ruhr district was one of the largest population centres in Europe with a population of more than 4 million in Rhine and Ruhr.

53

This industrial region was regarded by the allies as the "Armory of the Third Reich".

The numerous plants of Krupp, Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, Kloeckner, Rheinmetall, Hoesch and Ruhrstahl produced the arms, which enabled Hitler to wage war. The rolling mills and steel works manufactured the components of tanks, aircrafts, submarines, cannons and many other weapons. The city of Essen and the Krupp works were synonyms for 'weapons from the Ruhr'. By 1937, power stations and coking plants in the Rhine-Ruhr-area topped the list of targets for attacks of British plans for the strategic air war against Germany in the event of war.

Target identified The economic significance of the German dams had been recognised before the Second World War. As early as September 1937 the Air Ministry was aware of the dams as potential targets, the Mรถhne and Sorpe even being named. Interest in the dams was such that a meeting of the Bombing Committee held on July 26, 1938 was devoted specifically to the subject.

An extract from the agenda for that meeting shows that whilst it was well understood that bombing the dams would be difficult, the consequential damage from successful bombing could be considerable: Extract from Agenda for the 18th Meeting of the Bombing Committee to be held on July 26, 1938. (PRO: AIR 14/229) The type of target which this meeting has been convened to discuss is considered to be of very great intrinsic importance, in that a successful attack thereon would deprive industrial areas in foreign countries of the source of a large proportion of their power. Not only would power stations automatically be put out of action, but considerable damage would also be caused by the release of flood water.

There is a not inconsiderable body of opinion which holds that targets of this nature are uneconomical for attack from the air, and that the chances of sufficient damage being achieved by air action are remote. It should be noted, however, that the destruction of one dam may have the same result as the destruction of a considerable number of targets further down the chain of the industrial energy system, and it is therefore considered that, as targets, reservoirs and reservoir dams are worth the expenditure of a considerable effort.

An extract from the minutes of the Bombing Committee meeting indicate that even before the outbreak of the war research had already been carried out to try to estimate the likely consequences of breaching the Mรถhne Dam in particular, and other dams in the area. With the benefit of hindsight, the estimates of the likely damage are optimistic, particularly with respect to the impact on industry and the waterways. The rest of the meeting went on to discuss possible methods available at the time of attacking the dams, none of which were conclusive. Barnes Wallis and the 'bouncing bomb' were still some years into the future.

Extract from Minutes for the 18th Meeting of the Bombing Committee held on July 26, 1938. (PRO: AIR 14/229) Squadron Leader Burge (A.I.1 (b)) on being asked by the Chairman to remark upon this aspect of the question, confirmed the statement in the preamble to the agenda that this type of target was of very great intrinsic importance. He quoted the Ruhr area as an example pointing out that the amount of water consumed in the whole of Germany was only three times that of the Ruhr, and the bulk of it was obtained from one large reservoir contained by a single arch dam known as the MOHNE dam.

5. He had been informed by experts that the destruction of this dam would result in enormous damage. Not only would it affect certain important hydro-electric generating stations, but the Ruhr valley, which was low-lying, would be completely flooded, with the result that railways, important bridges, pumping stations, and industrial and chemical plants would be destroyed or rendered inoperative. He mentioned that in normal times the water in the Ruhr valley was practically up to the banks, so that it would Continued on page 55

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Continued from page 54 Official interest in the dams seems to have faded after the meeting in 1938 as no practical method of attack with any realistic hope of success existed. The subject was raised again in 1940 by Air Marshall Sir Charles Portal when he wrote to the Under Secretary of State for Air. Once again it is clear from his memorandum that his expectations of damage resulting from the dam's destruction were optimistic, though broadly in line with the view held two years earlier.

Extract from Memorandum from Air Marshall C. Portal, Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command to the Under Secretary of State at the Air Ministry dated 3rd July 1940. (PRO: AIR 14/817)

Air Marshall Sir Charles Portal not take very much to bring the water right over.

There were also four or five other reservoirs in Germany, which fed the inland waterways. The destruction of these dams, he was informed, would leave waterways high and dry, and as water transport figured very largely in the German transportation system, the ex-

tra traffic thrown on the roads and railways would very soon tend to cause chaotic conditions. The recent drought had caused several of these reservoirs to dry up, and the whole of two or three large stretches of waterways were inactive for three or four weeks, thus throwing a very heavy burden on the railways.

I have the honour to refer to paragraph 4 of the Minutes of the 18th meeting of the Bombing Committee held at the Air Ministry on 26th July, 1938, and to suggest that the time has arrived when we should make arrangements for the destruction of the MOHNE Dam. I am given to understand that almost all the industrial activity of the Ruhr depends upon the water contained in and Continued on page 56

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Continued from page 55 supplied by this dam, and that if it were destroyed not only would most of the industry in the Ruhr be brought to a standstill but very great havoc would be wrought throughout the length of the water course.

to Sir Charles Portal also referred back to the July 1938 meeting of the Bombing Committee, but quoted some new statistics which he concluded made such an attack impractical at the time.

The official reply from Air Vice-Marshall W.S. Douglas, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff

For a second time, official interest in the subject was to wane.

Extract from Memorandum from Air Vice-Marshall W.S. Douglas, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff to Air Marshall C. Portal, Commanding-in-Chief Bomber Command dated 13th July 1940. (PRO: AIR 14/817) ... the attack of dams in general and of the Mohne dam in particular has been the subject of exhaustive study since July 1938. The proposal was finally dropped as impracticable ...

The practical difficulties ... are considered to be insuperable at present.

Portal certainly had good reason to have reservations about the potential success of any attempts to destroy the dams of the Ruhr. Conventional bombing weapons and tactics at the time were far from being precision. The practice of area bombardment, which came to prominence early in the stages of World War II, was largely seen as the most effective method, relying on large numbers of unguided gravity bombs, often with a high proportion of incendiary bombs, to effect indiscriminate bombing of the target region. Bomber crews were not able to find and hit specific war targets such as Continued on page 57

Air Vice-Marshall W.S. Douglas 56

Continued from page 56 airfields or armament factories. An investigation revealed that just one in five aircraft was succeeding in dropping its bombs within five miles of its target.

In March 1941 a piece of work emerged from an employee of the Vickers Aircraft Company, Dr Barnes Neville Wallis, entitled “A note on the method of attacking the Axis powers.” It envisaged the Allies using a huge bomb against the Germans – ten tons in weight so that any building/object was vulnerable to an aerial attack even if it was built underground.

This fifty-page piece of work stated that the Allies had to develop a new form of bombing if massive concrete structures were to be destroyed. It described how much larger bombs could be built so that the area surrounding where the bombs were dropped would be so massively shaken as to create enough jarring pressure to shake a target to pieces. Therefore, pin-point precision bombing would not be necessary as physics would take over once a bomb had exploded.

The initial idea presented was to attack the dams with a series of very large bombs, up to 10 tons, in a conventional manner from high altitude. However,

Dr Barnes Neville Wallis no one was particularly interested in what had been written and many felt that the ideas presented were just ‘pie-in-the -sky’. No one had ever built a bomb that was 10 tons; no bomber had ever been built that could carry such a bomb and no plane flying then could fly at 40,000 feet. Furthermore, a bomb would need to land within 50 feet of the dam’s wall for it to be effective and in July 1941, the Air Attack on Dams Committee concluded that: “There seems to be no doubt that an attack on the Möhne Dam is impracticable with existing weapons.”

Some saw Wallis as an eccen57

tric. However, one part of his paper did attract attention.

Wallis believed that Germany’s industrial heart could be destroyed – literally drowned – if the huge dams in the Ruhr were destroyed unleashing vast quantities of water into the Ruhr industrial sector. An ‘Air Attack on Dams Committee’ was formed in 1941 under the chairmanship Dr. Pye. The committee decided that the primary target should be the Möhne Dam which enclosed the Möhne and Hedve rivers.

The dam was 130 feet high and 112 feet thick at its base.

Even the top was 25 feet thick making it a formidable target to destroy.

Ripples of movement Wallis was keen on the idea of getting an explosive charge as near to the wall of the dam as was possible.

Wallis believed that if this could be done on the lakeside of the dam, the vast pressure applied to that side of the damaged wall would be enough to destroy the dam itself.

A torpedo type bomb was out of the question as the Germans had already thought of that as a way of attacking the dam.

Anti-torpedo nets protected the dam. Wallis came up with an idea he called “childishly simple�. He believed that you could use a bouncing bomb that would clear the protective nets, that would smash into the dam wall, stay intact and then sink to a depth of 30 feet before exploding using a hydrostatic fuse (similar to the ones found in depth charges). To ensure that the bomb went down the dam wall, Wallis planned for the bomb to spin

forwards after it had hit the wall – despite the fact that it would be dropped by a bomber spinning backwards.

The concept of a bouncing bomb, as with many inventions, was not the idea of Wallis himself. Naval gunners in the 16th and 17th centuries discovered they could increase the range of their cannons by 'bouncing' them off the water like a stone in a pond. There were also reports from pilots early in the war who said that even if they dropped their bombs short of enemy shipping under attack, they would sometimes skip on over the water and still hit the target under the right conditions.

Knowing that he had to get the bombs to detonate right next to the dam wall, Wallis began to experiment with the concept of a bouncing bomb as means of doing so.

Wallis began his experiments with bouncing bombs at his

home in Surrey. He used his daughter Elizabeth's marbles to bounce off the surface of a metal tub and land on table further on. He soon extended his experiments to the National Physical Laboratory ship testing facility at Teddington. Using the 670 foot long water tank, Wallis bounced many different spheres of various design and of various material including smooth, grooved and even dimpled balls (similar to golf balls). In his experimentation he discovered that the ball must hit the water at a certain angle otherwise it would dive straight into the water without bouncing. The critical angle for the ball to bounce was about 7 degrees. This angle of impact had great implications as to how high the bomb would have to be dropped from. Wallis also discovered that applying backspin to the sphere gave better results. If the sphere was spun backwards, it bounced better because it was more inclined to rise off the surface of the water. The backspin also increased the distance the sphere would travel due to the improved bouncing effect.

Also, after a certain number of bounces, the sphere would decelerate enough so that it would sink at the wall of the dam and not overshoot.

Continued on page 60

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Continued from page 58 After encouraging results from the test tank in Teddington, Wallis took his ideas along with the test results, calculations and designs to the Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aircraft Production, the Admiralty and his employers, Vickers Aircraft Company.

Wallis received permission to develop the bomb and it was assigned the code-name ‘Upkeep’. He was told to construct and test six half size prototype Upkeep weapons. On December 4th 1942, using a Wellington bomber piloted by Vickers' chief test pilot Mutt Summers, Wallis dropped his first test bomb just off Chesil beach in Dorset. After hitting the water, the bomb was torn apart into tiny pieces. All following tests were just as disappointing. The problem was that the casing which gave the weapon its spherical shape continued to break apart despite attempts to strengthen it.

Although the casing broke, the bomb did bounce just as Wallis had suggested. He believed that given time he could solve the problems with the casing and deliver a fully working prototype of Upkeep.

Wallis wrote a paper called 'Attacks on Dams' which contained his progress on Upkeep and suggested suitable targets.

He submitted the report to senior figures in both the military

Testing on Chesil beach and Government. The response was far from what Wallis was expecting! The Ministry of Aircraft Production felt it could not cope with the manufacture of Upkeep along with the production of aircraft which at the time was its number one priority. Furthermore, head of Bomber Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris described Wallis' idea as "Tripe of the wildest description". He commented that the revolving mine would tear itself from the bomb bay and destroy the aircraft carrying it.

He also said "The war will be over before it works - and it never will". Harris did not want to loose any of his precious Lancaster bombers on a "wild goose chase" that stood little chance of success. He knew from previous attacks just how venerable his bombers were. Luckily for Wallis, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal who was a central figure in the Air Ministries earlier plans to attack the dams had also seen Wallis' results from Che60

sil beach on film and was very impressed. Portal told Harris to make three Lancasters available for Upkeep testing.

He told Harris, "If you want to win the war; bust the dams".

The following day, Wallis was called for a meeting by Vickers chairman Sir Charles Craven who told him he was making a nuisance of himself at the Ministry of Aircraft Production and the Air Ministry. Craven feared that Wallis would damage the company's interests and ordered him to "stop this silly nonsense".

Wallis immediately offered his resignation and Craven accused him of mutiny. Fortunately for Wallis, higher powers were gathering in support for his weapon. Three days after giving his resignation to Craven, he was asked to attend a meeting with all the top figures including Air Chief Marshal Portal and Lancaster designer Roy Chadwick.

Much to Cravens anger, Upkeep was given the final go ahead.

The Manchester connection Until the beginning of 1942, when the first Lancaster came off the production line, Wallis had no way of delivering his proposed weapon.

Britain simply did not posses a bomber that was capable of carrying a 10 ton bomb. After

some development on the bomb, Wallis managed to reduce the weight of the bomb to 7,500 pounds which was well within the lifting capability of the new Avro Lancaster.

In 1936, the Air ministry issued a specification for a new

type of medium bomber.

Chadwick produced the Avro Manchester. This twinengined plane was essentially a sound design, but had one major handicap, the radically new Rolls Royce Vulture engines. These were essentially two engines in one. Chadwick always doubted whether Rolls Royce could devote enough time to the development of the Vulture engine with the approaching war putting major demands on the tried and tested Merlin engine which had to be given priority.

Chadwick's fears were justified when the Manchester went into squadron service in November 1940 at RAF Waddington fitted with Vulture engines which were prone to mechanical problems and fires. To solve the problem, Chadwick decided to either replace the Vultures with units of similar power or to fit four less powerful but reliable engines. Even before the Manchester went into service, Chadwick was busy redesigning the plane to house four engines. This would be the Manchester Mk III. Renamed the "Lancaster", the prototype aircraft BT308 was assembled by Avro's experimental flight department at Manchester's Ringway Continued on page 62

Roy Chadwick 61

Continued from page 61

Airport. Test pilot H.A. "Bill" Thorn took the controls for its first flight at Ringway, on Thursday, 9 January 1941. The aircraft proved to be a great improvement on its predecessor, being "one of the few warplanes in history to be 'right' from the start." Its initial threefinned tail layout, a result of the design being adapted from the Manchester I, was quickly changed on the second prototype DG595 and subsequent production aircraft, to the familiar twin-finned specification also used on the later Manchesters.

The Lancaster utilised much of the Manchester design including the mid-wing cantilever monoplane with an oval all

-metal fuselage. The wing was constructed in five main sections, the fuselage in five sections. All wing and fuselage sections were built separately and fitted with all the required equipment before final assembly. The tail unit had twin elliptical fins and rudders. The Lancaster was initially powered by four wing mounted Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engines driving 13 ft diameter de Havilland Hydromatic threebladed airscrews. It had retractable main landing gear and fixed tailwheel, with the hydraulically operated main landing gear raising rearwards into the inner engine nacelles.

Minor details were changed throughout the production se62

ries – for example the pitot head design was changed from being on a long mast at the front of the nose to a short fairing mounted on the side of the fuselage under the cockpit.

Later production Lancasters had Merlin 22 and 24 engines.

No designation change was made to denote these alterations.

With the Lancasters now in production, AVRO (then A.V. Roe & Co.) were told to give priority to producing aircraft modified to accommodate the “Upkeep” weapon and Vickers likewise with Upkeep.

Portal told them he wanted 150 weapons. Wallis was Continued on page 63

Continued from page 62 Special Bomber was given to Chadwick’s modified design which featured: •

•

•

delighted with the faith in project but there was little time to get it all into place and into action.

In order for maximum effect, the dams would have to be attacked when the water levels in the lakes were at their highest. This time would be about the middle of May which was only three months from the time Upkeep was given the go ahead. If the attacks were any later than May 26th the raid would have to be postponed until the following year (1944).

release it, modify the Lancasters and find and train the crews to fly the mission. This was no easy task, bearing in mind it was estimated that packing the explosives into the drums in Upkeep would take three weeks alone.

Chadwick said that it would be a miracle if they managed to achieve their goals and make Chastise operational in the available time. But, despite the limited time, Chadwick and his team at Avro managed to make the necessary alterations and the designation B Mk III

To allow time for training and testing of Upkeep, the aircraft and weapon would have to be ready and delivered no later than May 1st. By the time approvals were granted, Wallis, Chadwick and the developers had only 8 weeks in which to perfect Upkeep, build it, design and construct carrying arms and the mechanism to 63

Modified bomb bay to carry the special Upkeep weapon Callipers and a belt driven system to rotate Upkeep backward were added to hold the weapon The Mid Upper turret was removed to compensate for the large Upkeep weapon

Up-rated engines with paddlebladed propellers were also fitted which gave more power, and the removal of gun turrets reduced weight and gave smoother lines.

[A full history and description of the Avro Lancaster will appear in the next issue of FL600—Ed]

A legend is born Now that plans to implement Operation Chastise were in place, a squadron would be needed to fly the mission.

The squadron was formed under great secrecy at RAF Scampton during the Second World War on 21 March 1943 with Guy Penrose Gibson of 106 squadron chosen to form and lead this new squadron

because of his formidable operational record and reputation for seeing through a task due to his leadership skills and strict discipline.

Unusually, Gibson had the authority to pick his own crews.

They would have to be experienced veterans who had completed or nearly completed two tours. However, although

many believe that 617 squadron was formed from the very best, highly decorated pilots and aircrew in the allied force, this was far from the truth.

The majority of the squadron had no decorations at all and instead of having flown two tours, some were only one third of the way through their first tour. For some of the flight engineers, the dams raid was their first operational sortie. Gibson personally knew very few of the men including his own crew. Only Flight Lieutenant Bob Hutchinson, a radio operator had flown regularly with Gibson at 106 squadron.

Gibson, and the men he selected to form the new squadron, agreed to undertake the operation with no idea of what was being asked. Chastise was top secret and the newly formed squadron was given the identification of “Squadron X” with the unit designation “MZ” having being assigned in 1939, despite no squadron having existed until 1943. Once formed at RAF Scampton, training could begin. This was crucial, as the crews would have to learn to fly to extreme limits in order to carry out the attacks, the target of which was still unknown to the squadron.

Continued on page 65

Guy Gibson 64

Continued from page 64

Avro Lancaster over the Eyebrook reservoir Squadron began training for the mission almost immediately and had very little time to prepare. Learning low flying, in both day and night, was the first and most important task for the crews.

Although it may seem unlikely for experienced air crews, air sickness was the first problem many of them had with low flying. Flying at low level caused intensive turbulent shaking of the aircraft and many of the crews who were used to operating at the rather smoother altitude of 10,000 feet experienced it. Medicine was handed out to those who needed it but some had to be rejected and replaced.

The flying was very intensive; night after night they practiced at first in borrowed Lancasters and later in the modified types

as they came through from Avro. In order to make conditions as realistic as possible, they were told to fly over three main locations in England: The Eyebrook reservoir at Uppingham in Leicestershire, the Abberton reservoir near Colchester, and the Derwent reservoir near Sheffield.

It is important to remember that, even though training had begun, neither Gibson nor the crews were aware of their targets at this time, the information was absolute top secret and very few people knew.

The crews were however beginning to guess what their target may be and at first the rumours were that the target was the German battleship Tirpitz.

Although Gibson was not told officially the target, he was 65

given a very good idea of what he was up against at a meeting with Wallis on March 24th 1943, less than 2 months before the, now infamous, raid. This was the first time the two men had met. Wallis could not tell Gibson specific details of the mission as he was not on the list of people with clearance for a full briefing, he did however tell him as much as he could. After the meeting, Gibson left in the certain knowledge that his aircraft must attack the targets at a speed of 240mph at a height of 150 feet, any variation on this and the plans simply would not work.

On the same day, Squadron X was officially designated a Royal Air Force number.

They were now officially 617 Squadron; The legend was born.

Preparing to chastise By the end of April 1943, the squadron had accumulated well over 1,000 hours in training and as expected they had encountered special problems with flying at low level and simulating night time flying.

was fitted over the cockpit windscreen, side windows and gun turrets while the crew wore amber-tinted goggles.

Map reading was made easier by producing strip maps on rollers following each aircraft's particular route.

The main four problems were:

Height was a much more difficult and crucial problem. Normal Main Force squadrons relied on numbers and mutual defence to confuse and overwhelm enemy radar and defences. However, a small group of bombers flying at normal operational height would soon be either; detected and destroyed by enemy fighters, or successive waves of anti-aircraft batteries from the coast to the target. Not only would the attack have to come at low level, the entire flight there and back would have to

• • • •

Simulating night time flying in daylight.

Following a map at low level.

Maintaining a height of 150 feet.

Estimating the release point of the weapon from the target to ensure an accurate impact.

The first two problems were relatively easily solved. In order to simulate night flying during the day, blue celluloid

66

be done at low level too.

The problem was that the standard altimeter was useless at low levels such as 150 feet.

On March 28th 1943 Gibson with Hopgood and Young on board, had flown over the Derwent reservoir to see how difficult it was to fly over water at 150 feet with hills all around. During the daylight he had no real problems but when dusk came he could not distinguish the horizon from the water surface and nearly flew into the lake.

The solution to flying at 150 feet was found by the Royal Aircraft Establishment. A year earlier they had been experimenting with spotlights fitted under Hudson bombers in Continued on page 67

Continued from page 66 order to gauge their height while attacking U-boats at night. It had not worked very well due to choppy waves in the sea but over a smooth lake it might.

After experimenting with it for a while, two lamps were fitted, one in the nose and one behind the bomb bay. They were angled so that the two beams would meet when the aircraft was at exactly 150 feet. It would be the job of the navigator to look down through the starboard (right) cockpit window and talk the pilot down until the lamps met at the required altitude.

Both Harris and the crews of 617 squadron were very shocked at the idea of lighting up an aircraft at the moment it was about to attack when it was at its most vulnerable.

Harris was furious "I will not have aircraft flying about with spotlights on in defended areas" he said angrily. Although he was right, there was no other way to achieve the required altitude. The bombers would have to attack lit up.

The problems the crews were having with training were slowly being solved and they were becoming good at flying to the limits specified for the attacks. The development of Upkeep was not coming along so smoothly though.

Testing “Upkeep�

Testing of the Upkeeps was continuing while the crews were on training. Vickers' Mutt Summers and Avro's chief test pilot Sam Brown had been dropping the bombs from the height specified of 150 feet but they continued to break up when first hitting the water.

It is a long living myth that Upkeep was a spherical shape when in actual fact it was more like an oil drum (cylindrical).

This is mainly due to the 1954 film 'The Dambusters', which portrays Upkeep as a spherical shape. This was not entirely inaccurate because Wallis had indeed intended his weapon to be spherical. The reason for the change is outlined below and is due to the bomb breaking apart upon impact with the water. The reason the film kept the bomb as a spherical shape was because at the time it was made, Upkeep was still on the secrets list and the film makers 67

were unable to show its actual shape. Upkeep was not removed from the secrets list until 1963 despite the Germans knowing literally everything about it.

When Wallis was experimenting with half size prototypes he found that the casing of the bomb which gave it its spherical shape broke upon impact with the water. This was because the casing was made from wood due to the lack of steel available at the time. Despite efforts to increase the strength of the casing it continued to break. Wallis eventually decided to forget about the casing because the cylinder inside the container which contained the explosives often continued and did indeed bounce as he had expected.

However when Summers and Continued on page 68

Continued from page 67 Brown were testing the actual full size prototypes of the weapon, they totally broke apart upon impact with the water when dropped from 150 feet. The only way to stop them from breaking apart was to reduce the height from which they were dropped.

Wallis recalculated and found that 60 feet was the maximum height from which the bombs could be dropped without being torn apart. With only three weeks to go to the planned date of the raid, Wallis asked Gibson if 617 could fly at the perilously low level of 60 feet.

Gibson took a deep breath and promised that they would.

The final major problem to be solved was judging the distance at which the bomb had to

be released to hit the dam exactly where it needed to be.

Once again the Royal Aircraft Establishment came up with the solution. They produced simple hand held Y-shaped wooden sights. The bomb aimer would simply look through an eyepiece at the base of the Y and when the two nails on the arms lined up with the towers on the dam, it was the correct range for releasing the weapon. This was about 400 - 450 yards (366411 meters).

In practice, some of the bomb aimers found it very difficult to keep the aimer steady with one hand while the aircraft was bouncing around. Some aimers therefore devised their own means based on the same

68

idea. These ideas generally involved marks on the clear vision panel in the nose and a piece of string to line up with the towers of the dam. It was a very simple idea involving basic mathematics, but it worked!

Communication was going to be critical on the raid. The success of this mission in particular would depend upon not only the teamwork within each aircraft but also the whole squadron. In a normal bomber stream, aircraft attacked in a conveyor belt system dropping their bombs almost simultaneously on a broad target.

Continued on page 69

Continued from page 68 This raid relied upon individual precision attacks. Gibson would have to act as the master bomber calling each aircraft in one at a time, essentially co-ordinating the attack and making adjustments as required. Good air to air communication was therefore essential, but the standard R/T radio sets performed badly at low level at night. To solve the problem they fitted VHF sets normally used by fighter aircraft.

Avro Lancaster over the Derwent reservoir the Tirpitz or even U-boats.

On May 11th 1943, just 5 days before the night of the attack, the squadron began training with actual Upkeep bombs at Reculver (although they were not actually filled with explosives). They were amazed to see the drums bouncing over the water right up to the beach.

Still they did not know their targets! After seeing the weapon in operation, it reignited talk that the target was

While on training with real Upkeeps at Reculver, both Shannon and Maudslay damaged their Lancasters by dropping their bombs too low and being caught in a huge column of water thrown up after it hit the water.

By the time the attack came five days later, Maudslay's aircraft could not be repaired and

617 Squadron group photograph 69

the attacking force was down to 19 aircraft from the 20 originally intended by Gibson.

Gibson had picked 21 crews for the squadron, the 20 to fly and one reserve. Coincidently, both Divall and Wilson had sickness and their crews would not fly. This therefore left 19 aircraft and 19 crews.

The attacking force had been determined out of Gibson's hands.

After me, the flood In only 8 weeks, Chastise was ready to go. Wallis, Chadwick and everyone involved had managed to perfect Upkeep, modify the Lancasters (including designing a release mechanism), form and prepare an entire squadron and iron out all of the major problems facing them. Their effort was already a great achievement.

Target C: The Sorpe Dam The secondary targets were: Target D: The Lister Dam Target E: The Ennepe Dam Target F: The Diemel Dam Gibson informed his two flight commanders Young and Maudslay, his deputy leader Hopgood and Bob Hay, Martins' bomb aimer who was squadron bombing leader.

Gibson had spoken to them).

Wallis then explained the basic principles and development of the weapon and what he expected it to do. He outlined the characteristics of the dams and explained the effect on Hitler's industry if they were breached. Finally Cochrane closed the briefing wishing the crews good luck.

With only two days to go before Chastise was due to be launched, the Chiefs of staff had not confirmed the targets.

More worryingly, they had not even made up their minds whether to launch the attack at all. The Navy had great hopes that a variation on Upkeep called Highball that could be used to sink enemy shipping and U-boats and thought that the dams raid would compromise the secrecy of Highball.

They did however decide to go for the dams because Highball was still having teething problems and if they waited for the problems to be solved they would have missed the window in which the lakes were full.

After the meeting, Gibson was informed that his black Labrador, Nigger, had been hit by a car and killed outside Scampton's main gate. Nigger had flown with Gibson on many occasions and had become one of the 'boys' to crews, often enjoying a pint with them.

Gibson did not want the others to know in case they thought it was a bad omen. He spent the night in a mood of depression.

The next day (May 16th 1943) he arranged for the dog to be buried at around midnight, just about the same time he was due to lead the first wave into attack the Mohne dam.

The attacks would be carried out in three waves. The first wave of nine aircraft (AJ-G, AJ-M, AJ-P, AJ-A, AJ-J, AJZ, AJ-L, AJ-B and AJ-N) would take off in three sections ten minutes apart. They would fly a southerly route crossing the enemy cost at the Scheldt estuary in Holland.

Their first target would be the Mohne dam. Wallis believed that only one Upkeep would be required to cause a breach in the dam. The planners allowed Gibson to use three, firstly in case one was not enough and secondly to expand the gap. Once the Mohne had been breached, the aircraft that had attacked and no longer had an Upkeep would turn back home while the remaining aircraft with Upkeeps would go onto Target B - the Eder. After breaching the Eder the process would be repeated and aircraft with remaining Upkeeps would proceed to Target C - the Sorpe.

The day before the attack on May 15th, Gibson was given a full briefing on the attack and the targets. Until then he and his squadron had still been kept in the dark. The three main objectives were: Target A: The Mohne Dam Target B: The Eder Dam

On 16th May 1943 at 1800 hours (6pm), all crew members assembled for the final briefing. It was presented by Gibson, Wallis and Cochrane.

Gibson outlined the general plan of attack before the crews were briefed in detail about routes, call signs, codewords, weather conditions and ammunition loads. (For many of the crews this was the first time 70

Continued on page 71

Continued from page 70

The Sorpe would be the primary target of the second wave consisting of five aircraft (AJ-T, AJ-E, AJ-W, AJ-K and AJ-H). The second wave would actually leave Scampton first in order to fly a more northerly route to the Dutch island of Vlieland then down the Zuider Zee and join the flight path of the first wave just over the German border.

The two routes were chosen to suggest to enemy radar that these were minor attacks. After attacking the Sorpe, the second wave would use any

remaining bombs to attack the secondary targets - the Ennepe, Lister and Diemel.

The third wave of five aircraft (AJ-C, AJ-S, AJ-F, AJ-O and AJ-Y) would leave Scampton more than two hours after the first two waves. They would follow the route of the first wave and act as mobile reserve to attack any of the primary targets that had not been breached or move onto the secondary targets. If all targets had been breached before they reached the Dutch coast, the 71

reserve unit would be recalled.

All crews were warned not to stray from the planned routes because they were designed to avoid flak batteries, night fighter bases and hot-spots all the way from the Dutch coast to the dams and back. They would maintain low level during the whole flight there and back. They were also warned that under no circumstances should anyone return with an Continued on page 72

Continued from page 71 Upkeep intact. It was far too dangerous to attempt to land with an armed weapon. They were advised to release the bomb over preferably German land.

After the briefing, the crews sat down to the traditional eggs and bacon before leaving to make their final preparations for the attack. Some wrote letters to their loved ones in case they did not make it back. Some made final meticulous inspections of their aircraft and weapon and one or two tried to make a last minute phone call only to find that there was a security cover on all communications of any kind outside of the base.

Everything had been prepared and the crews were ready to make history‌

With half an hour to go before take off, the crews of the first and second waves were driven out to dispersals. They went through the final checks, running the engines and then shutting them down ready for the signal to go. Just after 2100 hours (9pm), Hutchinson, Gibson's wireless operator fired a red light and the 52 Merlin engines on the 13 Lancasters of the first two waves (less McCarthy AJ-Q) roared as they prepared to depart.

flown in that afternoon and bombed up in anticipation of a problem somewhere.

The American, Joe McCarthy, who should have been the first aircraft away had a last minute problem when he discovered a coolant leak in the starboard (right) outer engine of AJ-Q "Queenie" during the warm up.

There was no way "Queenie" would be able to fly, but luckily one spare aircraft had been

Determined that he was not going to be left behind he and his crew unloaded everything they could from "Queenie" but in his rush McCarthy pulled open his parachute. To add to his frustrations, when he reached AJ-T "Tommy" he found that the card giving the compass deviations was missing. Without it he would not be able to navigate correctly.

Luckily the missing card was found and a replacement parachute was thrown to him as he climbed on board. McCarthy eventually left Scampton 34 minutes late, after the first wave.

McCarthy and his crew switched to the spare AJ-T "Tommy" which had not been fitted with the spotlights or VHF radio because there had been no time. McCarthy reasoned that he did not need the spotlights because his target, the Sorpe, did not require the height precision that the other gravity dams did.

At 2128 hours (9.28pm) a green Aldis light flashed from control and Barlow's AJ-E "Easy" toiled along the grass runway with the rest of the second wave. They opened up Continued on page 73 Joe McCarthy 72

Continued from page 72 their Merlin engines and the 4 Lancasters lifted off over the northern boundary fence and turned towards the North sea.

The first wave of nine aircraft soon followed in groups of three lead by Gibson, ten minutes apart.

After seeing the first two waves away at Scampton, Wallis and Cochrane left to join Harris at the operations room in Grantham.

The third wave which was acting as the reserve left Scampton just after midnight, over 2 hours after the first two waves had departed. Before the last aircraft of the third wave had even lifted off, 3 crews of 21 men were already dead and two other Lancasters had aborted the mission.

In the two hours prior to the departure of the third wave,

the first wave had flown out over the North Sea and the crews were testing their lamps and weapons. The winds were stronger than expected and it blew the first three aircraft of Gibson, Hopgood and Martin off course. They crossed the Dutch coast in the wrong position right over an area of anti aircraft batteries. Luckily they caught the gunners asleep and escaped without loss or damage. They continued to occasionally drift off course as they crossed from Holland into Germany attracting the attention of flak and searchlights.

During the flak attacks, Hopgood's aircraft was hit in the wing and he brushed over tree tops and under high tension cables as he struggled to keep the Lancaster in the air. During the journey to the Mohne, the gunners exchanged fire with defence position and in the intensity they lost one another

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although they all arrived at the Mohne at roughly the same time.

Young, Maltby and Shannon were not far behind the leading group and were experiencing the same problems. They reached the Mohne eight minutes after Gibson relatively unscathed apart from a small hole in Shannon's Lancaster.

Maudslay, Astell and Knight in the third flight had an uneventful fight until after they crossed the Rhine at Rees. At this point Astell crashed.

There are conflicting stories as to why Astell crashed. Bob Kellow, Knight's wireless operator said later that AJ-B was trailing behind when it was caught in a crossfire of light flak. German witnesses however, claim that Astell flew Continued on page 74

Continued from page 73 into an electricity pylon and crashed exploding into pieces as the Upkeep detonated.

Astell and his entire crew were killed in the crash.

Astell was the fifth Lancaster to fall or turn back (all others being in the ill fated second wave). By the time Maudslay and Knight arrived at the Mohne dam the attack had already begun.

It was a cloudless, moonlit night which gave Gibson an excellent view of the dam. The other Lancasters orbited the area some distance away and checked out the defences. Just as the reconnaissance had shown, an anti-torpedo net was floating in front of the dam but there were no search lights or balloons. There was light flak identified in each of the towers and along the wall as well as in the nearby countryside.

There were an estimated 12 guns.

Gibson made a dummy run over the dam and then circled round and went in for his real attack. The German gunners were now ready for him and were probably amazed to see the Lancaster turning on its lamps as it approached the dam. With the Upkeep now being revolved backwards at 500 rpm in the belly of the aircraft , Taerum talked Gibson down to the required 60 feet.

Direction of attack on the Mohne Dam At 0028 hours Spafford the bomb aimer pressed the release button and Upkeep was away for real.

Just as it did in testing, the Upkeep bounced across the lake three times before sinking down the centre of the dam.

Moments later a huge column of water was thrown up as it exploded, momentarily obscuring Trevor-Roper's view of the dam from the rear turret of AJ-G. Everyone thought that the huge dam had given way but as the water and spray subsided they realised that the dam wall was still intact. Hutchinson, Gibson's wireless operator sent back the Morse message Goner 68A - weapon released against Mohne dam, 74

exploded five yards from dam with no breach.

Gibson gave the water a few minutes to settle before calling Hopgood (AJ-M) to attack just as Maudslay and Knight were arriving. After being slightly damaged on the journey to the dam, AJ-M was punished further from the German gunners. The other planes saw shells hitting the port (left) engines and going into the starboard (right) wing. With the battering and flames now coming from the engines, Fraser released Upkeep late. The bomb bounced straight over the dam and hit the power station on the other side. AJ-M now crippled, limped over the dam in a ball of flames after a fuel tank had Continued on page 75

Continued from page 74 station on the dry side of the dam.

The wreckage of AJ-M no doubt been hit.

Knowing he was doomed Hopgood tried to gain some height to allow his crew to bail out.

Tony Burcher in the rear gun turret managed to escape by cranking the turret around by hand after the hydraulics had been knocked out due to the loss of the port (left) engine.

He crawled into the rear fuselage where his parachute was stored. As he strapped it on he saw John Minchin the wireless operator crawling down towards him seriously wounded.

Burcher bravely pushed his fellow crew mate out of the rear door, pulling the rip cord of the parachute as he fell. Realising they were now to low, Burcher opened his parachute while inside the plane throwing it out of the door and letting it pull him clear of the doomed Lancaster. As he left

the plane the wing sheared off and he passed out.

AJ-M plunged into the ground in ball of flames three miles from the dam. Hopgood, Earnshaw, Brennan and Gregory were killed instantly. Burcher came round on the ground but had sustained serious back injuries from either hitting the tail of the plane or landing heavily. Minchin's parachute had failed to open in time and he was killed. Fraser the bomb aimer had also managed to escape from the Lancaster in the same way Burcher had by allowing the parachute to pull him clear of the plane through the front escape hatch. Both Burcher and Fraser were taken prisoner.

At the moment AJ-M had hit the ground the self-destruct fuse on their Upkeep had detonated it destroying the power 75

There was no time to mourn for the remaining crews, they still had a job to do. Gibson called in Micky Martin (AJ-P) the low flying expert. In an attempt to reduce the amount of flak Martin would get and try to prevent a repeat of the previous disaster with Hopgood and AJ-M, Gibson flew in just ahead of him drawing the flak away. Martin made a perfect run and released his Upkeep at the correct point but it veered off to the left and exploded short of the dam with no effect. As Martin flew over the dam at the end of his attack some flak shells hit his starboard (right) wing and punctured a fuel tank. Luckily for AJ-P the tank was empty.

Goner 58A was relayed back to Grantham - Weapon released at Mohne dam, exploded 50 yards from dam with no breach made.

Dinghy Young was the fourth plane to attack in AJ-A. Despite the damage sustained during his attack Martin in AJ -P joined Gibson in trying to distract the gunners on the dam while Young made his attack. This time Gibson turned on his navigation lights to draw the gunners attention while MacCausland, Young's Continued on page 76

Continued from page 75 bomb aimer released the Upkeep. Their attack was spot on, the bomb bounced three times, sank down next to the dam wall and exploded throwing up another huge column of water.

Again the crews must have thought that the dam had gone but when the water subsided they found to their dismay that the structure was still intact.

Goner 78A was sent to Grantham - Weapon released at Mohne dam, exploded on contact with the dam but no breach made.

There was an air of gloom descending over Grantham and frustration with the crews at the dam. There had been one perfect hit and another close one yet still the dam stood firm. After all, Wallis believed only one Upkeep would be required to punch a hole through the dam.

Undeterred Gibson radioed Dave Maltby into attack in AJJ. With Gibson and Martin

drawing fire on either side Maltby went in for his run.

Just as he was about to release his bomb, Maltby noticed that the crown of the dam had began to crumble and the centre had opened up slightly.

Young's Upkeep had worked!

AJ-J continued the attack never the less and with another perfect hit the dam gave way with spectacular effect. For some reason another 'no breach' message was sent back to Grantham after the attack, probably because the scene was still obscured. Gibson however soon saw a river of water rushing through the dam wall sweeping it away down the valley. He called off Shannon who was about to make his attack and ordered his wireless operator Hutchinson to send Nigger back to Grantham - the codeword for the successful breach of the Mohne dam.

The scene at Grantham was one of relief and joy as the

codeword 'Nigger' came through. Harris who had not so long before called Wallis' idea "Tripe of the wildest description" now shook his hand and exclaimed "I didn't believe a word you said when you came to see me, but now you could sell me a pink elephant".

While Grantham celebrated the success, the Eder dam was the next target for the crews in the Ruhr Valley‌ After seeing the effects of their work circling the Mohne, Gibson sent Martin (AJ-P) and Maltby (AJ-J) home and ordered the remaining Lancasters with Upkeeps to follow him to the Eder dam.

Shannon (AJ-L), Maudslay (AJ-Z) and Knight (AJ-N) with bombs followed Gibson and Young as they turned south-east for the short flight to the Eder. (Despite releasing his Upkeep at the Mohne, Young went on to the Eder because he would take over as leader should anything happen to Gibson).

The Eder dam was difficult to locate with the similarly looking wooded landscape with valleys and an early morning mist rising. Having located the target the Lancasters began to circle to evaluate the Continued on page 77

NIGGER, breach in the Mohne Dam (Morning after attack) 76

Continued from page 76 task ahead. A bonus for the crews was that there were no flak gunners over the Eder defending the dam; the dam was undefended. However, the terrain was not going to make it an easy task by any stretch of the imagination. In fact it was probably more difficult to get a good run. Due to the shape of the valley, the attackers would have to approach over Waldeck Castle sat on top of a 1,000 feet peak, then dive down to the lake and swing sharply left, hop over a spit of land and quickly drop to 60 feet for the attack. As soon as they released their Upkeep they would then have to pull up steeply to avoid the high ground on the other side of the dam. In actual fact they would have no more than 5 seconds to line up the plane at 60 feet and release the weapon before it was too late.

At 0120 Shannon in AJ-L was sent in to attack the Eder. After three attempts at lining up correctly he could not achieve the right angle or height. Gibson told him to take a breather and circle round while Maudslay (AJ-Z) was sent in for an attempt. He ran into similar problems and after two attempts Shannon was told to try again. On his third attempt this time he lined up well and released his Upkeep. It exploded right against the dam wall sending a column of water

DINGHY, breach in the Eder Dam (Morning after attack) 1,000 feet into the air. The dam held. Goner 78B was send to Grantham - Weapon released at Eder dam, exploded against dam but no breach.

Maudslay was sent back in by Gibson for another attempt. He was still struggling to get the correct height when his bomb aimer Mike Fuller, perhaps not wanting to delay the attack released the Upkeep too late with fateful effect. It hit the parapet of the dam and exploded in a burst of light which by all accounts illuminated the whole valley like daylight. Although Maudslay had just cleared the dam when the bomb exploded, the blast almost certainly caused damage to AJ-Z. Gibson radioed him over the R/T and asked if he was OK. Maudslay was 77

heard to faintly reply "I think so". It was the last they would hear from Maudslay and the crew of AJ-Z. Gibson called up Astell in AJB who he had not seen since leaving Scampton but Astell and the crew of AJ-B had been dead for about and hour and a half. With only one Upkeep remaining from the nine aircraft assigned the Mohne and Eder dams and the Eder still standing Gibson knew it was all down to Les Knight and AJ-N. Knight made one dummy run on the dam to get a feel for the run in before making his final attack. On his second run, Knight lined AJN up perfectly and Ed Johnson the bomb aimer released Continued on page 78

Continued from page 77 Upkeep spot on. The bomb skipped over the lake three times and hit the wall not far from the centre. Knight opened the throttles of the Lancaster and stood it on its tail as he recovered the plane on the far side of the dam. Behind him, the Upkeep exploded throwing up the usual column of water. To the delight of Gibson and the remaining Lancs the bomb punched a hole right through the middle of the dam and then the top fell away with a gigantic torrent of water bursting through.

It was estimated that for the first few seconds, 1.8 million gallons of water per second cascaded through the dam wall. As the valley was steeper, the tidal wave was even more spectacular than at the Mohne. Gibson signalled the codeword 'Dinghy' back to Grantham - the successful breach of the Eder dam.

At Grantham there was more congratulations for Wallis.

Harris telephoned Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Charles Portal who was now in Washington with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to inform him of the success. Immediately afterwards Harris, Cochrane and Wallis left for Scampton to welcome home what was left of 617 squadron. At the Eder Gibson ordered the crews of

Wreckage of AJ-A the remaining Lancasters to make their way home by the pre arranged escape routes.

For most of them it was an uneventful journey home with the occasional searchlight or burst of flak. Two of the crews were not so lucky however.

Maudslay in AJ-Z who had been heard limping away from the Eder after being caught in the blast of the Upkeep had been believed to have crashed near the dam. It later emerged however that the damaged AJZ had flown on for another 45 minutes. 140 miles away from the Eder and half way to the coast Maudsaly was caught in light flak and at 0236 hours crashed at Emmerich just inside the German border.

Maudslay and all of his crew perished in the crash.

Twenty minutes later Dinghy Young in AJ-A also ran into trouble. Young had flown to the Eder unarmed after weakening the Mohne with his Upkeep. He was acting as the deputy leader, ready to take over if anything happened to 78

Gibson. Had Young left for home after attacking the Mohne things may have been different. However, Young had almost made it, he had reached the coast when he came under fire. Young's wingmen Maltby and Shannon had seen that he had been flying too high all night maybe having trouble finding navigational landmarks. This may have been his undoing when he flew over the heavily defended coastal area north of Ijmuiden and was shot down by the flak batteries stationed there. AJ-A did clear the coast but plunged into the North Sea with the loss of all crew.

Henry Melvin Young was given the nick name 'Dinghy' Young after twice bailing out into the sea and being saved by his dinghy. He was not so lucky a third time.

The remaining Lancasters from the Eder landed at Scampton between 0311 and 0420 hours. Gibson touched Continued on page 79

Continued from page 78 down five minutes before the last man back Les Knight. On the return journey Gibson had seen an aircraft falling in flames over Hamm. Little did he know that it was Warner Ottley in AJ-C of the third reserve wave still on his way to the Lister dam. Knight was the eighth Lancaster back to Scampton, they would have to wait to see what had happened to the other eleven‌ The attack of the Sorpe by the second wave can only be described as cursed from the start, from the moment Joe McCarthy's AJ-Q "Queenie" sprang a coolant leak during the warm up and he was forced to switch to the reserve AJ-T "Tommy". After being delayed by 34 minutes by the problem, McCarthy was determined to make up the time and catch the other four Lancasters in the wave. McCarthy soon went from being late to being the only plane left in the second wave.

The second wave were unable to fly together as the tactics of the raid called for them to depart alone and take a more northerly route over the North Sea. Their attack technique was also going to be different as they were attacking an Earth dam. They would have to explode the upkeep near the crest of the dam rather than the base where the earth would

absorb the shock waves. The Upkeep would also not be rotated unlike attacking the other dams. It would be more like a conventional dive bombing manoeuvre. In order to maximise the attack area, the crews of the second wave had practiced attacking the dam along the length rather than perpendicular (at right angles) to it.

With the dam located in a steep valley this was going to require exceptional flying skills similar to those employed at the Eder. They would have to drop down over one valley wall and release the weapon before hauling the Lancaster back up the other valley side.

While McCarthy was busy switching to the spare aircraft, the lead of the wave and leading off Operation Chastise fell to Bob Barlow in AJ-E "Easy".

He departed RAF Scampton at 2128 and was never seen again.

Vernon Byers in AJ-K "King" was the third aircraft to depart Scampton, again nothing more was heard from him. It appears that over the Dutch coast he strayed off course over the island of Texel which was a notorious flak hot spot. He climbed higher to try to get a fix on his position but the gunners shot him down into the Zuider Zee at 2257. AJ-K was the first aircraft lost in the op79

eration with the loss of all crew.

At about the same time as Byers was coming under fire, Les Munro in AJ-W "Willie" ran into similar trouble. As he roared over the island of Vlieland just north of Texel, AJ-W also became an easy target for land based gunners and a flak ship. It was a miracle that no one was killed but the electrics in the plane were knocked out killing communication with other aircraft and his own crew. In an impossible position to attack the dams having no communication he thought he would only be a menace to other aircraft and reluctantly turned home. He nearly had another disaster when he returned to Scampton, he flew straight in cutting up another Lancaster also attempting to land after aborting its mission. A collision would have been disastrous as Munro had, against orders, returned with his Upkeep armed and dangerous.

The other Lancaster was Geoff Rice in AJ-H "Harry" also of the second wave. He too had been forced to turn back after another mishap.

After crossing Vlieland where the crew of AJ-H were witness to Byers' ending in AJ-K, Rice flew dangerously low to Continued on page 80

Continued from page 79 turned to Scampton with a damaged rear landing wheel and having to lower the undercarriage manually after a hydraulics failure. Fearing a rough landing, the crew took up the crash positions as Rice gingerly put the Lancaster down safely but with one final scare as the radioless Munro, unable to warn anyone he was landing shot in below him.

Direction of attack on the Sorpe the water in an attempt to outfox the gunners. He overdid it somewhat and with the altimeter on zero he clipped the sea.

The Upkeep he was carrying was ripped from the belly of the Lancaster and vanished into the water. The Upkeep also damaged the tail wheel as it was torn off. The rear of the

Lanc was filled with sea water and the badly shaken Rice struggled to bring AJ-H up with water streaming out of the empty bomb bay. They were all lucky to survive but without an Upkeep their mission was useless so they too turned home.

Rice had to make an emergency landing when he re80

As Rice and Munro were heading home another Lancaster from their wave was falling. Barlow who had departed first had just crossed the German border at 2350 when close to Rees the aircraft came into trouble. The British report that AJ-E had come under fire and was hit by flak. The Germans however reported that the aircraft simply flew into an electricity pylon. However AJ-E met its end, it took Barlow and his whole crew with it. There were no survivors. Although AJ-E disintegrated, the Upkeep it was carrying did not break free of the aircraft with the result that the self destruct mechanism did not arm.

Given that the impact was not severe enough to explode the bomb also suggests that Barlow had tried to land the doomed AJ-E in the few seconds he had left. The Germans now had in their Continued on page 81

Continued from page 79 possession the RAF's top secret weapon intact and it would not take them long to figure out how it worked.

By now four of the five Lancasters from the second wave were either shot down or heading home due to problems.

McCarthy who had departed 34 minutes late in the spare AJ -T was all that was left of the second wave. He kept as low as possible dodging flak and searchlights which had been alerted by the aircraft that had gone before. McCarthy also noticed that at times he flew below packs of night fighters flying 1,000 feet above him.

He finally reached the Sorpe at 0015 hours with more problems ahead. The approach to the dam looked even worse that on the models and photo reconnaissance. McCarthy had to line up his approach over a church steeple in the village of Langscheid on the crest overlooking the dam before swooping down into the valley. With

only a matter on seconds before the aircraft had to pull up to avoid flying into the other valley side at the far end of the dam, bomb aimer George Johnston had no time at all to talk his pilot onto the correct line and height for release.

It was even more difficult as this aircraft was not fitted with the spot lamps due to time problems.

They tried to line up correctly nine times and every time Johnston was not happy. Finally on the tenth run Johnston released the Upkeep. As the Lancaster climbed the valley on the far side, the Upkeep exploded and a plume of water followed. They turned back to assess the damage and saw that a section of the crest had been blow away. To their disappointment, the dam was still standing.

On the way home McCarthy strayed over some heavy flak positions especially at Hamm.

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His evening had one more twist when he was forced to land at Scampton on a bullet burst tyre. For some reason McCarthy had failed to relay the signal Goner 79C Weapon release at the Sorpe dam, exploded on contact with the dam and a small breach made until he was 20 minutes from home. As a result, controllers at Grantham were not aware that the Sorpe which was the second most important target after the Mohne was still standing. Despite this primary target remaining, the reserve wave (third wave) were sent to attack the secondary targets; the Diemel, the Lister and the Ennepe.

Only two aircraft were able to attack the Sorpe, McCarthy being the first and Brown in AJ-F "Freddie" the second and final. Neither managed to breach the dam.

A measured success The effects felt upon Germany as a result of the Dams Raid were minimal compared to what had been expected by Barnes Wallis, Guy Gibson and Arthur Harris but it was not due to miscalculation.

The construction of the bomb was carefully calculated and set to detonate at the optimum depth. It was determined that the three dams held back a total of 410 million tons of water. The Mohne and the Sorpe fed the industrial region of the Ruhr Valley and between them held back 76% of the water available to the valley. It required 100-200tons of water to produce one ton of steel, and steel was essential to Hitler's war effort. Damage to these important structures should theoretically cripple German industry and consequently have a great impact on the war. However the damage done to the dams was hardly significant and the Germans had water production to the Ruhr restored within six weeks. They were able to immediately resort to other sources of power and had the dams rebuilt within eleven weeks. And yet the mission was deemed a success.

There are many results which led to the raid being considered a success. The most impacting and immediate result

was the flooding of the Ruhr and Eder valleys. Factories were crippled, hundreds of houses were wiped out, and over one thousand German lives were lost. These results as well as communication disruption and the destruction of many bridges did prove to be a blow that Germany was not expecting. It meant that time and resources had to be put into the rebuilding of the dams. Workers were transferred from other regions to rebuild the dams and it took 10 000 regular troops to defend them after this. Men and antiaircraft units which had previously been attacking forces were now ordered to sit idly by and defend the dams.

The now obvious vulnerability of Germany did wonders for the moral of the Allied nations, who had not celebrated a victory in many months. The indestructible Germans had been hit, victory suddenly became a possibility. It was also a boost in morale for other crews of Bomber Command, as these men had become disheartened by their lack of successful operations. The moral of Britain was also lifted and the raid became the turning point from a nation on the defense to one that was on the attack.

Another success of the raid was the newfound technology and capability to bomb targets 82

at a precise point. Barnes Wallis's ideas were now given special attention and more of his bombs were used throughout the war such as the attack on the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Tirpitz Raids.

Wallis's deep penetrating bombs were also used with great effectiveness against concrete bunkers of V-rocket sites. A very beneficial effect that the raid had for the Allies was that upon the Americans.

At the time of the raid the Americans were questioning the value of continued aid to the bombing sector because of recent losses to their 8th Air Force. The success of precise, low level, night bombing convinced them of the value to be had in Bomber Command, which they continued to support. The raid was also pleasing to Stalin who, at the time was demanding more effort from the Western Allies. The Russians at this time were being slaughtered and Stalin felt that the west was not contributing enough. The raid proved him wrong.

It is however impossible to ignore the extremely high number of lives lost and the risk taken by the pilots and crew, all of which resulted in little damage. As well, most of the Germans who lost their Continued on page 83

Continued from page 82

lives were civilians including women and children who lived in the valleys. The controversy around the issue of the raid's success becomes immediately obvious upon examination of the evidence.

The Allied air attack on German hydroelectric dams in the

Ruhr Valley on the night of May 16, 1943 was a success.

Despite the tragic number of losses, the failure to breech the Sorpe dam, and the insignificant affect had upon the German industries contribution to the war effort, the mission was successful.

This is because there were political benefits which include the commitment of the Americans to the bombing sector of the Air Force and technological benefits, which include the use of aiming devices to allow low level bombing, as well as the future invention of new bombs by Barnes Wallis.

There was also a boost to Allied moral that had not been experienced in months. Even though the material damage done was not as great as initially expected the unexpected benefits proved to be high in numbers. These results are what lead to the raid later becoming known as 'one of the most celebrated attacks of the Second World War'.

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The dogged ghost story He was the loyal companion of the Dambusters hero whose extraordinary bravery enthralled the nation. Ghost hunters believe the spectre of the Dambusters' canine mascot is still faithfully guarding his master's old quarters.

They are convinced that the wraiths of both Wing Commander Guy Gibson and his chocolate–coloured Labrador haunt the remote airfield from which the audacious raid was launched. Investigators decided to step in after a mysterious photograph emerged of what looks like Gibson's longdead dog sitting at his master's memorial. The picture, taken in the 1980s, shows a Labrador among a school group at a memorial to the Dambusters, close to where Gibson's dog was buried after being run over on the road outside the base just hours before the raid.

The photographer is said to have claimed the dog appeared from nowhere just as the photo was being taken, refusing to be shooed away. As soon as the photo was taken, the dog disappeared, never to be seen again. After staking out the base at RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire, now the home of the Red Arrows, ghost hunters are convinced it is haunted by a ghostly Labrador.

The lead investigator, Paul Drake, said: “There is defi-

nitely paranormal activity there. One of our investigators felt a cold spot and when we measured it, it was eighteen inches, which is about the height of a dog. The curator of the museum has told us that he has felt for years that he has had a presence following him and he definitely feels that it is that of a dog.” One investigator who stayed overnight at the base in 2011 even claimed she heard a dog growling when she entered Gibson's former office. “I definitely heard the growl of a dog”, said Michelle Clements “Three of us heard it and we all agreed it was a dog. It was a really low growl.

It wasn't a happy yap at all. It sounded like he was warning us to stay away.”

After scouring the base with infra-red lights, proximity sensors and video cameras, the team say they picked up activity which suggests the pilot was trying to speak to them.

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“I do believe we spoke with Guy Gibson,” Miss Clements, a school dinner lady from Leicester, said. “We asked him if he was with his girlfriend Margaret and he said yes. We also played some old music from the 40s and there was a response to that as well.” Gibson's Labrador, Nigger, was the mascot for the squadron that launched an audacious night-time raid on three heavily defended dams deep in Germany's industrial heartland using bouncing bombs.

Jim Shortland, a historian who specialises in the Dambusters, said he was sceptical about the paranormal but welcomed the investigation. “What they expect to find I don't know,” he said. “But I think anything that helps to keep the memory alive of the things those lads did in the Second World War is a good thing.”

From fact to fiction After the end of the Second World War, Britain was in a catastrophic state. Its morale was at is lowest and her financial status was close to bankruptcy.

Rationing was still present, and did not end until the mid1950s with many families simply ripped apart due to the consequences of World War Two. Many homes were destroyed and numerous neighbourhoods no longer existed. Out of all the allied nations, Britain was one of the worst affected and needed improving. Although the efforts of the post-war Labour Government begun to better Britains social conditions with the founding of the National Health System (NHS) and the welfare state, the country still needed a morale boost. This boost was to come in the way of cinema but it didn’t occur

until the 1950s; nearly five years after the end of World War Two. The 1950s is a period in British cinema that has been associated with the mass production of films based around the Second World War. Most were immensely popular, not just in British cinemas but in other countries around the world.

During the period of 19551960, the war film was the first or second highestgrossing film at the British box -office. The narratives of these told stories of communal and singular heroism in the Armed Forces, the Royal Navy and the R.A.F. The protagonists of these films were often middle class with the representation of the lower classes minimal.

Positive female representation was rare, with the vast majority of their roles subordinate to

the male characters. It could be said that the following quote from Colin McArthur’s article “National Identities” in the edited book National Fictions accurately describes this: “construction of the Second World War was already being offered which repressed the ‘people’s war’ construction and presented the war as a series of heroic actions (mainly) by middle-class white men supported by compliant other ranks with women as waiting sweethearts or mothers.”

Although there was nothing morally wrong with using cinema as a way of promoting the then-low status of British national pride, historical accuracy within these narratives was key and shouldn’t be ignored. Unfortunately, this was not the case and many of the British war films made during this time subordinated themselves to entertainment rather than fact. The Dam Busters (Dir. Michael Anderson, 1954) is no stranger to this notion, as it failed to depict the truth of this event and will be the basis of the following argument.

Made by The Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) and released in 1954, The Dam Busters tells the Continued on page 86

85

Continued from page 85 heroic tale of Wing Commander Guy Gibson and his 617 Squadron attempts to halt German war production by breaching the Moehne, Eder and Sorpe Dam in the Ruhr Valley by using Dr Barnes Wallis “bouncing bomb” invention. The two protagonists of the film, Gibson and Wallis, overcome many obstacles in this mission. Wallis discusses with Gibson, who then passes this information onto his fellow airmen when he briefs them, that the effect of this raid will be extraordinary and that they will in fact bring Germany’s war cause to its knees.

When watching any war film that states such a comment its historical validity must be examined with one wondering whether or not that the film has any historical truth at all.

Although the film is well directed and is an enjoyable watch, The Dam Busters unfortunately fails to portray what really happened before, during and after the raid. It is difficult to see what scenes are truth, and which ones are fictional. Therefore, it must be asked whether or not any event or scene in the film actually took place, and that the film is more akin to a fictional film rather than an accurate historical documentation of the event. With The Dam Busters, and indeed with other British war films made during this

time, a great deal of research into the event that would be the basis of the narrative was undertaken. Michael Redgrave, long before shooting began, spoke to Dr Barnes Wallis on a number of occasions in order to portray Wallis correctly. Richard Todd, who played the character of Wing Commander Guy Gibson, watched several films of him as, unlike Redgrave, Todd did not have the luxury of interviewing the person he was to play as Gibson was killed in action soon after the raids in 1944. The director Michael Anderson interviewed a number of actors in order to master the facial likeness of the squadron. However, as John Ramsden mentions in his article “Refocusing ‘The People’s War’: British War Films of the 1950s”, Richard Todd comments on the result of this preproduction work: “Richard Todd felt that after all the research and interviews with survivors and relatives, ‘there was not a line of dialogue or a single incident enacted on screen which was not true to the events”.

The representation of Bomber Command Harris is another incorrect portrayal within the film. John Ramsden’s book The Dam Busters describes this false depiction: “Favourable representation of Harris in The Dam Busters 86

was thus the endorsement of a highly controversial figure, and here it departed significantly from the historical record. The real Harris though the idea of a bouncing bomb to be ‘tripe of the wildest description’, and ‘just about the maddest proposition for a new weapon that we have yet come across’; he was prepared to bet his shirt that ‘it will not work, when we have got it’.

He had to be ordered to develop and use Wallis’s invention, while in the film he becomes a cautious but crucial supporter of the idea”.

Apart from the false representation of the characters present within The Dam Busters it could also be said that the film’s climax, which is the Squadron’s attempts to breach the three Dams, is incorrect and historically inaccurate of what really happened on the night of 16th May 1943.

According to the television programme Secret History – The Dam Busters Raid (Chris Haws, 1994) the number of British human fatalities due to the Dam Busters Raid is an issue that the film fails to realistically show. Out of the hundred and thirty three men who flew that night, fifty three were killed. Eight of the nineteen Lancaster Bombers failed Continued on page 87

Continued from page 86 to return to their headquarters R.A.F Scampton. Although Wallis and Gibson discuss this at the end of the film they do not mention any further losses.

The Dam Busters does show some attack from the German army on their way to the Dams, yet the reality of this is not represented. In this television programme, those who did return state that three Lancasters were shot down on their way to the Sorpe Dam. Three more were extensively attacked, with one even hiding in trees. Neither of these events was shown in the film.

The film only includes shots of the Lancaster planes flying majestically over a moonlit sky. When the Lancaster Bombers reach their targets, it takes only a few attempts before the Dam’s are breached. It actually took five bombs to breach the Moehne Dam alone, with only a couple portrayed in the film. One bomber is known to have tried six to eight times before he achieved the correct height, speed and location in order to hit one of the Dams yet in the film many succeed after their first effort.

Even after 617 Squadron’s efforts, The Dam Busters ending suggests that the breaching of the Dam’s was a success and would certainly cripple Germany’s war effort. Wallis celebrates that his invention has worked, with the rewards of

this surely being ripe. However, it could be said that this is inaccurate. The television programme Secret History – The Dam Busters Raid mentions that within three days after the raid, the factories which had been swept away were rebuilt and were once again operational. The Dam’s were rebuilt in October 1943, just five months after being breached, and were reinforced with concrete and several mines. In a speech by the Nazi Minister of Production Albert Spare, quoted in this television programme, he says that if the Sorpe Dam had been breached, the effect of the Raid would have been much greater. However, The Dam Busters does not mention this piece of information.

In the actual raid, Wallis had been incorrect with his calculations, as the base of the Sorpe was concrete and led to the bombs bouncing too high.

When the Dam’s are breached, the airmen in The Dam Busters celebrate and they begin to fly back to R.A.F Scampton; what is not shown is the aftermath of the attacks. A vast number of people perished due to the efforts of 617 Squadron.

This television programme also mentions that thirteen hundred people drowned due to the raid. Many towns were simply washed away, and hundreds of people were left 87

homeless. Months after the attack, corpses were still being retrieved along the Ruhr Valley. In the television programme, many airmen speak of the terror when they saw these people dying yet these emotions are not shown in the film. Due to the minimal loss of German war production, it can be said that the Raid only affected agriculture, as much livestock was lost. Despite this negativity, it did succeed in draining Germany’s human resources. The rebuilding of the Dam’s required twenty seven thousand men, and ten thousand soldiers were moved from the front line to guard the vulnerable Dam’s. After analysing this historical inaccuracy, several questions must be raised. The Dam Busters was released in 1954; eleven years after the event took place. By this time, the information that was not available in 1943, for example the vast number of human fatalities, must surely have been known.

What is most puzzling is why did the director not include this information within the narrative and decided to reinterpret the then-recent past?

Prior to the production of The Dam Busters, Britain was at a morale low. Apart from the human devastation due to the Second World War, the Continued on page 88

Continued from page 87 British Empire had or was about to lose vast quantities of its territories. Valued India had been granted Independence just a few years earlier in 1948, and was seen as a failure for Britain. This colonial loss was not rare, with many more countries gaining their Independence over the next decade. The 1950s war film was a way in which it could promote Britain as this great force in the world, with its armed forces seen as heroic, mighty and brave. Lewis Gilbert, cited in John Ramsden’s article “Refocusing ‘People’s War: British War Films of the 1950s’” best describes this situation: “Already in the mid1950s, war films were needed as ‘a kind of ego boost, a nostalgia for a time when Britain was great’, since economically the country was falling behind the defeated nations of Germany and Japan”.

Gordon Gow, mentioned in Ramsden’s article, asks the question that maybe the purpose of these films was to provide a therapeutic pride in the glories of the past in order to temporarily escape the misery and doldrums of life at this time. It could also be said that the British war film from this period acts as a psychological release for those directly involved in its events. The Dam Busters, as well as other British war films produced during

this time, seem to follow the idea of “Traumatic Loss” or “Trauma Theory”. The following, from Landsman’s article “Crises of Meaning in Trauma and Loss” in Kauffman’s edited book, can be seen as a somewhat theoretical overview of this particular theory: Theoretical and empirical descriptions of the impact of trauma focus on a variety of phenomena related to coming to terms with a shattering event.

Landsman continues her argument by saying that: “In the immediate aftermath of a traumatic event, survivors face an essential and not always simple challenge by understanding the event itself. Before asking “Why?” or “Why me?” those who experience must ask “What happened?” and, in a somewhat concrete sense, “How did it happen?””

Landsman’s discussion is interesting, and seems relevant for the following. The understanding of the event of which the individual has witnessed is difficult, and may take some time to do so. In this situation, the Second World War is the incident and is one that affected millions of people across Britain alone. Whole families were separated, siblings perished and homes simply ridden from existence. Life in general had been drastically changed. And due to the extent 88

of the popularity and admiration of 617 Squadron’s efforts, then any negativity would surely dampen the nations self-esteem and pride of this. If scenes were shown of the thirteen hundred people perishing in the Ruhr Valley then this may have caused some doubts into whether or not the raid was justifiable.

Landsman’s argument that those who have witnessed the event ask themselves ‘how did it happen?’ also seems relevant to The Dam Busters. The film, as well as the countless other 1950s British war films, seems to be an extension of the popular boy’s magazines, such as Eagle, which told of the heroines who fought during the Second World War and how many battles were won. Nearly all of the 1950s war films were shot using black and white footage, which had been used by documentary filmmakers of actual World War Two soldiers in combat. This use of black and white film, as Inglis describes in his article “National snapshots” from MacKillop and Sinyards edited book, has its authority supported by the black-and-white newsreel footage shown at cinema houses during the Second World War. Due to this choice of using black and white Continued on page 89

Continued from page 88 stock, some might believe that the images they are seeing in these films are fact and not fiction.

Even in some films, the use of documentary footage was incorporated in the film itself, with The Dam Busters being no exception as footage from the testing of the bomb and the raid itself was used by Anderson. John Ramsden’s article remarks that when making the 50th anniversary programme of the Dam Busters raid in 1993, the BBC used footage from the film as well as BBC bulletins of the actual raid.

Ramsden further comments that at no point throughout the programme, not a single mention of the film being fictional was made. Surely this must have led those who watched the programme to believe that The Dam Busters is a true depiction of the film, which has unfortunately affected the historical reality of the event.

The Second World War was a truly traumatic time for the civilians who witnessed it. The losing of friends and family members through the vast number of air-raid bombings that Britain experienced from the very start of the war must have been an unbearable situation for Britain’s citizens. The thought that at any moment you could find yourself running for the nearest bomb shel-

ter is what one hopes a contemporary generation will not encounter but, for those who did, it was an event which remained in their memory. For those who fought Germany on the frontline, whether it be on land, sea or air, the horrific events that they encountered must have been terrible.

Following the end of the Second World War in Europe in May 1945, with its eventual demise occurring in August of the same year, those who did return from the frontline wanted to tell their stories. Unfortunately, this was both difficult and emotionally challenging due to what they had witnessed and experienced. It could be said that Sue Harper’s article “Popular Film, Popular Memory: The Case of the Second World War” in Lunn and Evans edited book correctly describes one such purpose of these film’s: “The 1950s war films are thoroughly consonant with the literary tradition of adventure tales, in which action instead of meditation is the dominant mode. But these films might also be interpreted as fathers speaking to sons about themselves and their experiences”.

With the exception of The Cruel Sea (Dir. Charles Frend, 1953), what is most remarkable about the 1950s British war film is, as Andy Medhurst 89

states in his article “1950s war films”, that is difficult to think of any English-language film about the Second World War which are anti-war or antiGerman. The Dam Busters most certainly follows this anti-German ideology, as it doesn’t show any suffering by the German civilians who perished along the Ruhr Valley.

The United Nations had been formed soon after the end of the Second World War, with its first meeting held on the 30th January 1946. One of its aims was to improve the International relations between the Allied Nations and Germany.

Cinema was one such catalyst for this improvement. By the time of The Dam Busters release, many of the full horrors of the atrocities which Nazi Germany were responsible for was known but, as Medhurst describes in his article “1950s war films”, these acts were in fact missing from cinematic representation. Medhurst continues his argument by saying that the 1950s war film avoided politics altogether. It could be said that the reason for the lack of these acts’ presence is because offence might be taken and international relations affected.

In conclusion, it is certain to say that despite The Dam Continued on page 90

Continued from page 89

Busters being an enjoyable film, with its tales of bravado and heroic acts, the film does sacrifice historical accuracy for entertainment. John Ramsden mentions in his article that Richard Todd, who played one of the protagonists Wing Commander Guy Gibson, believed that after all the research involved in the pre-production of the film not one scene from the actual event was included in the film. Unfortunately, some have considered the film as a documentary recording of the event. This can be understood, due to the use of footage from the actual raid incorporated

into the film’s final cut. It can be understood that the films made during this time was a way in which national pride in Britain could be improved, as its financial and social situation was badly affected because of World War Two. However, despite the number of high quality British war films produced during this time, it is not justifiable enough to support this particular argument. In the case of The Dam Busters, the event that it was based on was incorrectly portrayed and does seem to affect ones general opinion 90

on the film. Unless a film based on this event is produced in the near future that tells what actually happened before, during and after the raid then contemporary audiences will always believe that this is a truthful representation of what happened. The heroic pilots who flew and survived the raid will eventually perish, but film will most certainly not. If The Dam Busters is to be the only remaining “document� of this event, then what it is based on will be remembered inaccurately and lost from history altogether.

Beyond the legend After the end of the Second World War, the Squadron replaced its Lancasters with Avro Lincolns, following those in 1952 with the English Electric Canberra jet bomber.

The squadron was deployed to Malaya for four months in 1955, returning to RAF Binbrook to be disbanded on 15 December 1955. Reformed at RAF Scampton on 1 May 1958 as part of RAF Bomber Command's V-bomber force maintaining the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent, the Squadron was equipped with the Avro Vulcan B1 from Aug 1960. By 23 May 1961 its aircraft were the upgraded Vulcan B1A fitted with the ECM tailpod.

The Squadron's assigned role was high-level strategic bombing with a variety of free fall nuclear bombs. Both the B1 and B1A types were equipped with various free-fall nuclear weapons. These may have included Blue Danube, Red Beard, Violet Club the Interim Megaton Weapon, Yellow Sun Mk.1 and certainly Yellow Sun Mk2. American bombs were also supplied to the RAF V-bombers for a short period under the Project E arrangements. The Squadron began almost immediately to upgrade yet again to the Vulcan B2, taking delivery of the first on 1

September 1961, although its high-level strategic bombing role remained unchanged until the advent of effective Soviet Surface-to-Air Missiles forced Bomber Command to reassign V-bombers from high -altitude operations to lowlevel penetration operations in March 1963, when the Squadron's Vulcans adopted a mission profile that included a 'pop-up' manoeuvre from 500– 1,000 ft to above 12,000 ft for safe release of Blue Steel.

Vulcans were configured for the Blue Steel stand-off bomb and 617 Squadron was the first to be declared operational with it in August 1962, until in January 1970 the squadron's eight Vulcan B2 aircraft were re-equipped with the new strategic laydown bomb, WE.177B, which improved aircraft survivability by enabling aircraft to remain at lowlevel during weapon release.

Following the transfer of responsibility for the nuclear deterrent to the Royal Navy, the 91

Squadron was reassigned to SACEUR for tactical strike missions. In a high-intensity European war the Squadron's role was to support land forces on the Continent by striking deep into enemy-held areas beyond the forward edge of the battlefield, striking at enemy concentrations and infrastructure, with WE.177 tactical nuclear weapons, should a conflict escalate to that stage.

The Squadron's eight aircraft were allocated eight WE.177 nuclear bombs and as the Vulcan bomb bay was configured to carry only one and assuming that RAF staff planners had factored in their usual allowance for attrition in the early conventional phase of a Continental war, leaving sufficient surviving aircraft to deliver the full stockpile of nuclear weapons, it is a reasonable conclusion that the Vulcan force was held in reserve for nuclear strike duties only.

Continued on page 92

Continued from page 91 The squadron's Vulcan B2s served mainly in that low-level penetration role until disbandment on 31 December 1981.

The Squadron reformed on 1 January 1983 at RAF Marham re-equipped with twelve Tornado GR1 aircraft and eighteen WE.177 nuclear bombs, and the Squadron's role assigned to SACEUR remained one of support for land forces on the Continent. Its Tornado aircraft were each able to carry two WE.177 bombs and the ratio of weapons to aircraft at full strength increased to 1.5 : 1, with an allowance now made for attrition in the conventional opening phase of a Continental war.

The Squadron continued in this role until the WE.177 weapons were retired and No. 617 Squadron relinquished its nuclear delivery capability.

In 1993 No. 617 began the changeover to anti-shipping and by 1994 was operating from RAF Lossiemouth as-

signed to SACLANT flying the Tornado GR4B with the Sea Eagle missile. The Squadron also routinely deployed in support Operation Resinate and Operation Bolton, the RAF contribution to Operation Southern Watch, the last time being in the spring and summer of 2000 to Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait.

The Squadron continued its pioneering heritage by becoming the first RAF squadron to

fire the MBDA Storm Shadow cruise-missile, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2011 the Squadron's commanding officer is Wing Commander Keith Taylor who recently replaced Wing Commander David Cooper, since promoted to Group Captain and appointed to Station Commander at RAF Marham.

In July 2013, it was announced that 617 Squadron would become the first operational RAF unit to receive the F-35 Lightning. As part of the draw-down of the Tornado force, 617 disbanded once more before a planned reforming on the Lightning some time in 2016.

As part of the UK's operational plan for the Lightning, 617 will be composed of both Continued on page 93

92

Continued from page 92

RAF and Royal Navy personnel, operating both from RAF Marham, and from the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. It will fly alongside the Fleet Air Arm's 809 NAS. The F-35 resembles a smaller, single-engine sibling of the twin-engine Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and drew elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200 design, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship. Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F35B is to be the first opera-

tional supersonic, STOVL stealth fighter.

The F-35 features a full-panelwidth glass cockpit touchscreen "panoramic cockpit display" (PCD), with dimensions of 20 by 8 inches (50 by 20 centimeters). A cockpit speech-recognition system (DVI) provided by Adacel has been adopted on the F-35 and the aircraft will be the first operational U.S. fixed-wing aircraft to employ this DVI system, although similar systems have been used on the AV-8B Harrier II and trialled in previous aircraft, such as the F-16 VISTA. A helmetmounted display system (HMDS) will be fitted to all models of the F-35. While some fighters have offered 93

HMDS along with ahead up display (HUD), this will be the first time in several decades that a front line fighter has been designed without a HUD. The F-35 is equipped with a right-hand HOTAS side stick controller. The MartinBaker US16E ejection seat is used in all F-35 variants. The oxygen system is derived from the F-22's own system, which has been involved in multiple hypoxia incidents on that aircraft; unlike the F-22, the flight profile of the F-35 is similar to other fighters that routinely use such systems.

[An in-depth look at the F35 will appear in a future issue— Ed]

Acknowledgements

FL600 would like to thank the huge amount of people without whom this special feature would have been impossible to produce. Whilst it would be impossible to name every single one of them, there are some we must give particular credit to:

Mike McCormac The History Learning Site

Royal Air Force Bomber Command Museum

BBC History Online The Daily Mail thedambusters.org.uk Russell Hill National Physical Laboratory From us all at FL600 and Aviation Type Training Services, thank you to you all!

Deviant Art Historisches Centrum Hagen Imperial War Musuem

This special feature is dedicated to the memory of John Leslie Munro, Last of the World War II ‘Dambuster’ Pilots, who passed away on Tuesday, 4th August 2015, aged 96.

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August / September Europe Aug 13-16 Aug 14-16 Aug 15 Aug 15 Aug 15 Aug 15 Aug 15-16 Aug 15-16 Aug 15-16 Aug 15-16 Aug 15-16 Aug 16 Aug 16 Aug 16 Aug 16 Aug 16 Aug 16 Aug 18-19 Aug 19 Aug 19 Aug 20 Aug 20-23 Aug 20-23 Aug 22 Aug 22 Aug 22 Aug 22 Aug 22-23 Aug 22-23 Aug 22-23 Aug 22-23 Aug 22-23 Aug 22-23 Aug 23-26 Aug 25-30 Aug 27

Eastbourne Int'l Airshow Eastbourne seafront, Sussex, UK Roskilde Airshow Copenhagen Airport, Roskilde, Denmark Shuttleworth Flying Proms Old Warden, Bedfordshire, UK Prangins International Fly-in Aérodrome de La Côte, Prangins, Switzerland Johnson Memorial Airshow Herne Bay, Kent, UK Spectacle Aérien Toulon Plage du Mourillon, Toulon, France Combined Ops 2015 Headcorn Aerodrome, Kent, UK Old Timer Fly-in Schaffen-Diest Airfield, Schaffen, Belgium Red Bull Air Race Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Berkshire, UK Nowotarski Piknik Lotniczy Nowy Targ airfield, Nowy Targ, Poland Finland Int’l Airshow Helsinki-Malmi Airport, Helsinki, Finland Fête du Ciel 2015 Aérodrome de L'Aigle - Saint-Michel, France Rose of Tralee Festival Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre, Tralee, Ireland Red Bull Flugtag Gdynia, Poland Show Aérien Marseille Plages du Prado, Marseille, France Ali su Peschiera Air Show Peschiera del Garda, Verona, Italy Meeting Aérien de Belvès Belvès - Saint-Pardoux, France Cromer Carnival Cromer, Norfolk, UK Weymouth Air Show Weymouth, Dorset, UK Fireworks Championships Plymouth Hoe, Plymouth, Devon, UK Royal Regatta Air Display Fowey, Cornwall, UK Bournemouth Air Festival Bournemouth Seafront, Dorset, UK Tannkosh 2015 Fly-in Tannheim, Germany Cancelled Dawlish Air Show Dawlish, Devon, UK Örebro Flygdag Örebro flygplats, Örebro, Sweden Wings of Freedom Ede, Netherlands Stauning Airshow Stauning Lufthavn, Stauning, Denmark Dittinger Flugtage 2015 Flugplatz Dittingen, Zwingen, Switzerland Shoreham Airshow 2015 Shoreham Brighton City Airport, West Sussex, UK Radom Air Show 2015 Radom-Sadkow AB, Poland Hamburg Airport Days Hamburg Airport, Germany Ramsey 1940's Weekend Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, UK Nordic Aero Expo Enoch Thulins flygplats, Landskrona, Sweden Royal Regatta Air Displays Torbay, Devon, UK MAKS 2015 Zhukovsky, Russia Regatta Air Display Sidmouth, Devon, UK 98

August / September Europe Continued Aug 27 Aug 27-28 Aug 28-29 Aug 28-30 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-30 Aug 29-31 Aug 30 Aug 30 Aug 30 Aug 31 Aug 31 Sep 01 Sep 04 Sep 04-05 Sep 04-06

Air Command Career Day Rovaniemi Airport, Rovaniemi, Finland Clacton Air Show Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, UK Royal Regatta Air Displays Dartmouth, Devon, UK Śląski Air Show Katowice-Muchowiec, Poland VSV Breda Airshow 2015 Breda Int’l Airport, Bosschenhoofd, Netherlands Hunterfest 2015 St. Stephan, Obersimmental, Switzerland Red Arrows display Laverstoke Park Farm, Overton, Hampshire, UK Aerobatic Championships Châteauroux - Déols, France Tees Valley Airshow Durham Tees Valley Airport, Darlington, UK Letecký den Chrudim Letiště, Chrudim, Czech Republic Festyn Lotniczy Mirosławiec 12. Komenda Lotniska Miroslawiec, Poland Airshow Breitscheid 2015 Flugplatz Breitscheid, Breitscheid, Germany Slovak International AirFest Sliač air base, Slovakia Dunsfold Wings & Wheels Dunsfold Park, Surrey, UK Degerfeld Flugplatzfest Flugplatz Albstadt-Degerfeld, Albstadt, Germany Suceava Airshow Aeroportul Stefan cel Mare, Suceava, Romania Rhyl Air Show 2015 Rhyl, Denbighshire, North Wales, UK Flugplatzfest 2015 Flugplatz Krefeld-Egelsberg, Krefeld, Germany Cancelled Flugtage Messelberg 2015 Donzdorf - Messelberg, Germany Chamer Flugtage 2015 Cham - Janahof, Germany Flugplatzfest Allstedt Flugplatz Allstedt, Allstedt, Germany Göteborg Helimeet Aeroseum, Säve depå, Göteborg, Sweden Solidali 2015 Air Show Nervesa della Battaglia, Italy Military Odyssey Kent Showground, Detling, Kent, UK Little Gransden Airshow Little Gransden, Cambridgeshire, UK Cold War Jets Open Day Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire, UK Chinook display Laverstoke Park Farm, Overton, Hampshire, UK The Aylsham Show Blickling Estate, Norwich, Norfolk, UK Props and Pistons East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, UK Red Arrows Family Day RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire, UK Frecce Tricolori 55 Rivolto Air Base, Udine, Italy AirPower 15 Zeltweg Fliegerhorst Hinterstoisser, Austria Cancelled Oldtimer Fliegertreffen Hahnweide, Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany Cancelled 99

August / September Europe Continued Sep 04-06 Sep 04-06 Sep 05 Sep 05 Sep 05 Sep 05 Sep 05 Sep 05 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 05-06 Sep 06 Sep 06 Sep 06 Sep 06 Sep 06 Sep 06 Sep 09 Sep 09-10 Sep 10 Sep 10 Sep 11-12 Sep 11-12 Sep 11-13 Sep 12 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13

The Victory Show Foxlands Farm, Cosby, Leicestershire, UK Cascais Air Race Cascais - Estoril, Portugal Scottish Airshow 2015 The Low Green, Ayr, South Ayrshire, UK Flüügerfäscht Schmerlat Flugplatz Schaffhausen, Neunkirch, Switzerland Letecký den Strakonice Letiště Strakonice, Strakonice, Czech Republic Santa Pod air display Santa Pod Raceway, Bedfordshire, UK Air Šou Bojkovice Letiště Bojkovice, Bojkovice, Czech Republic Meeting Aérien à Étretat Étretat, France CIAF 2015 Hradec Králové, Czech Republic Shackerstone Festival Shackerstone, Leicestershire, UK Red Bull Air Race Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria Flugtage Dorsten Flugplatz Dorsten-Am Kanal, Dorsten, Germany NI International Airshow Portrush, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK Frecce Tricolori 55 Rivolto Air Base, Udine, Italy Flugtage 60 Osnabrück - Atterheide, Germany Uznam Airshow Świnoujście, Poland Shuttleworth Airshow Old Warden, Bedfordshire, UK Seething Airfield Air Day Seething Airfield, Norwich, Norfolk, UK Meeting Aérien 80 Cambrai - Niergnies, France Flügerchilbi Langenthal Flugplatz Langenthal, Bleienbach, Switzerland Red Arrows display Chatsworth, North Derbyshire, UK Scottish Airshow 2015 Glasgow Prestwick Airport, South Ayrshire, UK Red Arrows display Pangbourne, Berkshire, UK Athens Flying Week Athens Int'l Airport, Athens, Greece Guernsey Air Display St.Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK Jersey Int’l Air Display St. Aubin's Bay, Jersey, Channel Islands, UK Flugplatzfest LSC Leverkusen, Germany Airchallenge Styria 2015 Flugplatz Kapfenberg, Kapfenberg, Austria Goodwood Revival Goodwood, West Sussex, UK Red Arrows display Mayflower Park, Southampton, UK RAF Kenley Air Day Kenley Aerodrome, Surrey, UK Air Expo Zell Zell am See, Austria Flugtag Hütten-Hotzenwald Rickenbach, Germany Athens Flying Week Tatoi Airport / Dhekelia Air Base, Athens, GreeceLégend d'Air en Limousin Saint-Junien, Limousin, France Southend Airshow Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK Cancelled 100

August / September Europe Continued Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 12-13 Sep 13 Sep 13 Sep 13 Sep 18 Sep 19 Sep 19 Sep 19 Sep 19 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 19-20 Sep 20 Sep 20 Sep 20 Sep 20 Sep 26 Sep 26-27 Sep 26-27 Sep 26-27 Sep 26-27 Sep 27 Sep 27

Flugtag Sinsheim Air Show Mielec Horácký letecký den 2015 Salisbury Wings Week Red Arrows display Air Show del Fermano Village at War Weekend Sanicole Sunset Airshow Arnhem Commemoration Lens Airshow Spottersday Kleine Brogel Teknik i Försvarsmakten Duxford Air Show Southport Air Show 2015 Festa al Cel de Barcelona NATO Days in Ostrava Coupe Icare Sivrihisar Hava Gösterileri Großes Flughafenfest Lens Airshow Sanicole Int’l Airshow Brooklands Aviation Day Beek for Speed Great Yorkshire Airshow Malta Int’l Air Show Classic Pistons & Props Haguenau 2015 Festival aérien Cervolix Brooklands Great War 100 Envolades Bourbonnaises

Segelfluggelände Sinsheim, Sinsheim, Germany Mielec Airport, Mielec, Poland Letiště Jihlava, Jihlava, Czech Republic Old Sarum Airfield, UK South Shields, South Tyneside, UK Lido di Fermo, Fermo, Italy Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire, UK Vliegveld Leopoldsburg, Hechtel, Belgium Ginkelse Heide, Ede, Netherlands Lens - Benifontaine, France Kleine Brogel Air Base, Belgium Försvarsmaktens tekniska skola, Halmstad, Sweden Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK Southport Beach, Southport, Lancashire, UK Mataró, Barcelona, Spain Ostrava Leoš Janáček Airport, Czech Republic St Hilaire du Touvet, Lumbin, France Aviation Center, Yeşilköy, Sivrihisar, Turkey Dresden Airport, Klotzsche, Germany Lens - Benifontaine, France Vliegveld Leopoldsburg, Hechtel, Belgium Weybridge, Surrey, UK Maastricht Aachen Airport, Beek, Netherlands Leeds East Airport, Church Fenton, UK Malta Int'l Airport, Luqa, Malta Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire, UK Aérodrome de Haguenau, Haguenau, France Gergovie, France Weybridge, Surrey, UK Moulins - Montbeugny, Toulon-sur-Allier, France

Taipei ADTE Shenyang Int'l Air Show Higashimatsushima Rand Airshow

TWTC, Taipei, Taiwan Faku Caihu airport, Shenyang, Liaoning, China Higashimatsushima, Miyagi, Japan Rand Airport, Johannesburg, South Africa

Rest of World Aug 13-16 Aug 20-23 Aug 22 Aug 23

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August / September Rest of World continued Sep 12 Sep 13 Sep 19 Sep 19-20 Sep 21 Sep 26-27

Warwick Fly-in Misawa Air Base Fest Glorias del EjĂŠrcito Friendship Festival 2015 JASDF Open House Airlie Beach Airshow

Warwick Airport, Warwick, QLD, Australia JASDF Misawa, Japan Parque O'Higgins, Santiago, Chile Yokota AB, Yokota, Japan JASDF Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan Whitsunday Airport, Airlie Beach QLD, Australia

Events in BOLD text have more information on our website:

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So you think you know aviation? Test your knowledge with our monthly quiz Answers to the April edition Air Brain: 1.

5.

9.

Boeing 737 2.

Grumman F14 6.

Saab B17 10.

Typhoon Cessna 172 Bae Harrier

3.

7.

Airbus A340 Bell 222

4.

8.

ATR-72 Sukhoi SSJ100

How did you do last month? Get all 10 right? Let’s see how you do this month!

This month our printer seems to have scrambled some aircraft components, can you unscramble them?: 1.

Flagship dimly parry it

2.

Retriever cocoa dad

3.

Trivialize arcs belt

4.

Fake purr gel

5.

Pain rams

6.

Conventionally mortem sterns

7.

Designates galled

8.

May dew rap

9.

Autocratically crud here to

10.

Decks it is

11.

Vet hustler

12.

Angling dare

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Flugwelt Altenburg-Nobitz Museum at AltenburgNobitz Airport, Germany For many years, the countryside around the airport and the neighbouring Leina forest has been a popular recreation area for families.

Strolling through the forest has always been combined with watching different aircraft. At the beginning of the 1990’s usually small sports aircraft or business aircraft could be observed.

Nowadays there are Ryanair jets connecting Altenburg with London Stansted and Barcelona that are the focus of attention. But since 2005 there has been an additional attraction in the immediate vicinity of the airport – the museum of Flugwelt Altenburg-Nobitz.

When the museum opened at Easter 2005 only three rooms could be visited. Since then, seven rooms including the hall and an open-air display are open to the public. The number of exhibits has been considerably extended and more information can be provided.

The main exhibition shows the changeable history from 1913 to the present modern airport.

Each time period is illustrated with various models of flying machines.

A lot of original equipment and aircraft parts as well as dioramas and additional information provide an interesting experience to casual visitors, enthusiasts and experts alike.

On the open-air display, there is a Soviet fighter MiG-21 SPS, Czech built crop duster Z-37 and a Mi-2 helicopter.

The highlight is a Maritime Patrol Aircraft, a Breguet Atlantic BR 1150, which was flown to Altenburg airport in April 2007. Visitors can also visit this aircraft’s interior for a small fee.

The museum is open 10am— 5pm on weekends and public holidays from April until the end of October.

Prices listed are: Children Adults Senior citizens Students Unemployed Disabled

1,50 € 2,50 €

2,00 €

There is also a guided tour of the Breguet Atlantic for an additional 1,50 €.

The museum can be contacted on email info@flugweltaltenburg-nobitz.de or by telephone 0049 3447 - 515033

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Latest airline fleet additions from airfleets.net Airbus A320 Airbus A380 Boeing 737NG Airbus A320 Airbus A321 Airbus A321 Airbus A321 Boeing 737NG Boeing 787 Airbus A320 ATR 42/72 Boeing 777 Boeing 737NG Airbus A320 Boeing 737NG Airbus A321 Airbus A380 Airbus A320 Boeing 787 Airbus A321 Boeing 787 ATR 42/72 Boeing 737NG Boeing 737NG Boeing 737NG Boeing 787 Boeing 777 Airbus A320 Boeing 737NG Airbus A320 Embraer 170/175 Boeing 737NG Boeing 787 Airbus A320 Airbus A321 Boeing 777 Embraer 190/195 Boeing 737NG Boeing 737NG

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B-1697 A6-APD B-6487 N282VA N144AN D-ABCR PT-XPH TC-SEJ N808AN K-LAP XY-AJY HZ-AK28 B-1527 VT-EXC VQ-BWD TC-JSU A6-EOM N742AV JA840A N142AN VN-A861 7T-VUW B-6060 B-1512 B-6482 C-FNOE -BEEA ZK-OXJ N61886 B-8326 N722YX C-GXRW N806AA PR-OCQ CC-BEE B-KQZ PR-AUM 9M-LNS XA-AMU

China Southern Airlines Etihad Airways Xiamen Airlines Virgin America American Airlines Air Berlin TAM Sun Express American Airlines Batik Air Myanmar National Airlines Saudi Arabian Airlines Air China Air India Aeroflot THY Turkish Airlines Emirates Avianca All Nippon Airways American Airlines Vietnam Airlines Air Algerie Hainan Airlines Shanghai Airlines Xiamen Airlines Air Canada Qatar Airways Air New Zealand United Airlines Sichuan Airlines Republic Airways WestJet Airlines American Airlines Avianca Brasil LAN Airlines Cathay Pacific Azul Linhas Aereas Malindo Air Aeromexico 111

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Continued from page 97 Embraer 170/175 ATR 42/72 Boeing 787 Boeing 777 Airbus A320 Boeing 767 Boeing 787 Boeing 737NG Airbus A321 Airbus A320 Airbus A319

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N149SY F-HOPZ JA871A B-2022 N527VL N123FE A6-BLC B-1511 EI-VKO PK-LAO B-6478

SkyWest USA Airlinair All Nippon Airways China Eastern Airlines Volaris Federal Express Etihad Airways Shandong Airlines Transaero Airlines Batik Air Air China

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Boeing 787, MSN 35151, VN-A861 Vietnam Airlines Photo Credit: Lance Broad / planespotters.net 112

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