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The Newsletter of the former RAF Reunion Association, now merged with the

DEFFORD AIRFIELD HERITAGE GROUP in partnership with THE NATIONAL TRUST, CROOME http://deffordairfieldheritagegroup.wordpress.com Editor Mike Mullins - email [email protected] Number 135, May / June 2020

Canberra Spotlight see pages 2 to 6

Michael Barnard

We look at the work of research Canberra WT333 (above) at

It’s sad to report the death of Michael Barnard. . We also look at nuclear fallout gathering tests in the Prolific Defford wartime artist Pacific. Harry Badger recalls his work on the Canberra at – see pages 9 and 10 Defford, involving emergency “two wheel” landings. The Canberra first flew in 1949 and after a long career was withdrawn from RAF service in 2006, but three are still flying, doing vital space research in the U S A For NASA. (below).

Mary Berners-Lee

Wartime TRE Malvern Mathematician, pioneering computer scientist and women’s rights activist. See pages 7 and 8 Photo with her husband Conway in 1954. Inset photo of their son, Tim Berners-Lee who invented the World Wide Web X-Plane 11 Martin/General Dynamics RB-57F Canberra 1.0

Canberra Spotlight 1– Canberra WT333 part 1

Canberra WT333 holds a special place in DAHG, as it is owned by members Stephen Reglar, Roger Wintle, Clive Davies, and Tony Waller. The aircraft is kept at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome in Leicestershire. Although it

doesn’t have a permit to fly, it can perform taxiing runs, so many of its systems have to be kept in good working order (engines, brakes, hydraulics, electrics, fuel, controls etc.) This is only made possible by the work of dedicated enthusiasts and financial donations. The aircraft has a long and varied 64-year history, which we would like to publish, however it is beyond the scope of just one Contact newsletter, so Stephen Reglar has kindly written a brief overview (below) and we will return to the story of Canberra WT333 in subsequent newsletters. In the meantime Stephen would be pleased to hear from you if you require more details about the aircraft. Stephen’s Email is [email protected]

Canberra WT333 was built by English Electric at Samlesbury, Lancs as part of a batch of 30 Canberra B(I)8s. She first flew on 30th January 1956 in the hands of Desmond de Villiers, and was ready for collection by the RAF on 21st March 1956 but, two days later, she was transferred to the Controller Aircraft of the Ministry of Supply and the same day, delivered to Marshalls of Cambridge for various trial installations for RAE Farnborough. Subsequently delivered to Farnborough she was involved in Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) development. She was then further modified and used by A&AEE at Boscombe Down for rocket firing trials.

After further trials she was flown out to the Weapons Research Establishment at Woomera, Australia in May 1966 where she was given an overall white colour scheme. Returning to the UK on 21st July 1969 she was assigned to the Royal Establishment at Pershore, Worcs for further trials. After a period of storage she was fitted by RRE engineers with the cockpit of a Canberra B.2 WK135 as well as having a long nose grafted on to that. Moving to RAE Bedford in 1977 she was painted in her raspberry ripple colour scheme at RAF Kemble later that year and continued on trials work until retired in May 1993. She was purchased privately and on 9th January 1995 was registered as G-BVXC.

Treble Three made her last flight from Farnborough to Bruntingthorpe on 28th January 1995. With her engines removed she became a source of spares for, initially XH568 and then WK163. In July 1997 Roger Wintle and Arthur Perks purchase the airframe the airframe from Classic Aviation Projects with the intention of preserving her at Bruntingthorpe. A pair of Rolls Royce Avon 109 engines was subsequently purchased and installed into the aircraft to return her to a taxiable condition, a popular feature of the regular open days that take place at Bruntingthorpe. Arthur Perks’ place on the team had been replaced by three more enthusiasts; the aim is to keep Treble Three in taxiable condition and demonstrate her as a tribute to all the Canberras and crews that provided such sterling service to the RAF and other air arms worldwide.

Page 2 See also Facebook www.facebook.com/CanberraWT333

Canberra Spotlight 2 - Nuclear fall-out gathering in the Pacific in Canberras

The first British atomic tests conducted on the Australian mainland were code named Totem 1 and Totem 2 (in October 1953). It was decided that a Canberra aircraft should fly through the atomic

cloud as soon as possible after the explosion to assess the aircraft’s behaviour under such conditions and to gain information on types and

levels of contamination. It was called "Operation Hot Box". For the very first time a manned aircraft would fly through the atomic bomb mushroom cloud only 6.5 minutes after explosion, gathering radiation samples.

G eoffrey Dhenin (left) and crew before their flight in Canberra WH738, to gather samples after the 1953 Totem 1 test

Canberra WH738 was commanded by RAF pilot Geoffrey Dhenin, who flew the plane at 30,000 feet above the Australian desert north of Woomera, for the Totem 1 test—after testing the level of radioactivity with sensors mounted on the wing, Dhenin made an initial pass through the mushroom cloud, followed by two more: one through the base and one through the top. This was hazardous work. The Canberra suffered severe buffeting. On return to base, the aircraft was tested and found to be contaminated with radioactivity. Despite shielding on the aircraft, Dhenin and the two other crew members received high doses of gamma radiation, which equated to their yearly limit. Subsequent tests were carried out by different crews. However many more tests were carried out in Canberras, by Geoffrey Dhenin throughout the 50’s at Woomera. For this and other work he was promoted and later he became Air Marshal Sir Geoffrey Dhenin. He died aged 93

Britain’s most powerful Hydrogen Bomb Grapple Y was dropped on Christmas Island in

the Pacific, on the 28th April 1958. On the day of the test, Squadron Leader Robert ‘Bob’ Bates piloted the Valiant bomber XD825 (left) carrying the hydrogen bomb. Five Canberra aircraft of 76 Squadron were also deployed: three planes circled the proposed drop zone while two others were sent downwind to track the mushroom cloud and collect samples.

Flight Lieutenant Eric Denson (above) captained Canberra WH980 and flew though the dispersing mushroom cloud of Grapple Y, 49 minutes after the detonation. Because of a fault on one of the dosimeters, Denson was ordered to keep the plane inside the cloud for six minutes; four minutes longer than the aircraft should have been inside. His logbook showed he was in the air for 1 hour 55 minutes. Denson and his crew were subject to very high levels of radiation. He said later that he had almost lost control as the plane went into the mushroom cloud. They were tossed about by the most incredible forces. Page 3

Nuclear fall-out gathering in the Pacific by Canberras continued….. Denson and his crew are estimated to each have collected 13,000 rads (the equivalent of 6,500 full body X-rays). After making several passes through the mushroom cloud, Denson’s plane returned to the airstrip, but, when it landed and taxied to a halt at the far end of the runway near to the contamination pits, the Canberra “sent every radiation counter crazy”. Flight Lieutenant Eric Denson suffered severe radiation sickness. Although he flew Canberras again, his health never really recovered. He died 18 years later aged 44. Technically the Grapple Y nuclear test was a success for Britain. It proved to be Britain’s largest nuclear explosion ever, with an output of 3MT, but it came at a high cost in terms of the health of the aircrew and the ground crew and sea-based service personnel involved. The Canberra aircraft and crew did all they were asked and much more besides. They flew in, dangerous, extreme and unknown conditions to bring back vital data.

The article was based on extracts from the book “Grappling with the bomb” by Nic Maclellan. If you would like to read more from the book then open up this link http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/n2626/pdf/ch11.pdf Alternatively if you require a paper copy, then please phone me, Mike Mullins on 01905 421740 and I will post more of the article to you.

High Altitude Canberra As nuclear bomb yields increased so did the height of the mushroom clouds. In order to reach these new heights a Napier Double Scorpion rocket engine was fitted in the bomb bay of newly-built Canberra B2 WK163, and on the 28th August 1957. It attained a height of 70,310 feet, a new world altitude record. Note - WK163 went to Pershore (and later Bedford) for radar trials once its rocket motor days were over. The Aluminium alloy skinning on the underside of the rear fuselage had been replaced with stainless steel to resist the heat of the rocket motor exhaust. Another Canberra WT207 which was undertaking high altitude trials in 1958 crashed in Derbyshire after the rocket motor caught fire and blew up. It was piloted by Flt Lt Peter de Salis, who was from RRE Pershore but on detached duty at the time. Both he and the navigator ejected and survived, after a nine mile drop. see What’s the Gen? By Rob Amatt January 2020

“Left, Mr Shirley, rocket motor engineer, The Rocket motor, fitted in the Canberra’s bomb bay and Mr Randrup, the pilot”.

Page 4 The Canberra bomber was designed way back in the 1940s. So why are NASA still using three of them today?

The answer “The Canberras are so good at their job that NASA has no plans to retire them”

The Canberras used by NASA are an American version, designated WB-57, and based on the B-57 model built under licence by aircraft-maker Martin in the 1950s; they constructed some 400 between 1953 and 1957. NASA’s examples are the very last still on active service – some 33 years after the US Air Force retired theirs.

Recently, the three remaining Canberras were pictured flying in formation over Houston, where they are based. NASA’s Canberras are a part of the agency’s Airborne Science Program (ASP), explains Charles Mallini, who is the program manager for NASA’s Canberra fleet. The ASP is responsible for providing aircraft systems that further science and advance the use of satellite data.

Charles Mallini says:-

“Their ability to fly high makes them suitable for a variety of jobs, says Mallini, many of them in support of NASA satellites. These include calibration tests to help fine-tune measurements from satellites, test new sensors before they are launched into space, and obtain high-altitude measurements which can then be cross-checked with This photo shows the WB-57’s extended readings taken from satellites in orbit. The Canberras have wings, the turbofan engines and the flown a range of science instruments, measuring extended cockpit. These are main differences atmospheric chemistry, cloud particles, cosmic dust, soil between the English Electric Canberra and moisture, sea ice elevation and more. the WB-57

What makes this aircraft stand the test of time is its unique capabilities of aircraft ceiling, range, max payload and aircrew, The ER-2s (based on the U-2 spyplane) that NASA also uses may be able to fly higher, but they can’t carry as much equipment as the Canberra. NASA’s Global Hawks unmanned drones, meanwhile, can fly for four times longer but can only carry a quarter of the payload.

Keeping this fleet of old aircraft in the air, however, is not easy. Parts acquisition is one of our biggest challenges since many of the parts on the aircraft are no longer available and the vendor has long since shut down.

We have scavenged parts from the aircraft that have been stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base outside of Tucson, Arizona and even from museum aircraft from around the country. When parts are no longer available our engineering team has to design or procure a functionally similar replacement part or back engineer the part”. Page 5

Specification Martin WB-57 Canberra B1

 Crew: 2  Crew: 3

 Length: 68.25 ft  Length: 65 ft 6 in  Wingspan: 122.5 ft  Wingspan: 64 ft 0 in  Height: 20.5 ft ()  Height: 15 ft 8 in  Wing area: 2,000 ft²  Wing area: 960 ft²  Useful load: 9,700 lbs  Useful load: 8,000 lb  Max. take-off weight: 72,000 lbs  Max take-off weight: 55,000 lb  Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-11A  Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce R.A.7 Avon turbofans, 15,500 lbf Mk.109 turbojet engines, 7,400 lbf

 Maximum speed: 546 mph / 475 knots)  Maximum speed: 580 mph / 500 knots 878 km/h Mach 0,78 (930 km/h, Mach 0.88  Combat radius: 6.5 hours not air refuelable.  Combat range: 810 mls.  Service ceiling: "Over 60,000 ft *  Ferry range: 3,380 mls.  Rate of climb: 6000 ft/min ()  Service ceiling: 48,000 ft (15,000 m) *  Rate of climb: 3,400 ft/min (17 m/s) *Service ceiling height may be classified *rocket assisted Canberra held world altitude record at 70,310 ft The Martin WB-57 was given huge wings which were almost twice the span and over twice the wing area of the Canberra B1. This enabled the aircraft to fly at high altitude in the thin air on the edge of space.

“The Canberra proved to be a good design right from the very start”

That Canberras are still flying is a tribute to the aircraft’s design, which is all the more impressive given that the Canberra is from the very first generation of jet aircraft – a time when aircraft designers were struggling to deal with the enormous issues that came from travelling at such high speeds. And it’s even more exceptional because the Canberras are doing a job that was undreamed of when the aircraft first entered service. David Keen, RAF Museum

Some of this article was from the BBC Future. If you would like to read the full article then open up this link https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160309-why-nasa-still-flies-an-old-british-bomber-design Alternatively if you require a paper copy, then please phone me Mike Mullins on 01905 421740 and I will post one to you. Page 6 Mary Berners-Lee

1924-2017 Wartime TRE Malvern Mathematician, pioneering Computer Scientist and women’s rights activist.

Mary Berners-Lee was born in Hall Green, Birmingham, the daughter of two teachers, Bertie and his wife, Ida (nee Burrows). They strongly encouraged their daughter to pursue a university education and a career. Her only brother served in the RAF and was killed during the Second World War. At Yardley Grammar School she excelled in mathematics, and obtained a parish scholarship to study mathematics at the University of Birmingham.

TRE Malvern Her wartime degree, which she had begun in 1942, was interrupted by two years’ working at the Telecommunications Research Establishment in Malvern. As an 18-year-old mathematician, it must have seen like a hot house of new ideas and horizons, but all working under intense pressure to get airborne radar and other projects operational. She would have been working with some very talented scientists, engineers and mathematicians including Sir , Joan Curran and many more.

Pioneering Computer Scientist, Mary Berners-Lee graduated in 1947 and then worked at the Commonwealth Observatory near Canberra. In 1951 she returned to the UK to train as a computer programmer at the electrical engineering firm, Ferranti, in Manchester. The Ferranti Mark I was the commercial version of the Manchester Mark 1, one of the world’s first stored program computers, which had gone into operation at the University of Manchester in 1949.

As one of a small cohort of young men and women working in the “Tin Hut” at Ferranti’s Moston works, Mary Berners-Lee was trained to write programs for the Ferranti Mark I, following a manual written by Alan Turing. His modified teleprinter code turned letters and symbols on a keyboard into patterns of five hole-positions

on punched paper tape that the computer could read directly. Her early work included writing a diagnostic program that could locate program errors. She also wrote programs to solve up to 40 simultaneous equations, a service greatly in demand in aeronautics, and which tested the limits of the machine

Mary wins equal pay for women Not long after she joined Ferranti, the women were furious to discover they were paid less than men recruited at the same time. Mary Berners-Lee was deputed to make the case to management for equal pay. She won immediate rises for the women, and acceptance of the principle of equal pay, two decades before the equal pay act was passed.

As a young mother in the mid-1950s, she set up on her own as a home-based software consultant, making her one of the world’s first freelance programmers. When her children were older, she worked as a maths teacher before returning to programming with a project management consultancy. Page 7 Sir Tim Berners- Lee b 1955

Inventor of the World Wide Web

Mary and Conway Berners- Lee had four children, but it was their eldest son Tim who was most inspired by his parents’ passion for mathematics and computer science. He grew up in a household of calculus before bedtime. She recalls evenings around the dinner table, when the family would try and solve maths problems. If his parents were unable to crack it, Tim Berners-Lee would step in, she said. "It was all terribly good fun."

Tim Berners -Lee, obtained his degree at The Queen’s College Oxford in 1976, and went on to work at Plessey Telecommunications Ltd at Poole. But it was whilst working on the particle accelerator, CERN at Geneva Switzerland) in 1984 that his big breakthrough came. He had to link many scientists, engineers and mathematicians from around the world together. Physical meetings were expensive and time consuming. His goal was to provide researchers with the ability to share their results, techniques, and practices quickly without having to exchange e-mail constantly. Instead, researchers would place such information “online” on the internet, where their peers could immediately retrieve it anytime, day or night. Tim had earlier written programmes to achieve this and by 1990 /1991, his idea was working at CERN. In 1993, after further work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tim’s invention, the World Wide Web, was up and running.

People could" Photograph: exchange used with messages, permission documentsfrom the British and Library informat ion etc. over the internet at home, in their offices, schools, work, and universities or on their mobile phones. It enables anyone in the world to access information from anyone else in the world.

It has totally transformed world communications.

The critical driver for the web’s development and success was Sir Tim and his selfless and altruistic decision not to patent his invention, probably passing up the opportunity to earn billions of pounds in the process but keeping cyberspace open and non-proprietary. He gave it to the world for free. He wanted the people of world to benefit from his invention at no cost to them “He is not just British by nationality, he is British by temperament. Dedicated patient, reserved and modest.”

Mary Berners – Lee could justifiably call herself, The Grandmother of the World Wide Web. Not only did her son Tim invent the World Wide Web, but she also played a significant role in the development of British computing.

Page 8

Michael Barnard

1925-2020

Artist, Historian and DAHG Honorary Member

Michael and his wife Pam at the 2007 Defford Heritage Day event. Pam was a very It is sad to report the death of Michael Barnard, who passed away in on competent show jumper, and March 13th, 2020, aged 95 years. Michael was a great friend and supporter of the appears in some of Michael’s DAHG, with his evocative artwork playing such a powerful role in telling the paintings. They were married for 65 years Defford Story. His work is all round the museum so his legacy is very much alive. Michael’s artist abilities first emerged during his school days at Prince Henry’s school in Evesham, during the Second World War, “I would rather draw than do maths,” he once said. Largely self- taught, Michael paid tribute to his art teacher, Miss Knight, to the encouragement and advice of famous cartoonist “Giles” of the Daily Express and to headmaster, his uncle William McKanan – Jones. When Michael became a Cadet NCO in the Evesham Squadron of the , he gained regular access to local airfields and his subsequent paintings and recorded memories have consistently reflected his lifelong fascination with RAF Defford and airfields at Pershore, and elsewhere.

Some of Michael’s wartime art was influenced by the glamour and dash of the film stars of the period. Here are three of his fine ink drawings of British Stars

James Mason

Margaret Lockwood John Mills “The way to the Stars”

This is Michael in 2013 with his iconic painting of this unknown Wartime WAAF heroine.

It was painted in February 1944 and was inspired by the wartime movie stars. It is placed at the entrance to Heroines of Croome exhibition in the museum.

Page 9

Open Day at RAF Defford in Light Hearted Although some of the 1940’s Michael’s works conveyed the Michael Barnard arrived hardship and sacrifice of war, many in 1943, as a 17 year old also showed the light-hearted side of

trainee pilot. Photo in everyday life in the various RAF bases 2008 with Albert and he visited. He drew in a distinctive Joan Gill was the cartoon-like style and his drawings Commanding officer's were full of interesting and amusing driver, detail. Michael’s pictures regularly appeared in Cotswold & Vale Magazine and other local print media. There was a selection of Michael’s work at Defford Airfield Heritage Day in July 2016.

Michael’s book Secret “Just Memories” 1945 of The Skies has many of his drawings. It was published by Perfect Image in 2002 and distributed in the Evesham and Pershore area. Used copies are available online.

The Family Farm or the RAF? Michael came from a family of growers. They usually won the asparagus competition in the Vale. When he left school the debate was whether to go into the RAF or to remain on the family farm. Both pulled hard, but the farm won. He reckoned that he would have struggled to cope with the maths in the RAF and clearly there were strong ties to family and to his wife Pam. Apparently at school he would help the D-Day Dakota over Defford Sick Quarters (now the teachers with their allotment plots(it was wartime) Museum and café) It was drawn on 15th Sept 1944, but and do that in preference to completing rededicated on 12th July 2014 to “The years between” homework or class exercises. This suited everyone!

Michael was a local historian. Michael took a great interest in the people, buildings and history around him, this included Evesham Abbey, the village of and many more Cotswold small towns and villages. He also researched the changing story of Evesham Avonside Hospital. He was very interested in the church bells in Evesham and the surrounding area. Michael found there was a bell foundry at Merstow Green, in the 1700’s, owned by Michael Bushell and William Clarke, that supplied bells to all the local churches, including Evesham and Badsey. But Michael admitted he never made a good bell ringer. He said “I never did get to grips with pulling the ropes, being rather worried that I might have become airborne but, instead I have looked at the history of bells in Evesham”. Page 10 . Here are two amusing stories from DAHG Member and Museum Steward Shaun Pocock, about life at Defford during and after the war.

Group Captain on parade without his cap

After the D-day landings the TRE civil servants at Malvern and Defford reverted to the normal five day week so the RAF followed suit. Group Captain John McDonald (right) tried to get Defford into line with normal RAF stations. He, with the adjutant and the station warrant officer made regular visits to the RAF places of work and they introduced church parades, where detailed airmen had to assemble on the main road and march through the sick quarters site to the church.

The Group Captain ordered a monthly C O’s parade, where we had to

line up in different sections and flights in our best suits, buttons polished etc. One such parade was on 1st February 1945. There we were at 2.30 on a cold February day waiting. The Group Captain eventually arrived and raced around, without stopping, and was gone. We noticed that this was the first time we had ever seen him with a forage cap. We latter found out that he had baled out of his Spitfire in the morning and his cap with the gold on it fell out of his aircraft when he turned the aircraft upside down to bale out.

Where’s all the fuel gone. At Defford, an “installation and service” was to be carried out on the Valetta aircraft, which was put into the hangar. After a couple of months the task was completed. The engines had to be run up, but it was found there was no fuel in the tanks. The form 700 was inspected and there was no record of the aircraft being de-fuelled. Where had it gone? Well, a lot of the workers used their own transport to get to work, and a lot of them sounded better if they were on 100 octane aviation

fuel!

…and here’s a technical note from DAHG Member and Museum Steward Harry Badger

A faulty hydraulic valve puts “The Skids under a Canberra”.

The outer undercarriage door of the Canberra is attached to the undercarriage leg, such that when the undercarriage is retracted the door closes with it. However the inner door is independently closed by a hydraulic actuator and valve. Harry said that in a few cases, due to a faulty valve, the inner undercarriage door (“D” Door), closed before the wheel had time to retract. The wheel was left in “No man’s land” and could not be locked in the up or down position. The result was a wheel up landing, plenty of sparks and noise, but no major injuries, just relieved faces and a Canberra with damaged underside in the repair shop.

Page 11 “D” Door

Next contact Newsletter will be 136 for July/August 2020 Please contact me [email protected] if you have an interesting story you want including, or feature you want us to look at.