Royal Air Force Historical Society Journal 51
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ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOURNAL 51 2 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributors concerned and are not necessarily those held by the Royal Air Force Historical Society. First published in the UK in 2011 by the Royal Air Force Historical Society All ri hts reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical includin photocopyin , recordin or by any information stora e and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writin . ISSN 1361 4231 Printed by ,indrush -roup ,indrush House Avenue Two Station .ane ,itney O021 40, 3 ROYAL AIR FORCE HISTORICAL SOCIETY President 2arshal of the Royal Air Force Sir 2ichael 3eetham -C3 C3E DFC AFC 7ice8President Air 2arshal Sir Frederick Sowrey KC3 C3E AFC Committee Chairman Air 7ice82arshal N 3 3aldwin C3 C3E 7ice8Chairman -roup Captain 9 D Heron O3E Secretary -roup Captain K 9 Dearman FRAeS 2embership Secretary Dr 9ack Dunham PhD CPsychol A2RAeS Treasurer 9 3oyes TD CA 2embers Air Commodore - R Pitchfork 23E 3A FRAes ,in Commander C Cummin s :9 S Cox Esq 3A 2A :A72 P Dye O3E 3Sc(En ) CEn AC-I 2RAeS :-roup Captain 2 I Hart 2A 2A 2Phil RAF :,in Commander C Hunter 22DS RAF Editor & Publications ,in Commander C - 9efford 23E 3A 2ana er :Ex Officio 4 CONTENTS AIRFIE.D CONSTRUCTION 3Y THE ROYA. AIR FORCE, 1 1939 TO 1966 by A72 9ohn 3rowne A3A7 FIE.D FORCE ,IN- by 9ohn 2arsh 17 SHIE.D FORCEC A3A1 ,IN- AND THE .I3ERATION OF 32 HON- KON- by 3rian Corbett (presented by , Cdr Dick Turpin. CO.D ,AR D ,AR2 C.I2ES, by Sqn .dr 9ohn Fox 46 2ORNIN- DISCUSSION PERIOD 72 RAF RE-I2ENT ANTI8AIRCRAFT (AA) DEFENCE, 71 ,, II TO 3E.IEE by Air Cdre 2ickey ,itherow THE RAF SER7ICIN- CO22ANDOS, 1942846 by , Cdr 96 Tim Newstead ROYA. AIR FORCE REPAIR AND SA.7A-E, 19398194A by 111 A72 Peter Dye 2O3I.E FIE.D PHOTO-RAPHIC UNITS. 9ointly drafted by 124 -p Capt -eoffrey Oxlee and , Cdr 2ike 2ockford (presented by the latter) AFTERNOON DISCUSSION PERIOD 136 AN O7ER7IE, OF AIRFIE.D CONSTRUCTION PRIOR TO 142 AND DURIN- ,, II by Sebastian Cox 3OOK RE7IE,S 1A4 A SELECTED ABBREVIATIONS AAA Anti8Aircraft Artillery AC3 Airfield Construction 3ranch ACS Airfield Construction Service ADIE Air Defence Identification Eone AC-RE Airfield Construction -roups, Royal En ineers AFOR (NATO) Albania Force A.- Advanced .andin -round A2SO Air 2ember for Supply and Or anisation A2,D Air 2inistry ,orks Department AOA Air Officer Administration AP Air Publication AP Armour Piercin CRO Civilian Repair Or anisation ENSA Entertainments National Service Association EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal EOKA Ethniki Organosis Kyprion Agoniston (National Or anisation of Cypriot Fi hters) FEAF Far East Air Force Form A40 The Operations Record 3ook of an RAF unit -OC -eneral Officer Commandin HE Hi h Explosive .2- .i ht 2achine -un 2A2S 2obile Air 2ovements Squadron 2AP 2inistry of Aircraft Production 2&E 2echanical and Electrical NATS National Air Traffic Services PAC Parachute and Cable P3S Prefabricated 3ituminous Surfacin PO. Petrol, Oil and .ubricants PSP Pierced Steel Plank PS7 Philips Sport Vereniging (Philips Sports Union) RE Royal En ineers RE2E Royal Electrical and 2echanical En ineers RSU Repair and Salva e Unit SACEUR Supreme Allied Commander Europe SEAC South East Asia Command SFOR (NATO) Stabilisation Force (in 3osnia) S2T Square 2esh Track TS, Tactical Supply ,in WNr die Werknummer D works (or constructorFs) number 6 SUPPORT OF AIR OPERATIONS RAF MUSEUM, HENDON, 20 APRIL 2011 ELCOME ADDRESS BY THE SOCIETY!S CHAIRMAN Air Vice-Marshal Nigel Baldwin CB CBE .adies and entlemen D ood mornin . 3efore I say somethin about todayFs seminar, let me express my usual thanks to Air 7ice8 2arshal Peter Dye and his collea ues here at the RAF 2useum for allowin us to use these splendid facilities. ,e et so much co8 operation and help from them all that we cannot thank them enou h. ,e ot the idea for this seminar a few years a o from Air 7ice8 2arshal 9ohn 3rowne who has, for over 20 years, been the President of the RAF Airfield Construction OfficersF Association. He convinced us that a day dedicated to some aspects of the vital round support of RAF air operations throu hout our history would not come amiss for the Society so todayFs emphasis will be sli htly different from the usual. To uide us throu h the day, I have asked one of the ServiceFs most distin uished en ineers D Sir 2ichael Alcock D to take on the task. Sir 2ichaelFs earlier career concentrated on the 78bomber force and the Phantom before he be an to climb the ranks takin on increasin trainin , en ineerin and lo istical responsibilities culminatin in his becomin Air Officer En ineerin and Supply at HG Strike Command in 1911 when he was later responsible for the lo istic support of all RAF forces involved in the 1992 -ulf ,ar. After that, he became the RAFFs Chief of .o istic Support and Chief En ineer before becomin the first round branch officer in RAF history to achieve 48star rank and be a member of the Air Force 3oard. In 1994 he became the first AOCinC of .o istics Command at RAF 3rampton. Of all his many post8RAF retirement activities, which include bein a trustee and council member of the RAF 3enevolent Fund, he has been a Specialist Adviser to the House of Commons Defence Committee and is also President of the 3ritish 2odel Flyers Association. He will have no difficulty keepin todayFs speakers under control. So, Sir 2ichael, over to you. 7 OPENIN- REMAR.S BY SEMINAR CHAIRMAN Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Alcoc0 -CB .BE DSc FEng FIMechE FRAeS I feel deeply honoured to have been asked to Chair this day. You have already heard a little about my carer. I spent 37 years pro ressin from a National Servicemen to the Air Force 3oard and all of that was in HsupportF apart from a couple of trainin appointments. So, I uess that I am almost tailor made to do the Iob that Ni el has invited me to do. One thin that I would take sli ht issue with is the title that was chosen for the day, which is H-round Support of Air OperationsF. ,hy H roundF. ,hy not simply HSupport of Air OperationsF D by the round branchesJ1 I donFt like that connotation of H roundF D we are all basically airmen D itFs Iust that some of us have different roles to play in the way that the business is conducted. I suspect that we may be oin to hear a few untold stories today, especially this mornin , about the Airfield Construction 3ranch. I have always had a hi h re ard for them because, while we all tend to focus on the aeroplanes and the technolo y, what we fly from is actually pretty important too. The only brush I ever had with them personally was when we built our airfield at 2ount Pleasant in the Falklands. I Iust happened to be the luckless chap lookin after the relevant 7ote at the 2inistry. It was fascinatin to see how the en ineerin task was handled by industry D many of the personalities involved bein former members of the Airfield Construction 3ranch. So D the mornin is bein iven over to airfield construction and there is no one better qualified to lead on that than Air 7ice82arshal 9ohn 3rowne. 1 Duly noted. See headin on previous pa e. Ed 1 AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION BY THE ROYAL AIR FORCE, 1121 TO 1133 AVM John Browne Ha ing qualified as a ci il engineer at Southampton Uni ersity, $ohn Browne joined the ACB in 195, and ser ed with it in the UK, Cyprus, -i.ya and the Seychelles until 1966 when he transferred to the Engineer Branch. After working on aircraft related appointments at home and in 1ermany he spent 19,23,9 with 4O56PE7. His final tour was as 5irector 1eneral Comm3 unications, Information Systems and Organisation. 9ollowing retirement from the RA9 in 1992 he spent four years with NATS and .ecame, and still is, President of the RA9 Airfield Construction Officers< Association Introduction Two Associations, the Royal Air Force Airfield Construction OfficersF Association (ACOA) and the Airfield Construction 3ranch Association (AC3A), maintain the comradeship that developed between those of us who served in the airfield construction units of the Royal Air Force. Our recruitin base stopped rowin when the last of these units were disbanded in 1966, so you should not look for youth amon st us, althou h the AC3A still has 321 members and the ACOA about 13A, and this is where todayFs presentation team comes from. It is also where the words and the research that underpins them came from, but Iust as , S -ilbertFs words would be lost without Arthur SullivanFs music, our words would be a bland diet without the arnish of maps and photo raphs that have been so enerously provided by a number of our friends. I have people to thank for what you are about to receive, therefore, and in no particular order, as they say, I am most rateful to the Society for ivin us this opportunity to tell our storyK to Peter Donaldson and 9ohn 2arsh for the many hours they spent decipherin Forms A40 and other documents at the National ArchivesK to 9ohn 2arsh a ain for presentin the A3A7 ,in storyK to Dr 2alcolm .lewellyn89ones for identifyin productive areas for research on A3A1 9 ,in K to the late Squadron .eader Cedric Rosenvin e for his detailed first hand account of the A3A1 ,in storyK to 3rian Corbett for his work on the history of A3A1 ,in K to Dick Turpin for steppin in to present the story when 3rian could not be hereK to 9ohn Fox for his willin support in all thin s and for takin on the Iob of producin and presentin the post8war story of RAF airfield constructionK to ,in Commander Ray Pixley for bein a most helpful primary