AI Traffic for Ford/HMs Peregrine

[prwyman]

Hi Hobby,
The mirror sight at Ford was on the main runway (~230), and was used for interminable MADDLs (mirror assisted dummy deck landings). Pilots found them pretty tedious, but they eventually graduated to being let off them.

From Feb1955 to Oct 1956 I was the Assistant ALO of 700 Squadron, which was the Service Trials and Fleet Requirements Unit. They had just finished the Gannet service trials, but there were all sorts of minor trials going on in my time. Fleet Requirements mostly consisted of towing targets for fleet gunnery and flying round ships for radar calibration. We had a whole hotch-potch of aircraft - Fireflies, Vampires, Venoms, Sea Hawks, Gannets, an Attacker, and one American aircraft - I can't remember the name.

[DaveB]

Welcome to the forum prwyman and tks VM for that info

There you go Hobby.. your question answered ;-)

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[NorthernKnight]

and one American aircraft - I can't remember the name.

1950's American plane used by the RN - would that be an Avenger by any chance? :think:

[nazca_steve]

Could be a Skyraider as well.

[NorthernKnight]

Neptune maybe even?

[prwyman]

(tried to delete this version)

[prwyman]

The 700 Squadron US aircraft was indeed an Avenger. A very robust aircraft. One of our older RN obsevers remembered flying in them during the Pacific campaign. 700 was based in the western hangars, near what is now the B223 road, which I think was probably blocked off in the 50s. I think the Squadron CO was Lt Cdr Turrell.
In early 1956 two Vampires and three Fireflies flew to Gibraltar via Biarritz to provide fleet requirements support for the Home Fleet Spring Cruise in the Med. Times sure have changed! One of the Fireflies was crashed on take-off at Gib by a young pilot notorious for raising his undercarriage before being airborne. The starboard wing-tip sagged on to the runway and the aircraft veered off towards Spain where it stalled in through the roof of a factory and caught fire. The pilot (and his joy-riding passenger) survived but he was sent back to the UK. I was ticked off on my return at the end of the detachment for not retrieving the remains of the radio crystals, which supposedly might have had some secure frequencies on them. :roll:

[hobby]

Just caught up with the latest messages on this topic. Most interesting to hear about the position of the MADDLS equipment - now to complete the kit was there ever a ramp and catapult installed at HMS Peregrine for jet pilots to practice cat launches prior to going aboard?

[prwyman]

No, there was certainly never either a ramp or a catapult at Ford. The latter would have been something pretty scary for the crew!

[prwyman]

Senior memories slowly reviving... Turrell wasn't the 700 Squadron CO - he was my boss, the squadron ALO. I think the other gen I've quoted was right.