alex taylor’s evocative photograph of xm655...september and the photoshoot on 13th october. on...
TRANSCRIPT
Issue No 40 Winter 2018
Alex Taylor’s evocative photograph of XM655
In this issue
Chairman’s Introduction Page 2
Visits to XM655 Page 4
Engineering Report Page 11
A Tribute to John Lyons Page 14
Moonflower 1972 Page 15
Tales from the Hangar Floor Page 18
Notification of MaPS AGM 2019 Page 20
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 2
The Chairman’s Introduction Mike Pollitt
Well we all moaned about last winter being freezing cold, but I can’t complain
about this year’s summer. Wonderful! I won’t pinch Eric’s thunder this time and I’ll
let him give you the recent good news on the engineering front. I’ll concentrate
instead on two very successful events this year: our Members’ Day on 16th
September and the Photoshoot on 13th October.
On Members’ Day we had around 130 members arrive, and they were treated to
two very informative and interesting presentations from Sam Weller and Michael
Littler. Sam is a retired Vulcan navigator and a regular visitor to Wellesbourne, often
helping with cockpit tours for our large group visits. He talked to us about the role
of the Vulcan in the Cold War. I learnt a lot from Sam’s recollections of life on a
Vulcan squadron in the 1960s. He recalled the excellent menu and marvellous
meals that were exquisitely prepared for the aircrew by the catering staff. I must say
that by the time I arrived on a Vulcan squadron the menu in the aircrew feeder had
changed somewhat from exquisite catering, to all day breakfasts. Nevertheless,
they were good! If the engineers discovered a snag on our allocated bomber,
which would delay crew-in by more than a couple of hours, we were then entitled
to a delayed meal – another enjoyable ‘fry-up’! Healthy diets were way in the future,
and in my day, you could barely see across the crew room for cigarette smoke. It
was all very different from today’s much more-healthy aircrew environment; they
have gym equipment on the squadrons now!
After Sam’s presentation we were delighted to introduce another friend of XM655,
Michael Littler. Michael, together with brother Rob, own our Vulcan and Michael as
many of you will know is also the Wellesbourne Airfield manager. Michael delivered
a very interesting talk on the history of Wellesbourne airfield. I hadn’t appreciated
that Wellesbourne was once home to the RAF Photographic School, as well as more
briefly hosting the RAF Airfield Construction Unit, and the RAF School of Education.
As well as the RAF period, Michael talked about the latter period of Wellesbourne’s
history, whereupon it has become one of the most successful general aviation
airfields in the country.
After the first of two sets of presentations, as we can only accommodate 75 people
at a time in our marquee, I was joined by Nick Dennis (P2) and Barry Masefield (AEO)
for a successful run of all four engines.
I must thank all our volunteers who devoted their weekend preparing for and then
running Members’ Day, before finally packing all the equipment away again. It was
a very tiring but rewarding experience and I am most grateful for all their efforts.
In October we hosted another TimeLine Events Photoshoot. Thank you again to our
dedicated volunteers for all their efforts to provide 100 photographers with a
memorable experience. Three of our volunteers, James Pritchard, Ben Tapp and
Roger Bowen, filled the gap and acted as re-enactors alongside the professionals
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 3
from TimeLine. They recreated cameos that represented those everyday aircrew
and groundcrew scenes that were once commonplace on RAF airfields around the
UK.
Photograph courtesy of Steve Clarkson. Ben Tapp & James Pritchard to the left.
Photograph courtesy of Jim Sharp. Roger Bowen doing a little re-enacting this time.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 4
Air Commodore Pritchard did complain that his SD hat lacked a little scrambled egg
and wondered why he hadn’t reached his true potential – Air Marshal!
I’ll simply leave it to Jim Sharp, one of our Photoshoot guests, to sum up the day:
From the minute I arrived I was impressed by the friendly and efficient
marshalling in place for our arrival. After a 130 mile drive the chance to
get a hot drink was most welcome! The introductory address by the
chairman underlined the feeling that we were indeed welcome rather
than merely tolerated. Having not eaten since breakfast, the availability
of some hot food was something of a godsend. All in all, I came away from
the event with a really good feeling in spite of being sleep deprived due
to working the previous night.
Perhaps because of the latter, there were shots that I either missed or
could have done better. This gives me the perfect excuse to return to
Wellesbourne should you host another photo event!
The work that you do is crucial to preserving our heritage, and the care
that you give to what must now rate as a most important historical artefact
is most impressive. The challenges that you face as an organisation are
not lost on me, and I wish you every success in the future. To this end I
intend to apply to become a member of 655MAPS in the very near future.
Jim, thank you so much for that tremendous feedback. Your appreciation justifiably
demonstrated the sheer hard work of our volunteers to put this show together.
I look forward to meeting many of our members at Wellesbourne over the coming
months. In the meantime, a very Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year
too.
Visits to XM655 Damaris Tapp
My last visits report started with Remembrance Day and a photo of XM655 sporting
a rather large poppy on its front undercarriage. The photo on page 5 shows the
aircraft forming the background to a lovely shot of some real poppies back in June,
on a sunny day when a steady stream of visitors kept some of our volunteers busy
while others carried on with a wide range of engineering tasks. It is important to
balance both aspects of MaPS work, not only to ensure the engineers have time on
Saturdays to carry out the tasks needed to maintain and preserve the aircraft, but
also to show our visitors just what their donations enable us to achieve.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 5
June continued with the AC Owners Club bringing their beautiful cars to be
photographed with XM655.
And a return visit by the London Douglas Motor Cycle Club, who had been so
accomodating last year when we had to move their visit to the Wellesbourne
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 6
Wartime Museum at the last minute, due to the BBC filming of 'RAF at 100' with Colin
McGregor. It was lovely to see them again and enable them to get a bit closer to
XM655!
The good weather also brought us a different type of visitor - a Pitts Special, which
one of our younger volunteers had actually been lucky enough to fly in on a previous
occasion, thanks to Rich Goodwin and his generosity towards the Air Cadets.
Other visitors were an AN-2, the largest single engine bi-plane in the world, and a
P51 Mustang.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 7
Visits from interesting and unusual aircraft are a treat for volunteers and visitors alike
and can cause work to stop, visits to be temporarily abandoned and cameras to
suddenly appear from every angle!
July is always a quiet month for organised visits, as our volunteers love of aviation
tends to mean a large MaPS attendance at the Royal International Air Tattoo!
However, we remained open to visitors throughout and were very happy to show
around anyone who dropped by the pan. We did have some groups visit us towards
the end of the month, though, including the Classics Corvette Owners' Club,
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 8
And the Northampton Industrial Archaeology Group who, although not a car club,
brought some lovely cars that they allowed our volunteers to get rather closer to
than is normally the case!
Rather more exciting than the usual MaPS
transport!
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 9
Many of our visits are organised by MaPS members and this has included the Royston
and District Motorcycle club
And some Gordon Gilder trucks, definitely our largest visitors of the year!
The summer weather continued for visits from the North Cotswolds Vintage Motor
Cycle Club, and, on a particularly lovely day, a group organised by MaPS friend
and supporter, Neil Grant.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 10
The focus for September was getting the aircraft ready for Members' Day, but we
still managed to fit in a good number of pre-booked cockpit tours as well as a few
Group visits, the largest of which was a classic car club, all the way from the Usk
Valley.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 11
This was one of the last sunny days of the summer and they took the opportunity to
picnic in the car park prior to the visit and what a picnic! Not only bacon butties,
but some lovely cake, too. They were definitely a popular group with our volunteers!
By October the weather was turning distinctly autumnal, with the busiest 'visit' to the
pan being the Night Shoot, organised by Timeline Events, which this year featured
three of our volunteers as re-enactors.
Finally, our last large visit of the report was from our old friends the Bugatti Owners
Club.
The above is just a snapshot of the wonderful visitors we have shown around our
treasure of an aircraft over the past few months. We hope they have enjoyed it as
much as we have, and I'd like to end by saying a special thank you to all the
volunteers who help run these visits, we couldn't do it without them!
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Engineering Report Eric Ranshaw
I remarked in the last newsletter that with so many large parties of visitors throughout
the summer, we need to do the majority of our engineering work during the quieter
winter months. There has certainly been no shortage of visitors this summer, both
large booked parties and smaller “walk-in” groups and individuals. However, looking
back it seems we have also been able to get quite a large amount of work done.
We completed the re-installation of the No.2 engine after its inspection, and
although the EGR to test it was delayed by airfield politics, we were finally able to
run it just before Members’ Day. There were no significant problems, and it then ran
faultlessly on the day.
One of the major tasks this summer has been the rebuild of the 28 volt Transformer
Rectifier Unit (TRU) from the Houchin Ground Power Unit. This has been ongoing for
a long time since it was damaged trying to start the visiting Vampire at Wings and
Wheels 2016, and we have been relying on a TrolleyAcc to supply the aircraft for
systems demonstrations. This has been reasonably
successful, but it does mean that the aircraft battery has
to carry more of the load than usual. We discovered
that replacement TRU components built to modern
standards simply didn’t work. The control system of the
TRU relies on inherent
inefficiencies in the
transformer and
transductors, and modern
replacements were too
efficient for the task. After
struggling with it for a long
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 12
time, we decided to try to do our own refurbishment of the old components. This
involved dismantling the main transformer, adjusting the efficiency using paper
shims between the halves of the core, and then re-strapping it and testing the results.
After a couple of tries, we were able to get the transformer performing to the original
specification on all three phases. The voltage regulator was also stripped and rebuilt,
together with a spare in case it should be needed, and the TRU was then re-
assembled. Bench tests at low loads indicated the unit was working satisfactorily, so
it was re-installed in the Houchin GPU. One of our volunteers made a number of test
loads of varying sizes, and we have now tested the TRU up to its rated output of 450
amps. This is significantly more than the Vulcan requires, so we are confident it will
now be able to meet our needs for the future.
We have spent quite a lot of time working on our various aircraft batteries to try to
rationalise our holding. This has involved building a test unit to allow us to test the
capacity of individual cells. We have also compared various charging and testing
procedures so that we can develop a suitable maintenance programme.
Work has continued on our Garrett Airesearch starter turbine, and we have been
able to find a 28 volt generator for the unit which was available from the USA via
the internet. Hopefully this will mean that when the
Garrett is back in action, it will also be able to charge
its own batteries. This was never the case in the past,
it was always a source of concern during Wings and
Wheels and Members’ Day events, and we always
had to keep a second set of charged batteries
available “just in case”. All our other ground
equipment has a battery charging capability, so it
makes sense that we should aim for the same capability on the Garrett.
We took delivery of the second of our new No.1 fuel tanks last spring, but we have
been unable to work on their installation during the summer due to the requirements
to provide access for visitors. Now that the rush is
over, we have prepared the airframe spaces and
commenced installation. I am very pleased to
report that so far this has gone more smoothly than
we could have expected. As we go to press with
this newsletter, both tanks have been installed and
the multiple “press studs” which secure them to the
airframe have
been secured. We
will now continue
with the installation of the internal fittings and then
the pump assemblies, and commission the tanks.
This will give us more flexibility in terms of keeping
the aircraft centre of gravity forward during the
winter to combat the effects of snow on the wings.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 13
Only the No.1 and No.2 tanks are forward of the c of g, and in the past we have
had to rely on the No.2 tanks as the old No.1 tanks have been unserviceable for
many years.
Work has continued during the summer to tidy up our Standard
Airfield Bomb Trolley. Much de-rusting and painting has been
completed, mostly by the various Air Cadet squadrons who visit
us regularly to gain practical experience. We have now started
stripping out the old hydraulic systems with a view to getting the
braking system working again.
We have not had to do very much work on our
various buildings recently, but on the 10th of
September, many of the businesses on the airfield
were targeted by burglars. We were very lucky
that we only lost a couple of walkie talkies, but the
roller shutter which closed off one of our storage
areas was damaged beyond repair. This has been
replaced with a set of folding doors which give us
better access to the space and which can be
secured from the inside.
The painting of the aircraft upper surfaces has
continued whenever possible during the summer, but
the very hot and sunny weather meant that there were
times when the metal was too hot to work on. However,
the whole of the starboard wing has now been
completed, and the team will be moving over to the
port side next spring.
During the Engine Ground Run carried out on
Members’ Day, it was noted that the alternator on
the No.4 engine wasn’t generating any output. This
is extremely difficult to trouble-shoot as we can’t run
the engine on the pan. We have done some
investigation whilst cycling the engine on the starter
motor, and this will continue. Now that the visitor
commitments have reduced, we also hope to be
able to move the aircraft onto the taxiway so that
we can run the engine and alternator up to speed.
We will let you know how we get on in the next newsletter.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 14
A Tribute to John Lyons
Mike Pollitt
It is with very deep regret that we have to
inform you of the death of one of our
extremely popular volunteers.
John Lyons passed away on 10 November
peacefully at home, after a long illness. He will
be sadly missed at XM655 by us all. He was a
genuinely nice guy, always polite, courteous
and extremely affable. He was a Liverpudlian
and typified the breed for his tremendous dry
sense of humour, regaling us often with his
wonderfully funny tales of his service life. He
was a brilliant man and exceptionally brave in
the face of such adversity, as his failing health
caused him enormous pain and concern, but
he maintained his wonderful sense of humour
throughout.
As Barry Masefield said, ‘John was instrumental
in maintaining the Victor tanker force at a high
state of serviceability on Ascension Island during the Falklands Conflict of 1982’. ‘His
infectious good nature and sense of humour prevented many a dark day’.
John’s description of his time on Ascension Island are both highly informative and
hilarious. He worked on a 24-hour shift pattern during the Conflict, barely staying
awake on those dark nights to keep his aircraft serviceable. I shall never forget his
story of how he and a couple of chums had written back to loads of girls back in the
UK who had taken the trouble to write to ‘our boys’. But they signed them all from
David Wells, another colleague of theirs on Ascension, and David received literally
dozens of sacks of mail to answer. I just loved the humour, the passion and the total
commitment to the task that emanated from his talks on the subject, the can-do
attitude and there was no question of failure entering the equation.
I asked John to give us a hand in creating an information sheet on the role of the
Vulcan in the Falklands Conflict; ‘oh and with just a line on the Victor please John’?
Within the day I received this:
That most ingenious, powerful and cutting-edge Victor - superbly crafted by
the gods of aviation to be the most capable V-Bomber ever produced, took
to the skies in numbers in the spring of 1982 to recover the Falkland Islands
from the hands of the Argentinian aggressors.
With thunderous roar of unbridled power, the fleet of Victors did slip the bonds
of earth upon silvered wings and, as an airborne armada, set course to deliver
liberty to the imperiled islanders.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 15
Through raging tempests the Victors, in perfect formation, did cut through the
inky black sky, hidden from the malevolent intentions of the enemy far below.
Every aircraft, with faultless performance and tuned to perfection by the RAF's
finest engineering team did achieve their unbelievable objectives despite the
burden of having to give up a little fuel to their 'dependent'.
To this day, the Victors are hailed as central to the most audacious
undertaking by the Royal Air Force.
Oh, and worth a mention, is that this aerial ballet was an outstanding success
despite having to drag an ungrateful Vulcan across the sky.
John Lyons 15 January 2018 (some apologies to Mr McGee)
Despite being a Victor man, John was full of energy and enthusiasm for XM655, very
often entertaining our visitors with his memories of the Falklands Conflict. He was a
true friend of all of us at Wellesbourne he will be very sadly missed, and in the words
of Shaun Thomas, one of our volunteers, ‘I hope his wife Sue and family are able to
take solace from the high regard to which John is held by our members and
volunteers’.
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Moonflower 1972 Len Hewitt
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 16
Having been on Line Squadron for the past two years, I was delighted to see my
name on the list for the 1972 Moonflower which meant a visit to Darwin and
Singapore. Everyone was dashing around ensuring jabs were up to date - TABT
(Tetanus, Typhoid, Paratyphoid A and Paratyphoid B), Cholera and Yellow Fever,
not only were those necessary to go overseas, but on the V-Force you didn’t get
your leave pass signed if those were not up to date!
Then there was the lecture from the top Station M.O. warning us of the danger of
STDs and dehydration. We were told we must drink a pint of water for every pint of
beer we had consumed the previous night and “You’ll know you are dehydrated
when you go for a pee and only produce a puff of steam!”. That was the best joke
of the lecture.
A week later we were all loaded onto a Britannia with a first refueling stop at Akrotiri,
Cyprus. However, when it came time to take off for the next stage to Masirah (where
myself along with three other groundcrew and a very new Pilot Officer had been
nominated as Transit Servicing Party (TSP) to see the four Vulcans in, refueled,
afterflight servicing, and the following morning beforeflight servicing,
and to see our aircraft off), No 4 engine refused to start. Why they had chosen myself
as the one trade who had no servicing to do (being a Navigational Instruments
fitter), is anyone’s guess.
We were all off-loaded and told we would be there at least overnight, and so three
of the younger guys persuaded me to hire a car as I was twenty-five, the minimum
age for car hire. Not knowing for how long we would be on the island, I arranged to
drop the car off at the guardroom when we were leaving. After a great day touring
Cyprus and finding some of the Roman remains, it was back to camp.
The following lunchtime we were having a meal in the Airmen’s Mess when the
Tannoy announced that the Waddington TSP for Masirah were to report to Air
Movements immediately. I returned the car, picked up my small pack, and headed
for Air Movements to join up with the others. We were told to board the Hercules
C130 with engines running. We did ask if we could get our kit off the Britannia
pointing out that it was the last kit loaded so would be easy to locate. However we
were told in no uncertain terms that we were to board the C130 immediately and
there was no chance of retrieving our kit.
Several hours later and in darkness we landed at Masirah, to discover the wind there
was a similar temperature to exhaust gasses. Having got our accommodation sorted
out, and having also managed to borrow a pair of shorts each, we were told our
four aircraft had already landed and been shut up for the night, so we settled for a
couple of beers.
Masirah was a strange and somewhat inhospitable station. Largely desert and only
7 miles wide by 40 miles long and with very infrequent rainfall. We were told it hadn’t
rained there for the past several years. Wildlife wasn’t the friendliest either, being
largely 8” diameter Camel Spiders, and a couple of species of poisonous snakes.
The Sultan of Oman wouldn’t allow the Airfield to be fenced and so before any Air
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 17
Movements could take place, Air Traffic had to clear the runway of camels and
donkeys!
The next morning we prepped the four aircraft and having ensured there were no
camel spiders hiding in the undercarriage bays, saw them off on their next stage.
Now we were stuck on the island with no change of clothing and the only uniform,
borrowed KD shorts. All the water was desalinated (but still vaguely salty) and the
showers were salt water and so we had to use special salt water soap. Three days
later a 35 Sqn Vulcan came in with our kit in the pannier. It is hard to describe how
good it is to put on a clean and ice-cold shirt under those conditions!
The following day we were able to cadge a lift on a passing 30 Sqn C130 that was
taking a detachment from Marham to Gan. After an uneventful flight we were on
the descent when suddenly the aircraft depressurised as the freight ramp dropped
a couple of inches onto its safety hooks, and the air turned into thick cloud. It must
have been a real shock for one of our Ltechs who happened to be on the loo (which
was located on the ramp) at the time!
Our only travel authority was a signal saying “proceed Darwin soonest”, and so we
persuaded our accompanying officer to take it at once to Air Movements and see
if they could get us on our way. As a result the next morning we boarded a VC10 to
Singapore, where we learnt it would be 6 days before there were any flights to
Darwin! Time to break in to the in-flight impress and draw some cash!
After a great break in Singapore, we boarded a C130 out to Darwin. As it was a
Crew I knew from my previous posting to Fairford, I was fortunate to be able to spend
a couple of hours up on the flight deck. As we were disembarking, one of our party
was carrying a carrier bag with 3 bottles of of duty-free spirits, which parted
company spilling its contents which bounced down onto the concrete where a litre
of vodka rapidly evaporated! Not long after our JENGO (Junior Engineering Officer)
came over to see us and said “You’ve had a hell of a journey over here, lads, you'd
better take 24 hrs off!”
Accommodation in Darwin was somewhat sparse. The barrack blocks were all built
on concrete stilts, and to accommodate our detachment, the RAAF had rigged
tarpaulins between the stilts and given each man a camp bed, so we were living
beneath the block.
When we eventually got to see the flight line, setting up was still in progress, in
particular the high pressure rapid air bottles were being offloaded from a truck and
into a temporary compound. As we watched, one fell from the crane and on
landing the valve was smashed off leaving the gas bottle to become a positive
torpedo streaking across the apron and towards the sandbag compound the
armorers had just constructed as protection around the 1000 lb munitions. Never
have so many armourers moved simultaneously so quickly as they realised the air
bottle was heading straight for them!
That detachment must have been one of the last times that Vulcans practiced live
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 18
21, 1000 lb bombing before the Falklands raids.
The sorties consisted of heading for the bombing range immediately after take off,
releasing the weapons and then heading towards Alice Springs before returning to
Darwin where the RAAF Mirages were supposed to intercept them. One of our crews
came back with all his ECM kit in active mode, reputedly causing havoc to just
about all transmissions in a travelling circle across the Northern Territories!
Immediately after the debriefing, I asked the captain if he had had his wrists slapped
for doing so. The answer? “Well, a touch, but the b_____ds didn’t get us, did they!”
From Darwin we returned to Singapore for further exercises, but that’s another story...
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Tales from the Hanger Floor Mark Bumford
I have over the past twelve months witnessed at first hand the trials and tribulations
of the volunteers as they labour, sometimes under trying circumstances to keep a
54 year old aircraft if not airworthy, certainly road worthy. I thought it might be
interesting to share some of the trials and tribulations that we experienced at
Bitteswell with a Vulcan fleet that was considerably younger than XM655 is.
My first contact with a Vulcan was during my apprenticeship when XM597 and 598,
although just fresh out of the showroom were the first two aircraft in a modification
programme that was to continue until the last aircraft flew out in 1981.
When I started my apprenticeship with Sir W G Armstrong-Whitworth Aircraft in 1959,
there were more aircraft companies in existence than you could shake the
proverbial stick at. Two years later the amalgamations began. We joined with
Glosters to become Whitworth Gloster then two years later Glosters disappeared
altogether and we became Avro-Whitworth. Hence in five years I had three sets of
indentures! More amalgamations followed and the industry separated into two
factions, British Aircraft Corporation and the Hawker Siddeley Group with Handley-
Page ploughing a lonely furrow in between. Handley-Page then disappeared when
it declined to join the newly formed British Aerospace, and of course BAe then
morphed into BAe Systems, a conglomeration of every defence contractor in the
country whether it supplied army, navy or air force. However, there was one small
way in which the absorbed companies could keep their individuality, but more of
that later.
When I as at Wellesbourne in early June the engine bay doors of numbers one and
two engines were open and as the sum caught the oil stains on the centre door of
number one engine I noticed that it has received a ‘cheap’ repair at some time. I
say cheap, but those of you who have studied the balance sheet will know that
nothing to do with aircraft maintenance is cheap! The last time the door was
repaired, instead of the whole press formed and therefore expensive skin being
replaced only the outer edges were replaced to a standard repair scheme.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 19
Reading the serial and modification (mod) plates told me of the door’s history.
Each major component on the aircraft will have its own unique serial number which
will produce a paper trail in whatever quality assurance system is in use at the time.
During my time in the industry we were working within Defence Standards or Def
Stan, these later became Allied Quality Assurance Procedures or AQAP. Both these
are closely related to both the civilian British Standards and ISO the International
Standards Organisations.
The Serial plate will carry the following information:
DRG No. The drawing or part number of the component
ISS The issue number of the drawing it was manufactured or repaired to.
Every time a major alteration or modification is carried out on a
component the issue number of the drawing is raised to reflect this.
SERIAL NO.
As I mentioned earlier, the constituent companies still managed to retain a little of
their individuality. At a date lost in the mists of time each company was given a
unique number/letter combination, thus Avro became R3, Hawkers 41H, Armstrong-
Whitworth S4 and so on. These codes were used in the serial numbers of the
components produced or repaired by the various companies.
So, to return to our engine door, the serial number is: S4R/R/S4/R3/698/70344. I will
attempt not to be too ‘Janet and John’ but we will start from the end and work
forward:
70344 is the doors unique number and no other Vulcan engine door will have this
number.
The 698 is of course the Avro type number for the Vulcan.
The R3 indicates that Avro is the main contractor and S4 that the door was
constructed as a ‘new build’ by Armstrong-Whitworth as sub-contractor.
As a digression, in the 1960s, as well as building both civil and military versions of the
Argosy and the last Sea Hawks for the Indian navy, we were sub-contracting Vulcan
bomb doors, engine doors and inboard elevons, Javelin belly tanks, Boeing 707
engine nacelles for Rolls Royce Conways, with the experimental shop doing work for
the Bristol 188 stainless steel research aircraft. And, to really diversify, the machine
shop was turning out fuel cans for the nuclear power stations!
Back to our door, the /R indicates that the first repair was carried out by the
company whose code preceded it. It saves having to stamp S4R twice. (If the first
repair had been carried out by Avro the number would have read S4R/R3R/S4/R3
etc.). Some Shackleton bomb doors had that many /Rs you had to count them
twice to ensure you had the correct number!
Lastly the date of final inspection and the inspectors stamp. All other serial plates
were disposed of except the original new build plate which was riveted under the
latest repair plate. There is an apocryphal story of a batch of Hunter Ailerons from
the Swiss air force that came to Bitteswell for repair and the only original part that
left the factory were the new build serial plates.
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XM655MaPS Newsletter Winter 2018 Page 20
The modification (or mod plate) in the case of our engine door is the original and is
stamped with the various mods incorporated together with the relevant inspection
stamp. As we always repaired to the latest standards, I always used to fit a new mod
plate anyway but stamped with the latest mod. If you get a chance to view the
mod plate on our door, the last three mods are 1503, the fitting of three reinforcing
angles (but I can’t remember where), 2280 which replaces the door edge weather
seals with one made from butyl rubber and 2327 which is the acrylic paint scheme
that 655 had when it first arrived at Wellesbourne.
Notice of Annual General Meeting 2019
The next Annual General Meeting of MaPS will be held at 10.30 am on Saturday, 4th
May 2019. This notice may appear to be somewhat premature, but the publication
date of our Spring Newsletter is such that we would be unable to give the specified
notice as required by the Society’s rules.
As in previous years, the meeting will be held in the Wellington Room at On Track
Aviation, Wellesbourne Airfield (near to the Control Tower and Touchdown Cafe).
All members are welcome and tea/coffee and biscuits will be provided.
The agenda will be:
• Chairman’s introduction and annual report
• Membership report
• Treasurer’s report and approval of annual accounts
• Appointment of auditor for the coming year
• Election of committee members
• Any other business
Any items that members wish to add to the agenda must be sent in writing to
The Secretary,
655 MaPS,
Wellesbourne Airfield
Loxley Lane,
Warwick
CV35 9EU
to arrive no later than four weeks before the date of the AGM.
During the afternoon, XM655 will be open to visitors, and we will be carrying out
demonstrations of as many aircraft systems as are possible on the pan. We hope
that combining the AGM and an “open day” for visitors to the aircraft will
encourage more members to attend the meeting.
PHOTO CREDITS
Cover photo by Alex Taylor: https://www.facebook.com/alextaylorphotos/
Moonflower 1972 copyright Ministry of Defence.
All photographs not crediting their photographer are taken by 655MaPS volunteers.