…………………………………………………….

April 2013 Issue No: 15 ACTION STATIONS! Newsletter

Queen’s men salute Action Stations! for bumper cash donation to Wing Appeal

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! Events Diary 2013 Plus: News, views

and action pictures

INSIDE YOUR

Fly with a Fly with a SpitfireSpitfire Fly with a Fly with a HurricaneHurricane Call us TODAY: 01227 721929

……………

To contact Action Stations! A4A Ltd Reynold’s Place, Nargate Street, Littlebourne, Canterbury, Kent CT3 1QJ Telephone: 01227 721929 Email: office@goaction stations.co.uk

Who’s the birthday Spitfire ace flying with us this month?

Find out on page 8 (Picture printed with kind permission of Caroline Lees)

CRAMBLE!CRAMBLE!

A WORLD war two fighter pilot and VIPs including a deputy Lieutenant of Kent took part in a major Action Stations! event at the Battle of Britain Memorial, Capel-le-Ferne, Kent. Hurricane pilot Neville Croucher, 89, and former RAF Group Captain Patrick Tootal, OBE, representing HM The Queen, joined Action Stations! Steve Burt who handed over a cheque for £6,000 to the Wing Appeal. The donation will go towards ‘The Wing’ - a new visitor centre about the Battle of Britain which is being built on the Memorial site. Big hearted Mr Burt decided to give £5 on behalf of every ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ and ‘Fly with a Hurricane’ customer who flew with the popular Canterbury based company since 2010. The Battle of Britain Trust Wing Appeal, led by Group Captain Tootal and Life Vice-President Wing Commander Bob Foster, has so far scooped more than £1.8mil-lion towards £2.8million needed to complete the project. ‘The Wing’ building is due to open in 2015 - the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. At the presentation made next to the Spitfire at the Memorial last month, Mr Burt, told guests he was

delighted to present the cheque on behalf of the customers who flew with Action Stations! Mr Burt handed the donation to Andrew Simpson - a Trustee of the Wing Appeal, and was then applauded by deputy Lieutenant of Kent, Gp Capt Tootal. The event was also attended by Action Stations! enthusiast Philip Inwood, and Lydd Airport management crew Kate Adams and Tim Maskens. Mr Burt said: “Action Stations! is dedicated to preserving the memory of ‘The Few’ and our customers play a key role in helping us to keep our legendary Hurricanes and Spitfires flying today. This presentation to the Wing Appeal is also our way of thanking all of our friends for their support.” The Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De L’Isle, praised the work of Steve and the Action Stations! crew and pointed out the company had done sterling work on behalf of the Wing Appeal. Turn to page 2

COMMENDATION: The Lord Lieutenant of Kent, Viscount De L’Isle praises Action Stations!

…………………………………………………..

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! April 2013

Friday, April 19 Saturday, April 20 Sunday, April 21 (Spitfire Spring event) Thursday, May 16 Friday, May 17 Saturday, May 18 (May Spitfire event) Thursday, June 14 Friday June 15 Saturday, June 16 (June Fathers’ Day Double Fighter Weekend) Thursday, July 18 Friday, July 19 Saturday, July 20 Thursday, August 15 Friday, August 16 Saturday, August 17 (Spitfire Summer event) Friday, September 13 Saturday, Sept 14 Sunday, Sept 15 (Battle of Britain Double Fighter Weekend) Thursday, October 17 Friday, October 18 Saturday, October 19 (Autumn Spitfire event)

…………………………………………..Action Stations! enthusiasts grand salute to ‘The Few’

CONTENTS Surprise reunion…… page 3 Derek’s picture power ………………………………..page 3 ASK STEVE……………..page 4 Hurricane pilot’s BIG DAY OUT………….page 5 The Big Interview Bomber Command pilot Gerry Abrahams .…………………..pages 6 and 7 Your letters……………..page 7 Radar ‘won the war’..page 8

Action Stations! FLYING EVENTS 2013

Send your news and views to: melodyforeman@btinternet.com 2

WING APPEAL CHEQUE PRESENATION: From left - Air Traffic Manager Tim Maskens from Lydd Airport, Wing Appeal Trustee Andrew Simpson, Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Group Captain Patrick Tootal OBE, world war two Hurricane pilot Warrant Officer Neville Croucher, Action Stations! Originator Steve Burt, and Lydd Airport Terminal Supervisor Kate Adams.

SMOOTH OPERATOR: Action Stations! Operations Manager Michelina Caliendo-Sear masterminds top level flight experiences.

BIG DAY: Left - Action Stations! Steve with pilot Neville and Action Stations! enthusiast Philip Inwood. After the cheque presentation supporters gathered at ‘The Jackdaw’ pub in Denton, Kent - once the favourite haunt of the RAF Hawkinge squadrons. The pub also featured in the famous 1969 film, Battle of Britain. See ‘Ask Steve’ on page 4.

Picture copyright: Melody Foreman Action Stations!

The ORIGINAL ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ experience - 01227 721929 3 ………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………Action Stations! Picture Gallery BIG thanks to long time Action Stations! enthusiast DEREK BIDEWELL who was one of our first ever customers to Fly with a Spitfire in 2009. Derek snapped this classic image of Spitfire Mk Vb BM597 giving chase to a helicopter in the Medway Towns area, Kent. If you’d like your Action Stations! ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ or ‘Fly with a Hurricane’ picture to appear in SCRAMBLE! then just email us a good quality jpeg, and include your name, and your camera work may well fly its way onto our pages! Email: melody foreman@btinternet.com

AIR Traffic Manager Tim Maskens couldn’t believe it when he bumped into his former English teacher and then discovered she’d flown Spitfires during the war! Tim who is based at Lydd Airport, Kent, told SCRAMBLE! he had been taught by a ‘Mrs Lofthouse’ in the classroom at Rye in East Sussex between 1976 and 1978. He explained: “So when I heard that name, and that she was in the airport last September ready to fly with Action Stations! I thought no, it can’t be the same person! Then I thought well it’s an unusual name and so I checked with the Operations Manager Michelina who said it was Joy Lofthouse! And why was she there that day? To Fly with a Spitfire! of course.” Tim promptly made his way to the departure lounge the minute he found out and met up with his former teacher again who recognised him immediately. He said: “What she never told any of us kids in those days was that she was a Third Offi-cer with the Air Transport Auxiliary during the war and she’d flown every mark of Spit-fire all over the country.” During her amazing career with the ATA Joy was known by her maiden name of Gough. (Her sister Yvonne MacDonald also flew with the ATA and they were the only sisters among the 166 women who flew for this important ferrying organisation) For Tim being taught English language and literature by a former Spitfire ace worked out for him as he went onto read Natural Sciences

at Cambridge University. His career in aviation, including that of a pilot, also led him to the control tower hot seats at Biggin Hill and now Lydd where he works alongside 40 professional staff. It is his job to ensure every aircraft lands, takes off safely, and each one is maintained correctly at Lydd. Tim is often on duty at the Action Stations! experiences which flies customers in a luxury helicopter next to Spitfire BM597 and/or the Hurricane Z5140. Both iconic fighters belong to the Historic Aircraft Collection from East Sussex. Tim added: “It was truly fantastic to see Joy again, and the fact she remembered me after all these years. “I know I always enjoyed her classes and I think it is wonderful that aged 90 she is still keeping the flag flying for the ATA. We look forward to welcoming her back to Lydd Airport at anytime.” Action Stations! Originator Steve Burt said: “This is a great story and what a wonderful surprise for both Joy and Tim. It was an honour to meet Joy last year.” The former ATA pilot was flown across Battle of Britain country which includes Dover Castle and the South Foreland Lighthouse. Joy told SCRAMBLE! she had enjoyed meeting Tim again and described ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ as a marvellous adventure for any enthusiast keen to honour ‘The Few’ and keep the legendary war time fighter aircraft flying for future generations. MF

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! …………………………………………

MAN OF THE SKIES: Lydd Airport’s own Air Traffic Manager, Tim Maskens, who recently found out his former English teacher was the amazing Joy Lofthouse - one of the few women who flew Spitfires during world war two with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA).

ABOVE: Joy Lofthouse. RIGHT: Action Stations! Michelina and Joy with Hurricane Z5140 at Lydd Airport.

What did you do during the war, Miss?

…………………………………………………………………

ASK STEVE..

To fly over Battle of Britain country with a Spitfire or Hurricane call 01227 721929 4

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! …………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………Got a question about war time aircraft?

A: HI Jack! I certainly can give you my top three reads on this subject which as you say has over the years attracted many, many writers and historians. One of my absolute favourites is ‘The Most Dangerous Enemy’ by Stephen Bungay. I’d say this is a definitive history of the Battle of Britain. It is a well-rounded book that covers the history of the event, makes reference to the politics and social history of the time, and the technical aspects of the aircraft involved, covering design, performance and manufacturing. This book deserves a place in your library. I also can recommend ‘Battle of Britain’ by Leonard Mosley which was recently handed to me by the Editor of SCRAMBLE!. I hadn’t seen this paperback before which brilliantly tells the story of how the famous 1969 Battle of Britain film was made. Written by journalist Mosley we get the full insight into the dramas of producing and funding such an epic production and of course the challenge

Q: CAN you recommend a few excellent books to read about the Battle of Britain? There seems to be quite a few out there but I am after the best for research, accuracy and of course real life adventure as told by the pilots themselves. Jack Wright Sevenoaks, Kent

steve@goactionstations.co.uk

Vintage aircraft crews host big Hurricane thrill for war time pilot

to find enough Me109s, Spitfires and Hurricanes for the critical all action shots in the skies was tremendous for director Guy Hamilton. There’s also entertainment in this book with tales about the Luftwaffe Me109 pilot Adolf Galland being recruited as a consultant on the dogfight scenes, plus the big decisions about the casting too. The book claims to reveal the truth behind the most momentous aerial combat ever fought - a sixteen week duel that changed the course of history. I support that claim. May I suggest ‘Last of the Few’ by Max Arthur if it is pilots’ tales you’re after. This book includes insightful stories from heroes such as Flt Lt Peter Brothers, Flying Officers Brian Kingcome, Tom Neil, Geoffrey Page, William Walker, and Pilot Officers Nigel Rose, and Glen Niven.

STEVE’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS.

This 1969 screen grab is of The Jackdaw Inn, Denton, Kent, taken as actor Christopher Plummer, playing Canadian RAF squadron leader, Colin Harvey, pulls up in his green MG sports car to meet his wife WAAF Section Officer Maggie, (Susannah York) for a beer. Today The Jackdaw has a garden and flowerbeds in front of the pub but it looks the mostly the same from the outside. The wall in front of the car remains.

WHEN the Action Stations! crew discovered a Kent world war two RAF pilot had yearned of getting up close and personal with a Hurricane again they soon set out to make his dream come true. With the help of the Historic Aircraft Collection which owns the Hurricane Mk XIIa Z5140 - one of only four Hurricanes left flying in the world today, Action Stations! which is based in Kent’s Battle of Britain country, sped Sgt Pilot Neville Croucher, 89, formerly of 289 Squadron to Duxford, Cambridgeshire. MELODY FOREMAN reports Turn to page 5…..

MEMORIES: Sgt Pilot Neville Croucher meets the Hurri again with Action Stations! Ops Manager Michelina Caliendo-Sear on the wing. Scroll down to page 5 for our full report.

THE former fighter pilot flinched as an icy blast of air blew angrily around us from across the runway. At first we thought his ceremonial stature was a reaction to the bitter cold of that March morning at Duxford. But soon it was clear how just then, just briefly, we’d lost him to a world long gone. While we’d felt the stark urgent chill of the morning air, he’d welcomed it as a bright fresh breeze of welcome from distant RAF pals. Indeed Sgt Pilot Neville Croucher was also listening hard that day, craning his head even to hear a sound we could not. For us though there was only silence followed by a whistling sound as the air whipped its chill through the soul again. Just then ‘Nev’, 89, is back with us. “For a second there I thought I’d have to scramble,” he says jauntily thrusting his hands in his pockets as if he was 20 years old again. “The sound of that Scramble bell you know, it never leaves you, it sort of stays in the blood.” Who are we to argue with that? And so we move off on foot and pass by the no-nonsense billets once full of RAF personnel, and read old notices above old doors which further remind us of Duxford’s important place in RAF history. It is to the Airspace Hangar sign we head. This is run by the Imperial War Museum where ‘Nev’ is about to be with an aircraft he can only describe as a ‘great, great friend’.

‘Fly with a Spitfire’ and ‘Fly with a Hurricane’ only with Action Stations! Tel: 01227 721929 5

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE!

……………………………………………………………

…………………………………………“By jove yes,” he replies and blinks away a tear. “I remem-ber taxiing over to the runway and as I let the throttle out I felt this enormous push in my back as the great Merlin engine thrust me forward and into the sky. “It was an incredible feeling every time. The power surge was enormous. I felt such glory. It was unforgettable, really. Every day in my Hurri-cane was a joy. I had wanted to be a pilot so much I just had to fly. The Hurricane really was a dream, and it came true.”

It’s while he’s standing at the cockpit that Nev talks about the firepower from the cannon in the wings. He describes the pounding

sound which vibrated around the aircraft once he’d fired at the enemy aircraft around him. “It was much better when Hurricanes were fitted with cannon,” he adds. “At first we had bullets from Browning machine guns but I remember these weren’t much good at creating serious damage to enemy aircraft.” Looking at the drop down into the pilot’s seat, we decide it’s safer if ‘Nev’ doesn’t try and leap in. It’s quite a clamber out for even a young pilot. He’s happy to stay on the wing and talks about how as a 20 year old he would place his foot in the famous Hurricane stirrup, and pull himself up towards the top of the aircraft and jump in. Of course the Spitfire, he says, has a door at the side of the cockpit making it a little easier for the pilot to enter and exit the aircraft. With us that day is 21st century pilot and Action Stations! own Michelina Caliendo-Sear who applauds Nev’s description about the joys of taking off. She’s not flown a Hurricane yet but these aviators with a sixty year age gap share a great passion for the thrill of acceleration and the force that takes an aircraft from the runway to the sky. “There’s a freedom up there like no other,” she says. Nev can only agree just as eagerly as he would have done as a 20 year old awaiting the Scramble bell in 1943. Melody Foreman

His ‘greatest pal’ is steadfast and silent. They both deserve our respect. The Hurricane isn’t being remote, just stately and dramatic in a way only such a classic vintage aircraft can be. Currently under maintenance the Hurricane engine is exposed but this doesn’t worry Nev. He can only marvel even more at the intricacies of the Merlin engine which helped fly Britain to victory in the skies during world war two. The Hurricane, designed by Sydney Camm and built in 1942, belongs to the Historic Aircraft Collection. It is Geoff Bouttell from HAC who has agreed to re-acquaint our hero of 289 Squadron to the aircraft. Nev is first to step up on the proffered platform to walk along the wing and make for the cockpit. He has permission from Geoff to jump in and feel at home again and just for a second or two we can tell he is tempted. Seventy years ago there’d be no thinking twice about throwing himself into the pilot’s seat and taking to the skies against an angry Luftwaffe. While we wait for his decision, Geoff talks to him some more and Nev stares into the small cockpit wistfully recalling every instrument, and marveling at the compass and ‘the stick’ and how he had to sit on his parachute. Can he recall the first time he ever stepped into the Hurricane as an eager young pilot?

And there waiting patiently for him is the Hawker Hurricane Mk XIIa. “My!” says Nev with eyes fixed adoringly on this iconic aircraft. He repeats ‘My!’ round eyed like a child at Christmas. “It’s been seventy years, seventy years…..” he whispers shaking his head in wonderment and trying desperately to reconcile the past with the present. “It’s making me remember so much, and I can still hear all my pals from those days,” he adds. “Just to see this now...” We stay back for a few seconds while he wanders over to the regal Hurricane.

HAPPY: Nev, Geoff Bouttell from HAC and Action Stations! Michelina check out Nev’s RAF logbook. BELOW: Nev with the Hawker Nimrod, and Hurricane Z5140. Pictures: Action Stations!/Melody Foreman

Your RARE chance to ‘Fly with a Hurricane’ Call us on 01227 721929 6

…………………………………………

…………………………………………………

THE BIG INTERVIEW GERRY ABRAHAMS - BOMBER COMMAND HERO

AFTER almost seventy years the remaining crew members of Bomber Command were finally invited to 10 Downing Street to receive a gold clasp in honour of their bravery during World War Two. Today, Action Stations! enthusiast and former Lancaster pilot GERRY ABRAHAMS, of 75 NZ Squadron speaks exclusively to SCRAMBLE! Editor, Melody Foreman.

AS the group of visitors ambled around Manston’s Spitfire and Hurricane Museum they are unaware of the hero in their midst. For the quiet unassuming man who flew 31 missions over Germany with 75 NZ Squadron during world war two has got to be one of Britain’s best kept secrets. Indeed how can we blame anyone for thinking Gerry Abrahams is a day over 65? This lively aviator is so full of energy at 90 years old he is one of the keenest volunteers working at the museum today. It’s only when he gets a chance to talk to the regular parties of school children, parents and teachers, he gets to reveal, quite casually, that he flew Lancaster four engine bombers during the 1939 – 1945 conflict. When we meet in the gentle hubbub at the museum Gerry is on a high. He’s just celebrated his big 90, and at the same time was invited by Prime Minister David Cameron to Downing Street to be presented with a gold clasp engraved with ‘Bomber Command’ for bravery during the war. “The Prime Minister seems like a pleasant chap,” he says then adds jokingly: “...er as politicians go he seemed quite nice!”

“I’ve brought the medals with me so you can see what Cameron gave me and take a picture,” offers Gerry fishing in his jacket pocket for the famous gold clasp. When I ask why it took so long for Bomber Command to be honoured Gerry says politics got in the way and war time prime minister, Winston Churchill, was embarrassed about the damage inflicted upon Dresden in Germany which had happened when he knew the battle was at an end. “But of course we only retaliated and Britain didn’t start the war,” he admits. Last year too Bomber Command was honoured with a new Memorial in London. Gerry says it was private money which paid for the statue of the airmen and as far as he knew the government never footed the bill. Key benefactors including the late Bee Gee, Robin Gibb, and Daily Express proprietor, Richard Desmond. The opening ceremony also featured a flypast by a Lancaster, Spitfire and a Hurricane, and it was attended by HM The Queen. When Gerry and 20 pals from Bomber Command Association met up at Number

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE!

10 they were treated to high tea and the prime minister visited every table to chat to his special guests famously declaring meeting them was one of his ‘proudest moments’ at number 10. Continued on page 7

LANCASTER CREW: Members of RNZAF 75 Squadron and Gerry’s crew: back from left to right Gerry Abrahams Tom Corlett, bomb aimer; Norm Holbrook, navigator; Harry Thorne, flight engineer. Front, from left to right: Vern Clouston, mid upper gunner; Sidney "Buzz" Spilman, pilot; Pat Burke, rear gunner.

‘I can’t think of a prouder day I have had in this job’ - Prime Minister David Cameron meeting Gerry and the members of the Bomber Command Association last month.

Winston Churchill. Gerry Abrahams.

PRIME MINISTER: David Cameron.

………………………………………………

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! …………………………………………

…………………………………………………

SPITFIRE SMILES Your Letters

SPITFIRE AND HURRICANE MUSEUM GUIDE: Bomber Command pilot Gerry Abrahams wears his medals with pride. After the war he had a successful career as a civil aviation pilot.

7

Fly with Fly with a Spitfire a Spitfire

Fly with a Fly with a Hurricane Hurricane Call Action Stations! 01227 721929

When Gerry joined the RAF he only had eyes for the larger aircraft. “I wanted more than one engine to keep me in the air!” he replied when I asked if he’d ever flown a Spitfire or Hurricane. However he was used to being escorted by the fighter squadrons as he made his way to Germany on a raid. “This was the norm,” he said, “so imagine how worried I was when they disappeared ahead of me as I tried to return to England with one of my engines blown out!” Along with his six crew members Gerry was with 3 Group at the time which carried out ‘special missions’. He recalled: “Then one day we had to fly over a place called Wesel in Germany using our GH Radar. “To drop bombs we had to be up about 20,000 feet and this particular day I was tremendously worried as we’d been hit and the Lancaster was flying much slower than its usual 250mph. Suddenly as we made our way over France the rest of the Squadron headed off in a hurry, and the fighters disappeared too leaving us like sitting ducks. “I thought this is it and we’re done for now! But there was nothing. No one firing at us, no other aircraft around we got back to airfield all ok

and all the crew in one piece! I can’t tell you how relieved I was to see England again!” As a member of the brave Bomber Command Gerry and his crew reported each day and waited for their ‘Battle Orders’. “We never really knew what was coming so all we could do was wait to see what was put up on the board for us,” he recalled. The rule was each crew member was to fly 30 missions then he’d done his duty. Gerry did a total of 31 missions in the Lancaster he describes as a ‘dream to fly’, stepping in to help when he was needed again. He said: “That 31st mission was the worst! We’d gone mine laying in Bremen, Germany, and had to dodge German flak left right and centre. I was tremendously lucky to survive. After the war I kept in touch with all of my crew. Today there’s only me and ‘Buzz’ left alive. ‘Buzz’ lives in New Zealand.” Ask Gerry if he was ever nervous about his missions, or worried when any of his pals failed to return, he shakes his head slowly and says no one could think like that. “We tried to make light of our day and just get on with our jobs. It was all we could do.” MF

GERRY’S FAVES..

Secret of a long life? Luck Who inspires you? Churchill did but I felt let down after the war. I was inspired by ‘Bomber’ Harris. Today? No one. Book? Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Aircraft? The Lancaster during the war and in peace time the ‘Britannia’

Music? Artie Shaw’s Clarinet Concerto Drink? Good red wine or fine single malt. Film: Lawrence of Arabia. First car? A 1929 Rover 10

Catch up with SCRAMBLE! every month at www.goactionstations.co.uk

Museum experience I JUST want to remind everyone to make a full weekend of their ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ experience if they can and get along to Kent’s fabulous museums specialising in world war two. I had my flight last July and was thrilled. I couldn’t have wished for a better time over Battle of Britain country with the Spitfire. Then my family arranged for me to visit the Spitfire and Hurricane Memorial Museum Manston. The guides were very helpful and we

we enjoyed seeing the real genuine Spitfire and Hurricane on display. There are also some amazing artefacts to see

including a German Iron Cross which was found in a farm field in Kent and presented to the Museum. There’s also items donated by Battle of Britain pilots including Bob Stanford Tuck, and a photographs of the Spitfire and her pilots. So if you want to continue your Battle of Britain experience after flying with Action Stations! do take a trip to Manston. It’s got a decent café too! This summer we are hoping to fly again with Action Stations! and then get along to nearby Hawkinge where there is also a Museum full of artefacts and memorabilia from the days the RAF were based there during the war. T. REDMAN Sheffield

Short Stirling IN reference to last month’s SCRAMBLE! which mentioned the Short Stirling. I would like to point out the Short Stirling was built to a specification from the Air Ministry that restricted the design and it did not operate as high as later bombers. However it was the first four engine heavy bomber and many lessons were learned from it. KEVIN PATIENCE

Judy’s Action Stations! joy

I HAVE enjoyed the March edition of SCRAMBLE! and looking at the Photo Gallery reminded me I had been meaning to send you a picture. I was over from B.C. Canada and booked a summer ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ experience to celebrate my 70th birthday. I was so lucky to have a lovely sunny day last year and the flight was everything I hoped for - a fantastic experience. I wish you all at Action Stations! a successful and enjoyable season! JUDY ARTER

Thanks for the fabulous picture Judy. Watch out for it in our May edition - Ed.

Action Stations! BIG birthday treat for our front page Spitfire hero!

SSCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! EXTRASEXTRAS

………………………………………………………………

………………………………

8

AFTER the air raids on Britain in WW1, the government was aware of the need for a system to detect hostile aircraft at a distance. Sound detection systems were developed, but were not very successful, writes Dr Julian Brock. In the mid-1930s, the government asked Robert Watson-Watt, a radio scientist at the National Physical Laboratory, to look into creating a death ray (as depicted in comic books) for bringing down aircraft. Watson-Watt quickly realised that a death ray was not feasible. But, it had been noticed some years earlier that passing aircraft caused variations in the signals received from short-wave radio transmitters; based on this observation, Watson-Watt proposed that a system of aircraft detection by radio waves could be developed. Air Vice-Marshall Hugh Dowding wanted to see evidence that this would work before agreeing that such a system should be developed. A successful demonstration was carried out by flying an aircraft over the BBC's short-wave radio transmitter at Daventry. The government set up team of scientists to develop Radio Direction Finding (as it was then called), and in the years preceding the outbreak of war, Radar became the heart of Britain's integrated air defence system.

‘Fly with a Spitfire’ and ‘Fly with a Hurricane’ Tel: 01227 721929

HOPE you all recognised the dashing young pilot on page one as RAF 127 Squadron ace Maurice Macey.. Maurice was due to ‘Fly with a Spitfire’ again last month but owing to bad weather we had to post-pone his adventure until this month. However, this has worked out well as his flight in the luxury helicopter over Battle of Britain country will now take place just a few days before his grand 90th birthday! Details about Maurice’s wartime action were covered fully in last month’s SCRAMBLE!. In 1944 young Warrant Officer Macey was shot down during D-Day, parachuted our over France, and spent he rest of the war in a PoW camp. However in 1945 he was back in England to fly in Douglas Bader’s first ever flypast over London. Visit: wwwgoactionstations.co.uk

ACTION PILOT: Warrant Officer Maurice Macey in the cockpit of his Spitfire before take off during world war two. These rare pictures were kindly supplied to SCRAMBLE! by his granddaughter Caroline Lees. “My grandfather is looking forward to his day with Action Stations!” she enthused.

MAURICE JUST LANDED: Parachute, helmet and goggles in hand it looks as if our Spitfire pilot was ready for well earned cuppa in the 127 Squadron Mess at North Weald, Essex.

Maurice today.

…………………………………………………

If you’ve got hot NEWS for

S SCRAMBLE! CRAMBLE! contact melodyforeman @btinternet.com

Vital ‘Chain Home’ radar masts in Battle of Britain country

This was developed into the "Chain Home" system, characterised by tall radio masts around the south and east coasts of England, including Dover, which gave the RAF the advantage over the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain. When the Luftwaffe switched to night-time raids, the ground-based

navigational aid by bombers, because the difference between sea and land showed very clearly, even through cloud. To quote a contributor from the Heroes of World War II television series: "The atomic bomb ended the war, but radar won it."

RADAR WIZARD: Robert Watson-Watt

The ‘Chain Home’ Mast at Dover.

radar system could direct RAF fighters to the area in which bombers were operating, but the RAF pilots then had to identify targets using eyesight. This problem was resolved when a

radar system small enough to be carried in a night-fighter was developed. Radar was also used in the Battle of the Atlantic to detect u-boats. The existing radar systems could not be used because they suffered interference from the sea. So, at first, u-boats on the surface could only be detected by sight. For this reason many u-boat attacks were often made at night. A shorter-wavelength ("centrimetric") radar, which was less affected by interfer-ence, was developed and was installed on British warships in 1941. Further improvements meant that even a raised periscope could be detected and even more u-boats were destroyed when these radar systems were fitted to the aircraft. Radar was also used as a