A Very Unusual Air War (26 page)

30 December
: The Mk XII was the first Spitfire to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon engine of 2050 HP to become operational. It was a basic Mk VIII, strengthened for the Griffon engine. Two major differences to earlier Spits were factory-made square wingtips to improve the rate of roll and the engine revolved anti-clockwise. The greatly increased power resulted in much more torque, which had to be carefully controlled on take-off and landing. At heights below 10,000 feet the Mk XII was much faster and almost the complete answer to the FW 190. The exception was the rate of roll which was, even with clipped wings, not quite as good as the Focke Wulf.

31 December
: On this page of my logbook there is a printed form showing the summary for the second half of this year, commencing June 1942, similar in
layout to that appearing on an earlier page. It confirms that my grand total of all service flying hours to date is 631 hours 50 minutes, dated Dec.14th and signed by Campbell-Orde, Wing Commander, Officer Commanding AFDU Duxford.

Signed
E. Smith
    
D.O. Finlay
Wing Commander

O/C Flying AFDU    O/C AFDU Duxford

Throughout 1942 the output of aircraft from the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia had steadily increased and by the end of the year the stream had become a flood. American aircraft for both the RAF and US forces, including fighters and light and heavy bombers, appeared in ever-increasing numbers. Every machine had to be tested off the production line or on arrival in the country. Routine test pilots were in short supply so, to safeguard my position at AFDU, I was invited to become one of the permanent staff test pilots. My time as a ‘hack' pilot was over and although I still did fighter affiliation occasionally, more and more I was included in the on-going test programmes.

2 January
: Fourth flight. This would have been co-operation with the USAAF. The B26, called the Mitchell by the RAF, was a powerful and fast twin-engine medium bomber, now appearing in increasing numbers in Europe. It was a squadron of these machines that took off from an American aircraft carrier to achieve a major propaganda coup by bombing Tokyo.

4 January
: With every 1,000 feet of altitude the air temperature drops by 1.5 degrees, so that at 30,000 feet the air temperature was 45°F below that at ground level. For example, on a cold January day with the temp at ground level 2°F, at 30,000 feet it would have been 43 degrees below zero. Freezing up of ancillary equipment such as camera guns was a potential problem.

8 January
: The ailerons, which control turning, are on the rear edge of each wing. In each aileron is a small panel known as a trimming tab; either metal or fabric-covered. They can be adjusted to balance the ailerons or to lighten the load for the pilot and are a help with control of the Spitfire's turning circle.

13 January
: The operational ceiling of a fighter aircraft was the height that a fighter could achieve with sufficient control to be a fighting unit. In the case of a Spitfire XII, this was approximately 35,000 feet. The absolute ceiling is the height that an aircraft can reach before losing control and literally falling out of the sky.

The thrill of a full throttle speed run cannot be described! The roar of the engine and the feeling of power in one's hands has to be experienced. I was increasingly involved in the test programme of the Mk XII. This would involve flying to operational heights, time taken to reach them, turning circles, rates of roll and of course, speed runs at various height intervals. The Mk XII had a top speed at its best height of nearly 450mph.

14 January
: This was truly a heartbreaking flight taking one of the last of the lovely old biplane fighters on its final journey. They were the original defenders (Faith, Hope and Charity) of Malta and did sterling work in the brief Norwegian campaign, flying off the surface of a frozen lake. It was my first and only flight in a Gladiator, to Little Rissington where, with others, it would be broken up.

15 January
: ‘Susie', F/Lt Sewell won the contest!

In the fenlands of Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire there were designated areas where low flying was permitted. A pilot had to be particularly wary of electricity pylons and cables and, although the odd farmer could get a bit stroppy if we frightened his pregnant cows, more usually they accepted the need for training with good grace. It was only when flying near to the ground that the speed of our fighters was fully appreciated. In a Mk XII, with the throttle set for maximum cruising, speeds well over 300 mph were easily achieved. What a thrill, great fun and (nearly) all legal.

27 January
: We frequently had visitors from Bomber Command for conversion to single-engine fighters so I added instructor to my other AFDU duties. Most of these officers were very experienced pilots who had clocked up many hours flying multi-engined aircraft, so their conversion was really an academic exercise. The Miles Master Mk III was powered by an American Pratt and Whitney Wasp radial engine. Consequently the Mk III sounded like, and was frequently taken for, an American Harvard trainer.

28 January
: P/O Scott was a new member of AFDU. On rest from operations, he was a very lively young Australian, barely 5 feet tall. He was a great joker and at the New Year's party in the Duxford Officers Mess a very large cardboard carton that had been made up specially was wheeled into the ante room. With bangs and flashes at the midnight hour, out popped Scotty. He and my wife, Estelle, being about the same height, made a good pair and Scotty made it his business to take care of her, she at that time being some six months pregnant.

29 January
: Third flight. Some of the cloud formations that winter were spectacular, so on this occasion I was ‘scrambled' to record them on film before they broke up.