80A
T SEVEN IN the morning on February
26, 1934, our four Vickers Victorias from
No 216 Sqn and five Fairey IIIFs of No
45 Sqn were lined up on the tarmac at
Heliopolis [Cairo] as we paraded before
Air Commodore Bennet, who gave us a few words
of advice and bade us farewell. We took off at 0725hr
in formation and after an uneventful flight of 1hr
50min landed at Asyut to refuel. Flying Officer Hare
noticed that one of the fittings attached to the spare
Napier Lion engine which we were carrying under
our starboard wing for the journey was shaking
loose. A spare Bristol Pegasus engine was being
carried by the No 4 Victoria.
An hour later we were airborne and heading down
the Nile for Wadi Halfa, the first landing ground
in Sudan [now North Sudan], where we arrived at
1415hr. On inspection we discovered a small crack in
our port oil tank. During the course of the afternoon
a new tank was fitted by the mechanics. That night
was spent in a hotel at Wadi Halfa.Issue No 21GRAND
Tour
the
During the early 1930s RAF squadrons based
abroad made regular long-distance flights
over routes of potential strategic importance.
In 1934 Cairo-based No 216 Sqn undertook a
6,000-mile round trip to South Africa. Vickers
Victoria pilot the late RICHARD H. SHAW
kept a diar y of the tour, and we join him on the
cruise down through East Africa to PretoriaCAIRO TO PRETORIA
BY VICKERS VICTORIA,
FEBRUARY–MARCH 1934
RIGHT & ABOVE RIGHT A keen
photographer, the author kept a
remarkable record of his many travels,
whether it be flying over the Rand
escarpment near Pretoria in South Africa
in 1934, or refuelling at Asyut in 1935.
ALL IMAGES VIA JILLY McLAREN UNLESS OTHERWISE STATEDABOVE Flying Officer Richard Shaw
enjoying a quiet moment in the old
quarters at Heliopolis in 1934. Born in quarters at Heliopolis in 1934. Born in
Castle Donington in Leicestershire in
1912, Shaw was sent to Scarborough
College in 1923, before going on to the College in 1923, before going on to the
RAF College at Cranwell, after which he
served with No 10 Sqn on Handley Page
Hinaidis at Boscombe Down. He was sent
to Egypt to join No 216 Sqn in 1933.