TOP:
The Vampire pilots
for the outbound
flight — from left
to right, WO S.
Evans, Flt Lt Ricky
Wright, Sqn Ldr
Bobby Oxspring,
Flt Lt F. G. Woolley,
WO Bill Wood and
WO R. J. Skinner.
Unit CO Oxspring’s
father had flown
with No 54
Squadron during
World War One.
AEROPLANE
it — or should they just say ‘no can
do’ to the USAF? Then, as Bobby
told me later, someone at the meeting
which was called to discuss the
matter, who wanted to air his voice,
said, ‘Why not just fly them across?’
Bobby said he nearly fell off his chair,
but all the brass thought it a great
wheeze, and so they tasked it. ‘Come
back in a week, Oxspring, and let us
know your plan’. It was taken as read
that if a fighter unit was sent to the
USA it would have to be the RAF
display squadron, to present the new
and exciting demonstrations as seen
in 1947.”
Even though it had started
preparations, this not did necessarily
mean No 54 Squadron. There were
two other Vampire units within the
Odiham wing, 72 and 247, and Wood
“reckoned that the COs of all three
had been ordered in early March to
produce an aerobatic team apiece”. He
undertook some practice flying with
Oxspring, but then 54’s CO, Sqn Ldr
Howell, “was tragically killed on the
ground when taking photographs of
the squadron’s aircraft returning from
an exercise. He apparently misjudged
his distance from the perimeter track
while looking through his camera’s
viewfinder and was struck by the
wing of one of the taxiing Vampires”.
Oxspring was appointed in his stead.
Following a fly-off held on 19 May,
the Air Officer Commanding Fighter
Command decided to put together
a combined team. The overall leader
was to come from 54, and members
of the display formation from both 54
and 247. Three members of 72 would
join them, two to perform the solo
elements and another as deputy leader
of the deployment.
The Vampire I was not suitable
due to its lack of fuel capacity and
endurance, so six newly built
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