Fly Past

SCOTTISH AVIATION PIONEER AND TWIN PIONEER 100 YEARS OF THE ROYAL AIR FORCE

PATROLLERS AND AIRLIFTERS RAF CENTENARY CELEBRATION 57

Left

WIN

at RAF Odiham, Hants, which were

eventually retired and replaced by

Westland Whirlwind helicopters in

December 1962. The type’s career

finally ended in December 1969

when 20 Squadron retired its last

Singapore-based examples.

TWIN PIN

The success of the Pioneer led

the RAF to order the larger Twin

Pioneer in 1956. The prototype had

first flown on June 25, 1955 and the

aircraft showed enormous potential

thanks to its two powerful 550hp

(410kW) Leonides engines and

similar lift-enhancing devices fitted

to the original iteration. Despite its

size, the aircraft could still operate

from unprepared landing strips as

short as 902ft (275m).

The original order for 20

Twin Pioneer CC.1s was later

increased to 39, the final seven

of which would be delivered as

CC.2 variants featuring cast and

forged components in place of the

fabricated sheet metal parts fitted to

earlier examples.

To p

Twin Pioneer XL993

was delivered to

the RAF in 1958 and

allocated to the

service’s fi rst ‘Twin

Pin’ unit, 78 Squadron

at Khormaksar, Aden.

Although it originally

fl ew in standard

Transport Command

silver and white

markings, it was

later given desert

camoufl age. In 1961 it

was upgraded to CC.2

standard with more

powerful engines, and

in 1965 it transferred

to 21 Squadron at

Muharraq, Bahrain.

In 1968, XL993 was

presented to the RAF

Museum and the

aircraft has been on

display at Cosford

since 1979. ANDY HAY/

WWW.FLYINGART.CO.UK

Above left

The RAF Museum’s

Twin Pioneer XL993

can be found within

the National Cold War

Exhibition building

at Cosford, sporting

the markings it wore

while in service with

78 Squadron in Aden

and 21 Squadron in

Bahrain. It has been

part of the museum’s

collection since 1968.

STEVE BRIDGEWATER

Left

One of the few

surviving Pioneer

CC.1s is the RAF

Museum’s XL703,

the third from last

aircraft to be built.

It was delivered to

the RAF in December

1956 and has been

preserved by the

RAF Museum and

displayed at Cosford

since 1989. STEVE

BRIDGEWATER

Although designed and ordered as

a transport, the twin Pioneer had

the provision to carry two 1,000lb

(454kg), four 500lb (227kg) or

four 250lb (113kg) bombs beneath

the wings, and a pair of Browning

machine guns. Alternatively, a single

Bren gun could be mounted in the

fuselage door.

Deliveries began in early 1958

and the first machines joined 78

LeftLeft

PIONEER AND TWIN PIONEER

at RAF Odiham, Hants, which were

eventually retired and replaced by

Westland Whirlwind helicopters in

TopTopTop

Squadron in Aden, in October

that year. Other airframes soon

joined 152 Squadron in Bahrain,

where they flew alongside Percival

Pembrokes and took part in the

Kuwaiti operations of July 1961.

In Africa the type was flown by

21 Squadron in Kenya, whose four

Twin Pins operated closely with 24

Infantry Brigade Group on internal

security operations. In October

1961 the unit’s aircraft also played

an important role in Operation

Tana Flood, dropping 254,000lb

(115,214kg) of food to flood-

stricken villages in Somalia.

During the Indonesia–Malaysia

confrontation between 1962–66,

aircraft from 209 Squadron Far

East Air Force flew countless supply

missions over Borneo, and it was

this unit, based in Seletar, Singapore,

that would be the last to operate the

venerable transport in December

1968. The Pioneer was finally
      replaced by the new generation of
      helicopters, including the
      Westland Whirlwind.