80 FLYPAST June 2018
1918 2018HOW DID THE RAF CELEBRATE ITS 50TH ANNIVERSARY? KEN ELLIS
DESCRIBES THE IMPRESSIVE GATHERING AT ABINGDON
WAY
B
ritain’s youngest armed service
had more pressing priorities
when the time came to
commemorate its quarter century.
On April 1, 1943 the RAF was well
into its second world conflict.
Having carried out a ‘lone wolf ’
raid against Leer, near Emden, in
Germany on March 20, Sqn Ldr
C O’Donoghue of Elsham Wolds-
based 103 Squadron repeated the
exercise in the early hours of April 1.
This time Emmerich, on the Rhine
east of Nijmegen, was the target but
he did not get there. Oberfeldwebel
Fritz Timm of Jagdgesch wader 1
caught up with Lancaster III ED626
G-for-George just after 7am and shot
it down, killing O’Donoghue and
his crew of six.
Fighter Command was actively
patrolling the English Channel
and carrying out harassing attacks- ‘Rhubarbs’ – into the Normandy
and Dunkirk hinterland. A pair of
Spitfires and two Typhoons failed to
return from these: three pilots were
killed; one was taken prisoner.
During the day, the anniversary
was marked, but in a subdued
manner. Prime Minister Winston
Churchill was presented with a set
of ‘wings’, becoming an honorary
pilot. At Buckingham Palace and St
James’s Palace, the RAF Regiment
took over guard duty for a four-day
period. King George VI announced
the instigation of ceremonial flags –
which the RAF dubbed ‘Standards’ –
for squadrons that achieved 25 years
of unbroken service.
On July 15, 1953, Queen
Elizabeth II reviewed extensive
static displays and massed formation
flypasts at Odiham, Hampshire, as
the RAF celebrated Her Majesty’s
HALF
itain’s youngest armed serviceexercise in the early hours of April 1.coronation of the previous
month. Fifteen years later this
experience helped in the staging
of the RAF’s 50th birthday.OPEN HOUSE
Other than the half-centenary,
1968 was a pivotal year for the
RAF, as Bomber Command and
Fighter Command merged to
form Strike Command on April- The need to commemorate
the passing of these two
institutions and the quest for
better weather moved the 50th
anniversary ‘bash’ into June.
A large airfield within easy reach
of London, with no resident fighter
or bomber units, was considered
the ideal venue. The search settled
on Abingdon, an Air Support
Command (ASC) base. (Transport
Command had been succeeded by
ASC in August 1967. In November
1969 the new organisation
subsumed Coastal Command as
well.)
The Oxfordshire station was home
to 46 Squadron and the Andover
Training Squadron, both equipped
with the Hawker Siddeley Andover
C.1. Also present was 1 Parachute
Training School (PTS), instructing
personnel from all three services in
the art of leaving perfectly airworthy
machines in mid-flight!Right
The programme for
the public day was
far from lavish, but
certainly functional.