British Military Aviation in 1953 - Part 1

Part 2

1 January
Air Chief Marshal Sir William Dickson succeeds Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Slessor as Chief of the Air Staff.

27 January
A point to point record between London and Mauripur in Karachi is set up by Flight Lieutenant L.M. Whittington and Flight Lieutenant J.A. Brown in an English Electric Canberra covering 3,921 statute miles in 8 hours 52 minutes 28 seconds.

27-28 January
Continuing their flight from Karachi, Flight Lieutenant L.M. Whittington and Flight Lieutenant J.A. Brown set up a new London to Darwin point to point record of 22 hours 21 seconds.

1 February
No.194 Squadron RAF is reformed at RAF Sembawang in Singapore, from the Far East Air Force Casualty Evacuation Flight. This squadron was the first operational RAF helicopter squadron.

4 February
Aircraft from RAF Transport Command in Britain and Second Tactical Air Force in Germany are sent to take part in rescue operations in flooded areas in Holland.

13-15 February
Operation Sandbag, involving 14 Handley Page Halifaxes and 6 Vickers Valettas of RAF Transport Command, flies several million sandbags from the Continent to the United Kingdom to repair breaches in sea defences caused by floods from Lincolnshire to Kent.

March
Following the failure of negotiations with regard to the presence of a Saudi Arabian party at Hamasa, an air blockade is imposed. The blockade was initially enforced by the de Havilland Vampires of No.6 Squadron - these were subsequently replaced by Gloster Meteor FR9s of No.208 Squadron, which were in turn superseded by the Avro Lancasters of Nos. 37, 38 and 683 Squadrons and the Avro Ansons of No.1417 Flight. The Saudi Arabians withdrew on 15 August 1954.

1 March
No.275 Squadron reforms at RAF Linton-on Ouse, becoming the first Royal Air Force (RAF) search and rescue helicopter squadron. This unit was equipped with the Bristol Sycamore HR13/HR14 helicopter.

1 March
Operation Bold: in an effort to bolster air support for ongoing internal security operations within Malaya, the programme of despatching Avro Lincoln 2B bombers of RAF Bomber Command squadrons to the Far East resumes with the arrival of a detachment from No.83 Squadron at Tengah. Further detachments were subsequently provided by No.7 and No.148 Squadrons and the final detachment left Tengah for the United Kingdom on 1 March 1955.

12 March
An Avro Lincoln bomber of the Central Gunnery School, RAF Flying Training Command, is shot down by Soviet Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG15 fighters during a training flight from Leconfield in Yorkshire, with the loss of seven lives. Due to a navigation error, the Lincoln had inadvertently strayed into the Soviet Zone of Germany during a routine fighter affiliation exercise.

23 March
No.1340 Flight RAF moves from Thornhill in Rhodesia to RAF Eastleigh to commence intensive anti-terrorist operations in Kenya in support of the British Army. The Flight was equipped with North American Harvard IIB advanced trainers, previously used by the Rhodesian Air Training Group, armed with 20 pound fragmentation bombs.

4 May
An English Electric Canberra flown by Wing Commander W.F. Gibb from Filton near Bristol, establishes a new altitude record of 63,668 feet.

4 May
On successfully completing flying training, Duke of Edinburgh is presented with his wings by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir William Dickson.

7 June
As Mau Mau activities escalate in Kenya, two further British Army infantry battalions were flown into the country.

5 July
London to Paris point to point record of 19 minutes 14 seconds is set by Lieutenant Commander Michael J. Lithgow flying a Vickers Supermarine Swift.

15 July
The Coronation Review of the Royal Air Force (RAF) takes place at RAF Odiham. The centrepiece of the review was a fly-past by some 640 aircraft, including 440 jet aircraft, under the command of Air Vice Marshal the Earl of Bandon.

27 July
An armistice agreement is concluded at Panmunjom between the Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, General Mark W. Clark of the United States Army, the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, Kim Il Sung, and the Commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers, Peng Teh-Huai, with the aim of bringing about "a complete cessation of hostilities and of all acts of armed force in Korea until a final peace settlement is achieved." The armistice was signed at 1012hrs and became effective at 2200hrs.

Part 2