Botswana murders
Thursday, 07 April 2011 11:58

Q These murders were covered in our July 2010 and February 2011 issues, but we have now had a definitive account.

A T.G. Hughes says the incident occurred on the No 1 cross-country flight, when Tiger Moths flew in pairs, one to navigate and the other to pilot. Starting from Heany, they flew almost due east to an “X” on the map, south to the next mark, west to the next and then north back to Heany. Between the second and third “X” the route crossed the Bulawayoto-Johannesburg railway, and as the crews were using dead reckoning the “knowalls” told them not to bother with calculations, but at point X turn down the railway line to Bulawayo. The pair who died missed the railway and continued into Bechuanaland until, running short of fuel, they forced-landed, but were unable to contact Heany. The rest has already been stated; the Tiger Moth was located next day and an Airspeed Oxford with a crew flew in to check it over and return to Heany. The South African police eventually located the tribe and arrested several people, who were brought to trial, but the outcome is unknown.

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Woodley Airfield
Thursday, 07 April 2011 11:55

Woodley’s grass runways can just be seen in this 1957 photograph by Quentin Wilson. Woodley’s grass runways can just be seen in this 1957 photograph by Quentin Wilson. Q Our March issue posed a question from Tony Wingfield on the runways at Woodley, while the April issue included a comment from Alan Peacock, saying that as a grass airfield it never had marked runways.

A Quentin Wilson has submitted a photograph taken in the summer of 1957, showing one runway clearly and suggesting the position of a second. There had been a very dry period that had burned the grass.

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Vulcan crash in Iran
Thursday, 07 April 2011 11:53

Q A question in our December 2010 issue regarding the above Avro Vulcan crash was answered in the March 2011 isssue.

A John Massingham flew in this aircraft as Crew Chief when it left Akrotiri in May 1973 with three other Vulcans for fighter affiliation training with the Iranian Air Force, but he was not in it at the time of the accident. The enquiry proved that the port undercarriage door jack body had split, venting hydraulic fluid into the bay. When the pilot attempted a “blowdown” the compressed air went the same way and the port undercarriage remained up. The captain pulled off a remarkable landing, and but for a ditch along the runway the aircraft would have been recoverable Cat.3.

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