Description
Object description
British civilian pilot served with Air Transport Auxiliary in GB, 11/1940-11/1942; commanded No 1 Ferry Pool ATA White Waltham in GB, 11/1942-1/1944; commanded No 6 Ferry Pool ATA Ratcliffe in GB, 1/1944-10/1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in GB, 1905-1939: family; education; employment; learning to fly and obtaining pilots licence; lack of restrictions on flying; commandeering of his aircraft on outbreak of Second World War, 9/1939; volunteering for medical service of Royal Air Force. Recollections of period as pilot with Air Transport Auxiliary in GB, 1940-1942: background to joining Air Transport Auxiliary, 19/11/1940; flight test at ATA Whitchurch, 6/1940; organisation of training at ATA White Waltham; opinion of North American Harvard as training aircraft; attitude to flying high performance fighter aircraft; ferry duties at No 1 Ferry Pool ATA White Waltham; nature of navigation. Recollections of period commanding No 1 Ferry Pool ATA White Waltham in GB, 11/1942-1/1944: promotion and taking command, 23/11/1942; expansion of Air Transport Auxiliary.
REEL 2 Continues: duties as commanding officer; discipline; disabled and elderly pilots; American pilots; punishments for breaches of discipline; dangers of flying; social mix of pilots; pay of American pilots; pilot nationalities; accommodation; opinion of female pilots; reasons why female pilots not allowed to flying Consolidated Liberator; abandonment of unisex ferry pools; lack of problems in relations between male and female pilots; reasons for pilot being transferred between pools; training of pilots in latter stages of war.
REEL 3 Continues: daily duties as commanding officer including drafting daily programme; use of air taxis; degree to which as commanding officer he flew aircraft; overnight stays; administrative staff; role of flight engineers; accident investigation; serving on accident committees; loss of pilots; attitude to loss of pilots; accidents he had whilst ferrying aircraft including problems landing on wet grass with Handley Page Halifax; making sure pilots gradually got used to aircraft.
REEL 4 Continues: question of qualities and skills required by ferry pilots; opinion of training received by Air Transport Auxiliary; story illustrating problems with pilots who had served during First World War; taking over flying boat ferry flights from Royal Air Force; conversion to flying boats; description of piloting flying boats; location of sites to land flying boat in cases of bad weather; limitations to landing Short Sunderland and Consolidated Catalina.
REEL 5 Continues: Aspects of period commanding No 6 Ferry Pool ATA Ratcliffe in GB, 1/1944-10/1945: reasons for taking command of ATA Ratcliffe, 16/1/1944; delivery of aircraft and Very Important Persons (VIPs) to North West Europe; end of war and selection of pilots to continue ferry duties; reaction to termination in Air Transport Auxiliary; benevolent fund; return to civilian life.