53rd Weather Reconnaissance Sqn at Burtonwood 1953 59 Final скачать в хорошем качестве

53rd Weather Reconnaissance Sqn at Burtonwood 1953 59 Final

The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron served at RAF Burtonwood from 1953 until 1959 initially flying WB-29 aircraft which were replaced by the faster and larger WB-50D. They undertook daily weather recording missions half way across the Atlantic to a point 200 miles north of the Azores, turning north to a point 300 miles south south of Greenland and back to Burtonwood. Missions had a crew of 12 and had a duration of up to 12 hours covering amost 4,000 nautical miles. Other missions included flying up the coast of Norway to the Arctic Circle. Another was to the south of the Canaries. This talk covers the activities of the Sqn, describes their one aircraft loss and covers posting letter to Santa Clause over the North Pole. One secret part of their routine was to take air samples looking for radio activity which could have eminated from the USSR. Aldon Ferguson is the historian and archivist as well as being the President of the RAF Burtonwood Association with an unprecedented knowledge of the history of this amazing air base.