Fairey Gannet

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321freeflow

282 posts

220 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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Nearly fell over when I found one of my old B-Flight cabs at Elvington in 2007. Sorry to see it in a bit of a mess.

Some memories recalled:

Prince Charles doing some observer "training" with us. CO had a red dragon painted on the tail fin. When we embarked on the Ark, the skipper nearly choked on his gin - "get that off right now!" Only Squdn emblems allowed.
Exercising in the Med, a cross-operating US cab had one of its tyres punctured on deck by one of our tractors. Entering Valetta harbour with a US cab on deck would have caused a diplomatic incident (apparently), so its tail fin was painted in 892's omega colours. Crew was absolutely delighted! Wonder if their skipper spluttered into his .......... 7up?
Deck tractor (same driver?!), caught a hold-down chain and cracked the main frame ring around the engine. CO made the last non-catapult-assisted take-off from a carrier deck (the frame wouldn't have taken the catapult strain). The Ark could get up to a fair rate of knots - 33 (?) and with a good wind over the deck he was airborne 2/3rds the way along the deck.
North Sea exercising - Russian destroyers running across our bows as we turned into wind. Skipper would always make us stand to attention as we zoomed alongside them! We couldn't help but notice one time that there was a serious fire going amidships and the ruskies were in the process of ditching a very large torpedo over the side!
Caribbean - Flt Lt ***** experienced serious loss of power after take-off. No ejector seats on the old Gannet(!). He struggled up to 2000ft, got the observers out safely but when he tried to stand up to jump out himself, the shear pin holding his harness ............... wouldn't shear. He managed to ditch it successfully - even with that crazy snail in the way. Lucky man. I remember one of our US pilots - BIG guy - was detailed to try the other shear pins. He couldn't break them - his verdict "fkn death traps".
Happy days!



hidetheelephants

23,737 posts

192 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
el stovey said:
Possibly the ugliest British aircraft ever.

Either that or the fairy battle.
No way.

Have a look at this beauty -



or the aircraft which the Gannet replaced -



or the rival aircraft which last out to the Gannet -

The Seamew was pretty ugly too.


Eric Mc

121,773 posts

264 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
321freeflow said:
Entering Valetta harbour with a US cab on deck
Please, please, please don't use Service Jargon that us mere mortals don't always understand. It's not fair on the rest of us?

I'll a take wild guess and suggest that a US Navy "Cab" is perhaps a US Navy Carrier on Board Delivery (COD) Grumman Greyhound?

Am I right?

I am sure your anecdotal tales of service fun and frolicks are very amusing, but if you use service jargon too much, then the rest of us won't get the point or the humour of the story.

hidetheelephants

23,737 posts

192 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
'Cab' just means an airframe or aircraft, it's not specific to a type.

Speculatore

2,002 posts

234 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
321freeflow said:


Nearly fell over when I found one of my old B-Flight cabs at Elvington in 2007. Sorry to see it in a bit of a mess.

Some memories recalled:

Prince Charles doing some observer "training" with us. CO had a red dragon painted on the tail fin. When we embarked on the Ark, the skipper nearly choked on his gin - "get that off right now!" Only Squdn emblems allowed.
Exercising in the Med, a cross-operating US cab had one of its tyres punctured on deck by one of our tractors. Entering Valetta harbour with a US cab on deck would have caused a diplomatic incident (apparently), so its tail fin was painted in 892's omega colours. Crew was absolutely delighted! Wonder if their skipper spluttered into his .......... 7up?
Deck tractor (same driver?!), caught a hold-down chain and cracked the main frame ring around the engine. CO made the last non-catapult-assisted take-off from a carrier deck (the frame wouldn't have taken the catapult strain). The Ark could get up to a fair rate of knots - 33 (?) and with a good wind over the deck he was airborne 2/3rds the way along the deck.
North Sea exercising - Russian destroyers running across our bows as we turned into wind. Skipper would always make us stand to attention as we zoomed alongside them! We couldn't help but notice one time that there was a serious fire going amidships and the ruskies were in the process of ditching a very large torpedo over the side!
Caribbean - Flt Lt ***** experienced serious loss of power after take-off. No ejector seats on the old Gannet(!). He struggled up to 2000ft, got the observers out safely but when he tried to stand up to jump out himself, the shear pin holding his harness ............... wouldn't shear. He managed to ditch it successfully - even with that crazy snail in the way. Lucky man. I remember one of our US pilots - BIG guy - was detailed to try the other shear pins. He couldn't break them - his verdict "fkn death traps".
Happy days!
I was on the Ark from Jan 76 until decommission and de-store in Devonport in 79 so I will have shared most of your memories. I remember the Gannet taking off without CATS and I remember going in to Malta with a US plane onboard.

crossle

1,520 posts

250 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
When I was at Flintshire College of Technology in the early seventies, we had a Gannet parked outside our tutorial "hangar".
As I recall, it was virtually airworthy, and we could play with the wing folding mechanism and other hydraulics.
It had been flown in to either Hawarden or Broughton, and ten towed by Land Rover down the main roads and through the narrow High Street of Connahs Quay, with our tutor at the controls - pictures in the local press at the time.
I found an image of it online the other day, so hope not infringing any copyright?

Also in the college collection was a Supermarine Swift, which used to have its engine started up regularly, to the consternation of the people in the adjacent civil engineering block, and the prototype of the HS125, which was endowed with wooden fairings to replicate the Dominie equipment covers, and copious amounts of filler on a leading edge following a ground handling incident at Hawker Siddeley.
As I recall, the Swift had been used for aquaplane testing by the RAE before it came to us.

Edited to add:

ETA:

Edited by crossle on Wednesday 30th July 11:51


Edited by crossle on Wednesday 30th July 12:19


Edited by crossle on Wednesday 30th July 12:25

TomJackUK

356 posts

171 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
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321FreeFlow - What was your role on Ark?

DamienB

1,189 posts

218 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Please, please, please don't use Service Jargon that us mere mortals don't always understand. It's not fair on the rest of us?

I'll a take wild guess and suggest that a US Navy "Cab" is perhaps a US Navy Carrier on Board Delivery (COD) Grumman Greyhound?
Blimey Eric. First you don't know there's been a Gannet airborne for months and now you don't know that cab = airframe? You're losing your anorak street cred man.

Here's the cab in question...



From this site: http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/v/navy_photos/?g2...

Simpo Two

85,147 posts

264 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
I worked out the meaning of 'cab' from the context (aeroplane) but have never heard it before. Does it refer to taxi? Anyway, time to grab my egg and fours and get the bacon delivered!

321freeflow

282 posts

220 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Sorry! Just some memories spilling freeform from an old man's head. rolleyes

I was a radio/radar tech on 849B. I learned my trade on the Buccaneer but when they moved South from Lossie, I decided to stay on Ground Radar. RNAS Brawdy (in Wales) was closed and 849 ended up at Lossie - I ended up on the APS20 radar(!) which was a serious shock after Blue Parrot (on the Bucc) - in fact, everything was a serious shock on the Gannet laugh

321freeflow

282 posts

220 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
DamienB said:
Blimey Eric. First you don't know there's been a Gannet airborne for months and now you don't know that cab = airframe? You're losing your anorak street cred man.

Here's the cab in question...



From this site: http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/v/navy_photos/?g2...
Wow - that's a great source - thank you! Checked the image of 849B flight line at Lossie and there's old 041 (XL 502) - seen at Elvington - in the foreground!

CobolMan

1,417 posts

206 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
There's a fair few that my old man flew in those pics.

Eric Mc

121,773 posts

264 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
DamienB said:
Blimey Eric. First you don't know there's been a Gannet airborne for months and now you don't know that cab = airframe? You're losing your anorak street cred man.

Here's the cab in question...



From this site: http://www.eacott.com.au/gallery/v/navy_photos/?g2...
Whole months?

Wow - I really am behind the times.

I usually rely on "Flypast" and "Aeroplane Monthly" for updates on the latest regarding restorations.

I never knew about the "Cab" description for aircraft. Do you know how this originated?

321freeflow

282 posts

220 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
I don't know where that name came from - but it still rings in my head "Oi! Your cab's on the line and needs chockin" (needs the wheels chocked).
"That cab's got no poles in!". The Gannets had wing-poles to support the folded ends - a right b*gger to locate/screw in when the Ark's into wind.

Eric Mc

121,773 posts

264 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Was it just a Royal Navy expression?

CobolMan

1,417 posts

206 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
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Primus video thumbup

andy97

4,691 posts

221 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
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I'm reasonably sure that "cab" as a slang term for aircraft is a tri-service term, whether helo or fixed wing.

The only time I have seen a Gannet fly must have been about 20 years ago - I think Dowty Rotol had one flying which they were using to investigate advanced propellor designs on contra rotating engines. It had a boom on one of the wings with micro phones iirc.

321freeflow

282 posts

220 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
CobolMan said:
There's a fair few that my old man flew in those pics.
Hats off to him then beer

We used to sit in the briefing room waiting for them to land on and you could check the "scoreboard" -
for their landing performances. If you earned your wings as a Navy pilot, you deserved them. We always had a couple of RAF or USN pilots, they struggled with the landings - and I always felt kind of sorry for the obs in the back. The Gannet looked an ungainly bird.
Different training/horses for courses etc but cross-operating on the Forrestal, the size of the deck compared to the Ark?! Free ice-cream always available too bounce

Eric Mc

121,773 posts

264 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
Watching a Gannet fold and unfold its wings is a performance in itself.

andy97

4,691 posts

221 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
Eric Mc said:
Watching a Gannet fold and unfold its wings is a performance in itself.
I have a memory of the Dowty-Rotol one being at Culdrose Air Day and "saluting" by folding the right wing only! And then spreading again!