The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe, 1939-1945 by David Hobbs

Author:David Hobbs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Seaforth Publishing
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
Published: 2021-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

The lessons drawn from the failure of this torpedo attack were taken very seriously by NAD. Larger and faster ships were made available to act as targets in the Firth of Forth for TBR pilots to carry out attack drills with practice torpedoes and these helped to ensure that pilots, especially those new pilots coming through the TBR pipeline at RNAS Crail, were able to estimate target range accurately. Efforts were also made to design and build a torpedo attack trainer, TAT, effectively the first synthetic pilot training simulator, at Crail. It was the first device of its kind and was designed to meet an Admiralty specification by ‘Fitups’,21 a firm of theatrical scenery and lighting manufacturers based in London and Manchester. It consisted of a solid, circular screen known as a cyclorama, 44ft in diameter and 23ft high and curved inwards at the top and bottom. A small aeroplane-shaped training device, based on the Link Trainer, was placed in the centre and control inputs from its cockpit moved it like a real aircraft in pitch, yaw and roll, although it remained fixed to the floor. Clever lighting effects helped to give the pilot a feeling of speed, height and movement while he carried out a torpedo attack profile. A 10-degree segment of the cyclorama was open to allow access and to provide space for the control position, to the rear of the little aircraft. This contained the instructor’s position, which had lighting controls and a glass-topped table with two recorders that traced the courses of the attack aircraft and the target. The building’s inside walls were painted black, helping the lighting to simulate effects inside the cyclorama, including both fleecy and stormy clouds, sunny day, stormy day, moonlight, dark night, sunset, rain, sleet and many others all controlled through a motor-driven dimmer bank operated by push-button selector control. Special lanterns also shone on to the cyclorama floor to give the impression of forward motion over the sea, turning and diving. The lighting was fixed in a gantry suspended over the ‘aircraft’, which also contained an epidiascope that projected the image of the target ship. This image could be varied in size and inclination according to the position of the attack aircraft set up by the pilot in the simulator. Accurately made brass models of German and Japanese warships were used for this purpose, each scaled at 100ft to 1in.

A practice torpedo attack on the target ship Glenavon in the Firth of Forth by a Barracuda from RNAS Crail. The splash from the torpedo is on the right and it is running accurately towards its target. Every aircraft photographed its target during practice attacks so that range and inclination could be assessed accurately. Attacks were also photographed by an instructor overhead to assist in debriefs. Unfortunately, I am not aware that any of these photographs survived. May Island is visible on the horizon. (Author’s collection)

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