The Royal Air Force at Mitchel Field
Title
The Royal Air Force at Mitchel Field
Description
Photograph 1 is a line of airmen and a guard of honour in front of a Lancaster. Item 1 is a newspaper cutting referring to the arrival of the Lancasters over New York. Item 2 refers to the arrival of the Lancasters and includes an air to air shot of 12 Lancasters over New York. It is dated 18 July 1946. Item 3 is a newspaper cutting 'Bronxite in RAF on Goodwill Visit'. A native of the Bronx is on detachment to 35 squadron. The cutting refers to the arrival of 35 squadron in New York. Photograph 2 is seven airmen captioned 'The crew with Eddy (central) Tommy, Self, Jack, Ted, Tedney, Charlie'. Photograph 3 is 12 airmen standing in front of a Lancaster captioned 'A good load for an equally good kite Crew & Passengers'.
Date
1946-07-18
Temporal Coverage
Language
Format
Three b/w photographs and three newspaper cuttings on a scrapbook page.
Publisher
Rights
This content is available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 International license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0). It has been published ‘as is’ and may contain inaccuracies or culturally inappropriate references that do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the University of Lincoln or the International Bomber Command Centre. For more information, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ and https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/legal.
Identifier
SMathersRW55201v10017
Transcription
[photograph]
[page break]
[missing letters].F. THRILLS [missing letter]EW YORK
[missing letters]m Johnson Turner
[missing word][italics] Chronicle special cor[missing letters]ent with the Lancaster [missing letters]all mission now in U.S. [/italics]
[missing word] YORK, Saturday. – The [missing word] thrill for New Yorkers [missing word] was the spectacular [missing letters]ion flight of the 16 R.A.F. [missing letters]sters over the city’s sky[missing letters]rs.
[missing letters]ough the crews were unused [missing word] violent air currents that [missing word] in America at this time [missing word] they handled their planes [missing letters] ficently as they roared down [missing letters] ngth of Manhattan in the [missing letters] at possible formation.
[missing letters]tain’s youngest Wing-Com[missing letters]er, Alan Craig, D.S.O. D.F.C.
“This was one of the most [missing letters]alt formation flights the [missing letters]ron have ever made. I was [missing letters]g as much as five hundred [missing letters]n the most violent bumps.”
[missing word] add to the crews’ discomfort [missing word] interior of the planes were too [missing word] to touch and most of the men [missing word] bathing trunks.
MONDAY, JULY 22, 1946 and Morning Post Printed in LONDON and MANCH[missing letters]
[photograph]
LANCASTER BOMBERS of the famous Pathfinder Squadron No. 35 in flight over the East River, New York, last Thursday. These R.A.F. planes have been sent on a good will mission to the United States.
[underlined] 18 JULY 1946. [/underlined]
[photograph]
The crew with Eddy (centre), Tommy, Self, Jack, Paddy, Ted, Tedney, Chalrie
Bronxite in RAF on Goodwill Visit
The Bronx has a Yank in the R.A.F. He is Tech Sgt. Edward S. Machonis, 728 Elton Ave, who has been placed on detached service with Squadron 35 of the Royal Air Force, now on a good will tour of the United States.
Because of his rating as chief operator of the Army communications service at Mitchel Field, the sergeant was assigned to brief the crews of the giant four motored Lancaster bombers on American communication data.
He was flown to Gander Field, Newfoundland, to meet the 16 bombers on their flight from England.
“I was taken up to Newfoundland by Squadron Leader Pearson, who preceded the main flight.
It was my job to see they were thoroughly informed about radio ranges and communication facilities that would be encountered during their trip,” he said.
Crews Were Briefed
The visiting airmen were grouped in a hangar on the field, and the 24-year-old American sergeant presented the information to them. Following his talk, he invited questions.
With all routine matters taken care of, the flight to New York continued. “We had prefect weather coming down. It couldn’t have been better if we personally ordered it,” the sergeant said.
The 207 officers and enlisted men of the British Squadron were welcomed at the Long Island airport on Wednesday by civil and Army officials, which included Col. L. R. Parker, base commander of the field: Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, Gen. Jimmie Doolittle and Frederick Reinicke, New York City Commissioner of Aviation.
[photograph]
Tech. Sgt. Edward S, Machonis
Flew Over City
On Thursday, the 16 huge bombers flew over the city as the first mission of their tour. Sgt Machonis, supervising the radio communications, lauded the cooperation and efficiency of the crews.
“Their lead navigator,” he said, “told us we would be over the Empire States building at exactly 1.20 p.m. We hit it right on the second.”
Headed by Wing Commander Allan J. I. Craig, the Lancasters will tour the States as guests of the Army Air Forces and will hold the position of honor [sic] in an aerial review to be held on Air Force Day, Aug. 1, over Los Angeles. On Aug. 18, the squadron will arrive at Mitchel Field and will then return to England.
Sgt Machonis, who lives with his Australian wife, Iris, and their nine-months-old baby Michael, is not impressed with the unusual duty that has been assigned to him.
The sergeant has been in the Army over four years and intends to make a career of it.
[photograph]
A good load for an equally good kite Crew and Passengers
[page break]
[missing letters].F. THRILLS [missing letter]EW YORK
[missing letters]m Johnson Turner
[missing word][italics] Chronicle special cor[missing letters]ent with the Lancaster [missing letters]all mission now in U.S. [/italics]
[missing word] YORK, Saturday. – The [missing word] thrill for New Yorkers [missing word] was the spectacular [missing letters]ion flight of the 16 R.A.F. [missing letters]sters over the city’s sky[missing letters]rs.
[missing letters]ough the crews were unused [missing word] violent air currents that [missing word] in America at this time [missing word] they handled their planes [missing letters] ficently as they roared down [missing letters] ngth of Manhattan in the [missing letters] at possible formation.
[missing letters]tain’s youngest Wing-Com[missing letters]er, Alan Craig, D.S.O. D.F.C.
“This was one of the most [missing letters]alt formation flights the [missing letters]ron have ever made. I was [missing letters]g as much as five hundred [missing letters]n the most violent bumps.”
[missing word] add to the crews’ discomfort [missing word] interior of the planes were too [missing word] to touch and most of the men [missing word] bathing trunks.
MONDAY, JULY 22, 1946 and Morning Post Printed in LONDON and MANCH[missing letters]
[photograph]
LANCASTER BOMBERS of the famous Pathfinder Squadron No. 35 in flight over the East River, New York, last Thursday. These R.A.F. planes have been sent on a good will mission to the United States.
[underlined] 18 JULY 1946. [/underlined]
[photograph]
The crew with Eddy (centre), Tommy, Self, Jack, Paddy, Ted, Tedney, Chalrie
Bronxite in RAF on Goodwill Visit
The Bronx has a Yank in the R.A.F. He is Tech Sgt. Edward S. Machonis, 728 Elton Ave, who has been placed on detached service with Squadron 35 of the Royal Air Force, now on a good will tour of the United States.
Because of his rating as chief operator of the Army communications service at Mitchel Field, the sergeant was assigned to brief the crews of the giant four motored Lancaster bombers on American communication data.
He was flown to Gander Field, Newfoundland, to meet the 16 bombers on their flight from England.
“I was taken up to Newfoundland by Squadron Leader Pearson, who preceded the main flight.
It was my job to see they were thoroughly informed about radio ranges and communication facilities that would be encountered during their trip,” he said.
Crews Were Briefed
The visiting airmen were grouped in a hangar on the field, and the 24-year-old American sergeant presented the information to them. Following his talk, he invited questions.
With all routine matters taken care of, the flight to New York continued. “We had prefect weather coming down. It couldn’t have been better if we personally ordered it,” the sergeant said.
The 207 officers and enlisted men of the British Squadron were welcomed at the Long Island airport on Wednesday by civil and Army officials, which included Col. L. R. Parker, base commander of the field: Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, Gen. Jimmie Doolittle and Frederick Reinicke, New York City Commissioner of Aviation.
[photograph]
Tech. Sgt. Edward S, Machonis
Flew Over City
On Thursday, the 16 huge bombers flew over the city as the first mission of their tour. Sgt Machonis, supervising the radio communications, lauded the cooperation and efficiency of the crews.
“Their lead navigator,” he said, “told us we would be over the Empire States building at exactly 1.20 p.m. We hit it right on the second.”
Headed by Wing Commander Allan J. I. Craig, the Lancasters will tour the States as guests of the Army Air Forces and will hold the position of honor [sic] in an aerial review to be held on Air Force Day, Aug. 1, over Los Angeles. On Aug. 18, the squadron will arrive at Mitchel Field and will then return to England.
Sgt Machonis, who lives with his Australian wife, Iris, and their nine-months-old baby Michael, is not impressed with the unusual duty that has been assigned to him.
The sergeant has been in the Army over four years and intends to make a career of it.
[photograph]
A good load for an equally good kite Crew and Passengers
Collection
Citation
“The Royal Air Force at Mitchel Field,” IBCC Digital Archive, accessed April 26, 2024, https://ibccdigitalarchive.lincoln.ac.uk/omeka/collections/document/9621.
Item Relations
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