1 Air Division

Aerobatic Teams at North Luffenham

The arrival of 410 Squadron in England with their Sabre 2s was big news as it marked the first time in history that a Commonwealth squadron had more modern equipment than the Royal Air Force. With the USAF having already deployed the F-86A in Europe, the RAF was feeling decidedly behind the power curve. They badly wanted into the Sabre program - when North American Aircraft could not oblige the SAir Ministry's request, they turned to Canadair who came to the rescue. The RAF finally joined the "swept wing" club in January 1953, eventually taking delivery of 430 Canadair Sabres, primarily Mk 4s.

Meanwhile, 410 pilots were merrily adapting to their new environment in North Luffenham - engaging in air-to-air GCI (ground control intercept) exercises and air-to-ground gunnery practice on a routine basis. For the locals, it was impossible to miss the clean lines of the Sabre or the beautiful contrails the Canadian gaggles were weaving over the Engligh countryside whenever the weather permitted. Being keen aviation enthusiasts, it was only natural that British citizens wanted to get a closer look at the new aircraft. One of their first opportunities to do so was at the National Air Races held at Newcastle on July 12th, 1952. Led by their new OC, S/L Duke Warren (an ex-Spitfire pilot), the Cougars were happy to oblige a request to put on a display for the air race fans, doing so with five Sabres. Warren's wingmen were F/O's Garth Cinnamon, Bob Gibson, Len Bentham and Francis Syllvester. By all accounts, they put on a dazzling display, demonstrating "a new high in aerial wizardry" according to the 410 Squadron History book. News of the Cougar participation made it all the way back to Canadian newspapers, complete with photographs.

At the end of July 1952, Duke Warren led the squadron to Soosterburg, Holland to participate in a major airshow at Typenburg Airport (The Hague) on August 2nd and 3rd. Over 100,000 spectators took in thethree-and-a-half hour non-stop show. One of the many fascinations with the Sabre was its ability to break the sound barrier, dropping a sonic boom that could be heard for miles. The mere thought of an aircraft going that fast stirred the imagination and naturally, the Dutch airshow organizers were eager to have the Canadians how off this capability. Holland is of course a beautiful land of windmills, canals, fields-upon-fields of flowers and ... greenhouses.. lots of them! Duke Warren was careful to warn the airshow organizers that sonic booms would break glass in the area. "Do you really want the booms"? They did - and they got them - along with a lot of broken glass. There were no repercussions, however, the locals being suitably impressed. Press accounts the next day praised the Canadian presence - "One of the highlights of the demonstrations was the formation of twelve Canadian Sabres, creating waves of sensation among the crowd by sweeping again and again across the field at the rate of more than 1,000 km an hour" (Haarlems Dagbad, Haarlem); "The exhibition of the twelve Canadians, in three teams of four, over Ypenburg was bewildering." (De Maasbode, Rotterdam); "The Sabres punctured the barrier with an almost deafening bang.: (Dagbl.voor N.Limberg, Venlo)