Burma. c. 1945. While Warrant Officer D. J. Grapes of Sandowne, Isle of Wight, prepares to take ...

Burma. c. 1945. While Warrant Officer D. J. Grapes of Sandowne, Isle of Wight, prepares to take off for a flight, the Meteorological men prepare the psychrometer which is set in the wind and gives the right temperature readings whilst in flight. They are Leading Aircraftman S. G. Gamm of Brixton Hill, London (left) and Corporal G. Cywan of Maida Vale, London. 'As long as you get off the deck, you make the trip'. An RAF Metereological Flight of three aircraft operating under Eastern Air Command, has lived up to that principle so well, that on no day since the unit was formed in November 1943 has it failed to make its air observation flights. It has been a commonplace thing for 'Met' pilots to fly when every other aircraft in the area is grounded. Their Hurricane aircraft with a stormy weather Gremlin mascot painted on the nose have frequently been seen to take off with a forty-five mile an hour wind blowing across the runway. As the most easterly 'Met' unit, the reports brought back, have been of vital importance for aircraft operating over the battle front of Burma, and the Arakan.