George Stewart DFC, 23 Squadron, Little Snoring
Former Mosquito pilot, George Stewart DFC, recently accepted an invitation to become an affiliate of The People’s Mosquito George, a Canadian, flew 50 Ops on Mosquito with No 23 Squadron: July-November 1944 – all by the time he was 21.
He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for this work, which was mostly day/night Intruder Operations.
George Stewart, aged 19 years old, can be seen in the photograph above in 1944 (courtesy of George E Stewart).
This is an extract from his citation:
‘Flying Officer Stewart’s eagerness to operate against the enemy, his unflagging zeal and determination combined with his devotion to duty have won the admiration of all.’
After the war, George spent time in China training Chinese Nationalist Air Force pilots on the aircraft in an effort to reduce their frightening loss of pilots to accidents. Both his unsurpassable knowledge of flying the Mosquito and his unquenchable enthusiasm for it will be of the utmost value to The People’s Mosquito as they move ahead with their Project.
The People’s Mosquito has a simple vision: to see the return to the UK skies of the de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito. The Project is a non-profit and benevolent one that reflects the public movement seen during the Second World War when many aircraft were funded by the people: companies, towns, villages and organisations. We plan to replicate that model by asking the people of the United Kingdom to help us restore to airworthy condition this magnificent flying memorial that captures the spirit, the pride, the design brilliance and above all the courage of our nation.
Already over the last eighteen months, George has given invaluable advice to both the Kiwi and U.S. pilots who have flown KA114, which they have all used to good effect.
Recently, an article written by George Stewart appeared on The People’s Mosquito website, in which he shares photographs illustrating the original asymmetric power technique that resulted in so many ground-loops and crashes on take-off, and describes the Zero Boost method he developed for making Mosquito launches safer.
ASYMMETRIC POWER versus George Stewart’s Zero Boost Method
These three photographs show the original technique (asymmetric power) taught at High Ercall, 60 O.T.U, when we first checked out on the Mosquito, September 1943, as we gingerly countered torque and crosswind, easing the port throttle ahead of the starboard (using a lot of runway)!!
Asymmetric power made clearly visible by the single prop vortex.
The second picture shows the too often resulting ground-loop, which followed when things didn’t work out too well. These examples happened in China, when we instructed there in 1948 and we had dozens of these during our nine months there, before the cure.
Results of the all too regular groundloop in China, 1948.
The third picture taken by me at that time in Shanghai, which inspired my Zero Boost method used in flying KA114.
The Missing Link between discovery and use of the Zero Boost method – note asymmetric power.
I assumed that, since this was prop wash, with NO slipstream, that there would be rudder control from the moment you released your brakes, instead of at 70mph, when the tail would have come up, putting the rudder into the slipstream, well down the runway.
Asymmetric Power became redundant! Balanced Power at Zero Boost on the brakes before rolling ahead, was born!
Simultaneously, as you release the brakes, Power quickly to the gate; Stick full forward (we’ll get there eventually), and full right rudder to counter the resulting left turn from torque and steer straight down the runway. Take-off power is usually achieved by the time you’d run the length of the aircraft! The huge bonus was that the critical Single Engine Safety Speed would easily be reached by the end of the runway!!! (not so, the old way). In hopes to establish this as a standard, it is my recommendation that the Gate be set at 14lbs, Boost to continue that capability.
George’s invaluable advice will help ensure that, once The People’s Mosquito is ready to roll, she will take off safely, as has been the case with KA114.
The Zero Boost method in practice as Mike Spalding launches Mosquito FB.26 KA114, June 2013
Not only is George a great Pilot, he is also a Poet and his poem ‘Why?’ features in this Winter edition’s ‘A Quiet Corner’ where, in reading it, many of us will identify with the question he is asking … and take hope in the answer that comes.
George and I (Janine) write often, and he was kind enough recently to send me a complete photograph and background to his sitting on the nose of his aircraft as the picture was shot all those years ago:
Left-right: W/Cdr Murphy, F/Lt Curd, F/Lt Joynson, F/Lt Griffiths, S/Ldr Russell, F/O Cockayne, F/Lt Smith, F/O Heath,
W/O Rann, F/Lt Reid, F/Lt Gregory, Lt Christie, P/O Sutcliffe, F/O Atherton, F/S Howes, F/O Beaudet, P/O Neil, F/S
Chessell, F/O Bessy, F/S Wilson, F/S …, F/Lt Badley, F/S Barn, F/O Cotter, F/S …, F/S Devliss, F/S Weston, F/O Spetch,
F/Lt Ramsay, F/S Goodman, F/S Gawthorne, F/O Smith. George known as ‘Toots’ is sitting on the nose.
‘Here’s our Squadron photo, from the old days, Oct 1944. The aircraft is PZ-448, YP-J, in which Paul and I flew on Ops that night, ground straffing in the Paderborn area; bombing a railway, severely damaging one train, plus damaging two more, as we commenced our extended tour of 15 trips (to 50). F/O Joynson, pictured third from the left went missing that night. They towed this aircraft out of the maintenance hangar, following a regular inspection. I noticed that it was my aircraft, and said; “That’s my aircraft; I’m climbing up on the nose” which I did, and some guy closed the door!
Sticky Murphy, who was standing off to the left, said; “Just shoot the damned thing!” And so that is how it happened. We lost Sticky a few weeks later, on 2 December, 1944, on a trip to Guttersloh (where Ken Eastwood was lost on 18 September, when, as ‘spare crew’, he took my trip, because I crashed my Mosquito on landing with a blown tyre, while doing my Night Flying Test). I was sent to Guttersloh on my 49th trip, to see if I could sense anything that might have caused those two losses, but there was no activity other than the usual scanning we heard in our headsets …’
George Stewart
With thanks to The People’s Mosquito
This article is from the Winter 2013 issue of Confound and Destroy
