Faults In Fill ‘No Surprise To R.A.F.'

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31678, 14 May 1968, Page 17

Faults In Fill ‘No Surprise To R.A.F.'

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright)

LONDON, May 13.

The snags in America’s Fill swing-wing fighter-bomber are so serious that the planes may be grounded for a long time and may not be used in Vietnam, where their role was allweather pin-point bombing, the “Daily Telegraph” reports.

After the seventh crash, all Fill flights have been restric ted by the United States Air Force.

The "Daily Telegraph” air correspondent. Air Commodore E. M. Donaldson, says this is causing Australia great anxiety, because the Fills ordered instead of Britain's TSR2 and due for delivery this year are bound to be delayed. Already, the air commodore writes, the Australians have been embarrassed by the treb ling of the price of the Fill

since it was offered, in competition with the TSR2, “at a price impossible to refuse."

American sources have indicated that the restriction on the Fill flights results from the suspected failure of the automatic radar navigation and piloting system, and Air Commodore Donaldson says this was no surprise to the Royal Air Force. There had been growing concern at the number of shortfalls in performance that had come to light in the last month of the plane’s operational testing, he adds.