CONCORDE
Page 43
Page 42
Page 44
Page 47
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
F the future operations involving the Concorde are as efficient as was this land/sea operation then the two constructing cornanies can look ahead with confidence. From Toulouse to Southmpton the man responsible for the general, and in some instances, etalled organization was Sud Aviation's transport manager, 4. Alfred Bastide. His pre-planning ensured the safe and punctual. elivery of sections 16 and 18 to BAC's Mr. John Gregory at outhampton.
The route, 820 km., from Toulouse to Le Havre passed through 'oitiers, Tours, Le Mans, Alencon and Pont de Tancarville. The rench highways although straight are both narrow and, in long tretches, poorly surfaced. The dozens of villages between main owns have not been designed to take regular long convoys travelling .t speed. Tourist traffic, domestic traffic and long-distance 2ontinental trunking vehicles occupied the highway along with .Project Concorde". These and many other operational difficulties tad to be considered by M. Bastide as he planned the route, and iways at the back of his thoughts must have been the quotation: .Time and tide wait for no man", because he had two tides to catch. kdd to all this the fact that missing one tide would have meant Iropping a 220 yd.-long convoy into the centre of the British Bank loliday traffic. Quite a thought, and nothing could be left to chance.
■ lothing was. Alfred Bastide travelled the route in advance, he noted lifficulties, tuned sections, planned stops for refreshment and sleep tnd briefed his six-man crew.
Dick Ross an I joined the party at Poitiers where the Starete qationale, under the charge of Lt. Daniel Courivaud took over ;scort duties. This aspect of the operation was as efficient as anyhing I have ever seen. Four officers controlled the traffic; villages Ind towns were warned of the approach of the long, wide convoy; oncoming traffic was waved into the side of the highway; vehicles were directed on to the grass verge; following traffic was waved on and passed on the offside of the convoy. Thus vast holdups were avoided. There were inevitable traffic delays in towns but immediately we cleared a town the convoy rested and traffic flowed freely. I associate myself with the convoy because our Vauxhall Viva was soon accepted as being part of the proceedings. The whistles and sirens of the Siirete's 500 c.c. motorcycles added colour to an already colourful and exciting transport operation.
At speeds varying from 10-45 m.p.h. the convoy moved steadily from 4.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. each day. I had imagined that for such an operation new and powerful tractive units with the latest design in trailers would have been used, but this was not so. M. Bastide had chosen to use two 1957 Ballet MDX24, dropside lorries with the rear side-capes removed to allow manoeuvrability of the projecting load. The vehicles had been thoroughly serviced before "Project Concorde" began and were checked each day at 4 a.m., before the convoy moved.
The trailers were designed and built by Sud Aviation; they were constructed to meet all foreseeable requirements and to negotiate all structural obstacles. I was impressed by the simplicity of design but I confess I was a little worried by the tow hitch. This was a hook with a spring clip holding the tow bar in position. As we travelled at the higher speeds along Route Nationale 10, I recalled seeing a 4.75 in. AA gun coming adrift from the same type of hitch at the Seine some 20 years ago and disappearing in a ripple of bubbles. Suffice it to say section 16 and 18 did not suffer the same fate.
Communications played a big part in the success of the operation. The Stirete were always in contact with the gendarme well ahead of the convoy and we enjoyed maximum co-operation from all local forces because they knew in advance what was approaching. The two Berliets and the scout car with M. Bastide were in contact with each other by Radiomatic telephone. We were kept posted with events by the Surete.
It appeared that no matter what difficulty arose the transport manager of Sud Aviation had the answer ready, as a result of his pre-planning. At Sainte Maure the convoy halted for running repairs to the cover of the load. Out came p.v.c. patches, masking tape and glue and under the guidance of M. Antoine Roque the broken seals were repaired.
A railway bridge delayed the convoy for 45 minutes but this had been allowed for. The width of the railway bridge at La Menibrolle station has been reduced to one vehicle width by the erection of 24 in. fenders. The height of the trailer from ground level was 22 in., which was necessary for a later operation at Le Havre. The vehicles stopped, and out came the crews with jacks and skids. The body was jacked up to clear the fenders, and the 4 in. skids were placed under the wheels; the trailer was therefore lifted above the height of the fender and the vehicle moved slowly Over. Traffic wishing to use the bridge was diverted until this part of the operation was completed.
At Ecommoy, where the convoy required to make a sharp right turn at the town square, the road camber had to be corrected. Again the skids came into play and in five minutes the correction had been made and we were under way. These delays were compensated for at other times. Outside Le Mans on the Mulsanne straight we raced along in grand style but further delays lay ahead. Le Mans is a real hazard to this type of traffic and so a detour had been planned. This detour added about 12 miles to the direct route but it also provided M. Bastide with a further opportunity to demonstrate his
ngenuity. We came to a hairpin bend, the convoy halted, and out umped the crews—this time with an extended towbar. The Berliet was unhitched and the longer tow bar fitted. The vehicle was relitched and the 72 ft. load slipped round the hairpin as if it were tegotiating a slow bend on M6.
The Concorde will be test flown in 1968 and it is hoped it will )e in service by the early part of 1972. It will fly at 1,500 m.p.h.. ind carry 130 passengers, flying time from London to New York wing 3 hr. 17 min. I mention this here because as we skirted Le Vlaris we passed a memorial plinth to Wilbur Wright, a pioneer of iviation. I wondered, as we inched our way round the memorial, if le ever dreamt of speeds like this. Another thought occurred.. was his another example of the ingenious route planning of Alfred Bastide?
After Le Mans it became apparent that the schedule was getting ight and we raced through Alencon, Sees, Nonpant-le-Pin to Berney end on to Pont Audemer. Here the convoy rested, but only for a 'ew hours because it was essential that we should leave again at 5 a.111. to catch the tide at Le Havre. In fact two tides had to be ..;aught. At 13.00 hr., Viking II was carrying section 16 to Southimpton and at 23.00 hr. section 18 was leaving on Viking III.
Section 16 made an uneventful crossing, being the smaller of the :wo pieces; it was 70 ft. long, 8 ft. 9 in. wide and 8 ft. 8 in. high. 3ection 18 was a different proposition, 72 ft. long, 13 ft. 2 in. wide Ind 13 ft. 11 in. high. This was the major and most difficult part of he entire operation. To ensure a level approach to the Le Havre ink span, the local authority broke up the road surface on the lock, thus ensuring that the 2+ in. clearance each side would be xmal from ground level to the topmost point of the load. The load wight of 13 ft. 11 in. was too high for entry through the ferry ar deck and the 750 X 20 wheels had to be replaced with smaller 'slave" wheels. The Berliet was unhitched, the longer tow hitch was mounted and the tractive unit nosed on to the trailer. As the truck reversed on to the ferry inch by inch the strain on the faces of the vehicle crew, the shipping agents, and Thoresen's office staff in:Teased until at last she was inboard, tension eased, and at
23.45 hr., Mlle. J. Roullin sent off a Telex message to Mr. John Probert at Thoresen, Southampton: "Concorde safely aboard we are all so happy".
For the next six hours tension in Southampton built up. The 2+ in. clearance at the link span became more important as each moment passed. Soon the Viking docked. Holidaymakers returning on the ferry were unaware, as they ran off to the Customs office, of the tension, which had reached its peak. The ballast vehicles supplied by Hill and Sons, of Botley, and by Thornycroft, Southampton, were first ashore. Then came the final width measurement of the link span cable drums. These rollers had been lifted 4 ft. to provide the necessary clearance. The final adjustments were made and section 18 rolled slowly forward.
The Berliet passed the cable drum, then the trailer towbar and then Concorde. Slowly the gap narrowed from 3 ft. of clearance down to 3 in. Driver Henri Giuseppin perspired freely as he fixed his eye on his guide, inch by inch the 14-ton load moved up the link span until at last she was ashore to a great burst of applause from
dock hands, British drivers and Viking's crew. M. Alfred Bastide, his part of the operation complete, shook hands all round and passed over responsibility for Project Concorde to Mr. John Gregory, manager, General Services, BAC.
After the excitement of the Southampton link span operation anything which followed would have-to be an anti-climax. There was doubtless less excitement in the second phase of the operation but it was equally efficient. John Gregory conveyed his wishes to his colleagues in one simple sentence: "Right, we will now push on to Filton!"
The slave wheels were removed and replaced by the conventional road wheels; documentation was completed and we were off once again. The exit from Southampton docks caused an initial delay, overcome once again by the use of skids. We skirted the town and despite a traffic holdup caused by a parked car we were clear of Southampton in 20 min.
Unlike the Siirete, who provided two escorts for the entire run through France, we had now a number of escort changes as we moved from city to country or changed counties. These changes were, however, so efficiently carried out that they were barely noticeable.
Concorde is a joint project. Britain and France bear equal responsibilities in the planning, administration and production of the aircraft. Components will be passing between Elton and Toulouse and vice versa for many months. I understand there will be 15 consignments in each direction before the first aircraft is completed. Responsibility and credit will be equally shared and orders for 100 are anticipated with confidence. This confidence can be justified—and I make no apology for the repetition—if all other operations are as carefully planned and as methodically executed as was the transport operation of Project Concorde.