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Hydrogen Bomb At 5.51 a.m. on Monday last (local time), over the target island of Namu, in the Bikini atoll, America exploded her first hydrogen bomb to be dropped from an aeroplane. The weapon was released from a B-52 at 50,000ft and detonated as planned at an altitude of 10,000ft. Code-named “Cherokee,” and the eighth hydrogen-type device to be tested by the United States, this is believed to have been the first true “hydrogen fusion” weapon. The explosion was unofficially estimated to be the equivalent to that of at least 15 million tons of T.N.T. Helicopter arrest Possibly the first arrest ever made by a helicopter crew occurred in Cyprus recently, after Cpl. P. J. Hale had been shot by terrorists while working in a hut just outside the guarded perimeter of Nicosia airfield. Two helicopters were actually involved in the operation. One had been standing by for air/sea rescue duties and another was waiting for just such an eventuality. Minutes after the alarm was given both machines were airborne and helping troops search for the terrorists. A few minutes later one of the pilots spotted a man hiding in a tree and landed close by. The man was arrested and flown back to the airfield to be put under guard. Folding rotors Long suggested by many inventors, the concept of employing a folding rotor on a fixed-wing aircraft has now been carried to the point where flight testing is an immediate prospect. The company is Hiller Helicopters, of Palo Alto, California, who have completed the work under contract to the U.S.A.F. Air Research and Development Command. Foundation With an elaborate ceremony the foundation stone of Idlewild’s £10m new terminal building has just been laid. It will be able to handle passengers from 140 aircraft at a time. |
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Source: Flight International