“The Green Empire”

Author: Celia Cassingham, Museum Archivist

Part I of the series about the army aviation trades in the Archives started off by taking a look at what our Archives holds concerning the history of REME in army aviation, as well as training in the air trades as a whole. Part II had a look at the trade of the Aircraft Technician, so it is now the turn of the Avionics Technician in Part III.

Part 3: Avionics Technician

Today, Avionics Technicians inspect, repair and maintain technology from radar and navigation to communication and weapons control. Army helicopters such as the Apache, Lynx and Gazelle are/were heavily dependent on radar, radios, complex instruments and weapons systems, and it is the Avionics Technician’s job to keep it all working. This means maintaining every electrical part the aircraft possesses, including navigation and communication systems, control instruments, engine components and missile systems.

The British Army Website sums up the trade today as: making electronic repairs and maintaining systems on Army aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), avionics technicians being the experts behind the electronic systems that keep our helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) flying.

How it all began

In order to recap where it all started, we look once again at DME’s Liaison Letter No 41 of February 1958, which sets out the responsibilities of REME tradesmen and their training. The document provides an early reference to the electrical, instrument and radio work which would eventually develop into the avionics trade of today.

DME Liaison Letter, February 1958. E:06.0454.11.

In August 1958, the beginnings of the trade structure for REME engaged on aircraft servicing were the Aircraft Mechanics, initially mechanical tradesmen covering airframes and engines who were also trained to service radio, electrics and instruments at first line at the time.

By 1959, the trade had developed into that of Aircraft Mechanic with Artificer (Aircraft) and by 1963 the trades had been increased to three: Technician Aircraft (A&E – Airframes and Engines); Technician Aircraft (E&I – Electronics and Instruments) and Technician Aircraft (Radio) with Artificers Aircraft (AE) and (EIR). In 1964, E&I and Radio combined to Aircraft Technician (EIR), which later became known as Avionics.

In the early sixties, Artificers (Electrical Control), Artificers (Instrument) and Artificers (Telecommunications) were given conversion training to become Artificers Aircraft (EIR). In 1963, Electrics and Instruments were combined at the basic level, but radio trade training remained separate. A few years later selected students from SEE (School of Electronic Engineering) were sent to Middle Wallop for comprehensive equipment training for the combined trade of Technician Aircraft (EIR); the total training time at SEE and Middle Wallop was 65 weeks. From 1968, conversion training from other trades ceased and in 1972 the EIR Technician Trade was renamed Avionics Technician, with progression to Artificer Avionics. Artificer Aircraft (A,E) became Artificer Aircraft, and Technician Aircraft (A,E) became Technician Aircraft. By 1985, the trades had settled into those of Technician Aircraft and Technician Avionics, with Artificers Aircraft and Avionics.

The Green Empire

We re-visit the unit history of 656 Light Aircraft Squadron Workshop REME, Malaya (now Malaysia), 1961-1963, in the form of a photograph album held in our archives. It includes images from the workshop locations at RAF Kuala Lumpur; Noble Field, Kuala Lumpur and Kluang. Aircraft in use at the time were the fixed-wing Auster AOP Mk9 and DHC-2 Beaver AL1.

The following five photographs are from a section of the album labelled ‘The Green Empire’, depicting the Radio and E&I Bays. A:1968.0888.

The sub-title ‘The Green Empire’ may be a rather unfamiliar, albeit intriguing term with many readers, as it was for the author. An article published in the REME Journal Winter 2003, entitled REME Tradesmen. A Paean to their Skills by Major D Moore explains the reference. The scribe takes the liberty of quoting directly from the article:

“Meanwhile with the advent of the Scout and the arrival of the Beaver for the RCT Flights the need for the electronics tradesmen had arrived and the “Greenie” was born. Avionics Technicians arrived to make sense of the rather more complicated E, I and R problems which beset the Aircraft Technicians although the Artificers (Aircraft) still had to get on with the five trades (Engines, Airframes, Electrics, Instruments and Radio) as the Greenie Artificers did not arrive until later. As a short aside for the cognoscenti the term ‘greenie’ was imported to the Army by Royal Naval Artificers, Chief Petty Officers and Petty Officers and Naval Airmen who served so well with REME, in Flights, in Workshops and in the training organisation, in the early days. The term came from the naval practice of having coloured bands between the Officer’s rank stripes to denote the officer’s calling. Electronic officers wore green stripes; hence “The Green Empire” and thus “Greenies”.”

The author is uncertain as to whether this term remains in use today.

Training

As previously mentioned, the museum’s photograph collections demonstrate how the history of our trades can be told through our archive collections. The images from our collections that follow provide glimpses into training, the development of avionics and other aspects of unit life.

Arborfield Apprentice College Senior Division on Passing Out, Aug 1969. This is the only information we have about this photo. A:1975.1361.175.

EIR Toolkit. E:11.1235.

This exhibit indicates the complexity and the completeness of a First Line EIR tool kit. From a display showing basic electronic training common to Electronic Technicians and Aircraft Technicians (Electrics, Instruments and Radio).

Scout Helicopter Instrument Training Aid. E:11.1295.

General view of Scout helicopter training and a transportable classroom instructional model incorporating all Scout instrumentation and some supporting electrical circuits as a functional unit. The instrument panel, electrical console and ancillary equipment were used to simulate the operation of the Scout instrument installation in the classroom and for familiarisation in fault finding, tests and adjustments prior to work on actual aircraft.

Development of Avionics

According to Craftsmen of the Army, Vol II, the greatest aviation technical developments between 1969 and 1992 have occurred in the field of avionics. Avionics, which includes weapon systems, has continued to be the maintenance responsibility of just one widely skilled avionics trade discipline.

Final adjustment to Scout Avionics System. E:11.1298.

It was not possible to list of all the items which have come into service and the problems resulting from trying to fit them into already crowded cockpit displays and aircraft equipment bays, or finding places on the aircraft for the many, often conflicting, requirements for aerials. Among these major avionics items, though, have been the SS11 and TOW (Tube-launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-guided) weapons systems, tactical navigation systems, radar altimeters, automatic flight control systems, UHF (Ultra-High Frequency) homing, sonar locator beacons, laser range finding systems and various automatic test equipments and weapon training equipments. The Lynx with the TOW anti-tank missile was introduced in the late seventies. This history is also depicted in the unit and other photograph collections.

Glimpses of activities from the collections

Visit of HRH Prince Philip on 19 March 1976, viewing an avionics and armaments display. From the Aircraft Branch, Aircraft Technical Service Unit Scrapbook Vol 1. A:2014.7106.034.  

Lynx TOW system checks in the field, prior to live firing sorties. A:2011.5299.

Tuition on TOW, c1998. E:11.1126.

As an interview with an Avionics Technician in a Recruitment Brochure from 2004 notes, day-to-day tasks encountered include: dealing with faults on helicopters; sorting out power supplies; daily flight servicing and re-doing instrument panels. It also noted that working on the TOW Missile system on the Lynx is one of the trickiest parts of the job.

TOW Missile checks in the field, 1991. E:07.1164.036. Published in The Craftsman, September 1991.

An Avionics Technician working inside the confined space of the rear compartment, or boot, of Lynx Helicopter. E:07.1164.01. Photograph courtesy of Public Information HQ 3 Armd Div. Published in The Craftsman, September 1991.

651 Light Aircraft Squadron Workshop, REME team for the Kings Cup Air Race, September 1959. Placed fifth in the race and won the Orsam Trophy for the maximum points obtained in the intermediate heats. The aircraft was prepared in the field while on annual camp at Rollestone, near Salisbury. A:1975.1361.061.

An EIR problem being dealt with by the project team for 70AC Workshop, at the London to Sydney Air Race. A:1975.1361.217.

71 Aircraft Workshop, Motor Cycle Display Team, C1970 Army Championships - Best REME Team. A:1975.1361.277.

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In addition to the sources in the archives, the author also made use of Malcom Heppolette’s article: History of REME Trade Changes since its Formation in 1942, REME Journal, 2011 and the excellent sections relevant to the history of REME Aviation in our REME history volumes, Craftsmen of the Army, Volumes I to III and the British Army Official Website.

Published in The Craftsman, October 2025.