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Aviation History
1912
1912 - 0188.PDF
[/TJGHT MARCH 2, 1912. THE SERVICE GRANT FOR AVIATION. LORD HAI.DANE'S announcement, in his memorandum issued with the Army Estimates on Tuesday night, in regard to the increased provision for the " Fourth Arm " has been favourably received ; and although the sum asked for is very inadequate as compared with the sums devoted to this side of military requirements by other countries, the amount must be regarded as a generous start under the apathetic conditions hitherto obtaining in this country in connection with aviation. And it is noteworthy that this increased amount accounts for the total increase in the full Estimates for the year. Lord Haldane, in dealing with this part of his figures says:— " Sufficient experience has now been gained in military aviation to warrant advance on less tentative lines ; and after careful considera tion by the Committee of Imperial Defence, it has been decided to establish at once a joint Army and Navy School of Aviation, at which officers of both services shall be taught to fly, before pro ceeding to the separate Army and Navy establishments at which they will be exercised in the more specialised requirements of their respective services. " A site for the school has been selected on Salisbury Plain, and the purchase of the necessary land will be completed at the beginning of April. Building, to plans which have been already prepared, will be pressed forward rapidly, and it is hoped at a very early date to have accommodation at the school for officers and men, instructors and mechanics, as well as the necessary sheds for aero planes and workshops for their repairs and adjustment. Provision has also been made on an extended scale for purchase of aeroplanes and other necessary equipment for the school. " Officers of both Services will be employed on the staff of the school, and its expenses (other than cost of land) will be shared between Army and Navy votes. " The Estimates further provide for continuing the experimental and other work of the Army Aircraft Factory, for further buildings- required for airships, for an addition of personnel to Army establish ments for aeroplane work, and for a considerable number of aero planes as a first instalment of the equipment of the Field Army. " The total provision for the above services made in these Esti mates compares with that made in 1911-12, as follows :— Establishment of Army personnel for aero nautical work Premiums to officers gaining pilots' cer tificates ... Staff of new school . Aeroplanes, stores, and materials for factory and school Buildings, including Army share of school buildings ... Land for school Less Admiralty contribution to general expenses of school Increased provision 1912-13. £ 25,000 3.000 5,000 161,000 38,000 90,000 322,030 14,000 308,000 £177 1911-12 £ 20, OOO 85,000- 26,00O — I3I,03O — 131,000 OOO " Last Year's Work. IN connection with the developments in Army aviation, fore shadowed by the Army Estimates, the following excerpt from the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General_ on the Army Appropriation Account for 1910-11, dealing with the Aircraft Factory, makes interesting reading :— " The value of the articles manufactured and services performed, including semi-manufacture, shows a considerable increase upon 1909-10, being £24,087, as compared with .£13,573 in the previous year, while the stores in stock stood at £12,092 on March 31st, as compared with £4,945 a' the corresponding date in 1910. The variation in price in certain cases is being inquired into by the War Office. The rate of general indirect expenditure was 153*6 per cent., as compared with l65-94 per cent, in 1909-10. The accounts submitted by the Superintendent of the Aircraft Factories show that £15,109 was spent in wages, £19,501 in materials, and £15,104 in. buildings at the factory, which, with other items, makes the amount spent during the year £61,636, In a statement relating to the pro duction of the factory (stock is estimated at a value of £16,352)- there appears the sum of £4,145 for alterations, repairs, and maintenance of dirigibles and aeroplanes, while experiments cost £2,480, and repairs and maintenance of spherical balloons, kites, &c, £1,400." Col. Seely, M.P., already Inspecting Aeroplanes. OUT of evil cometh good—occasionally, and thereby it tran spired last Saturday, following a motor accident, that Col. Seelyr the Under Secretary for War, had been inspecting aeroplanes. That was the statement the gallant Colonel made in the evening at a prize distribution at Chelsea, in explaining that he was fortunate in being able to be present at the function. wmmmmaamm -_.,•; 1 F fefe .:'.•• ^^^ mmimmmmwmm \**j~*~~$$i HNUHNNB tJ' ' --.••• • • -.- • :- ;: .•. ••, •• .,•• ••• • • • 1 1 • ^ - •- The Greec-engined Flanders monoplane getting cff smartly with a passenger at Brooklands.
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