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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0297.PDF
APRIL 6, 1916. Capt. Bennett-Goldney said that the Under-Secretary for War objected to members attacking the War Office by telling them to wake up. He would recall the opinion of a famous Victorian states man who used these words : *' The administration which tries to siifle honest criticism is but the architect of its own misfortunes." He thought that the country's present unreadiness in air defence was very largely due to the fact that the House of Commons had per mitted the War Office to n^glec- their duties behind the screen of comforting assurances. The country had been misled, and there hid been too much of the present War Office policy of conceal ment and make-believe. Our Air Services, he hqnestly believed, had been shockingly neglected, and he saw no military reason why the Government should not frankly admit it. What was wanted was a capable and permanent administration with one main control By all means let the Navy be left with its own particular and special wing under its own orders, but we should never have fall efficiency in every branch of the Air Services with out unity. Business method> were not sufficient if they were only to be used i.i regard to production. In regard to the estimates of the number o[ Zeppelins which the Germans are supposed to have at present, he had good authority for saying that they had 43 only uree weeks or so ago. Referring to the recent Kentish air raids, in regard to which he had made certain statements as to what hap pened upon that occasion, and the answer to his statements by the Under becretary for War in that House, in which it was suggested that his facts were no more than rumour and should receive the earliest contradiction, he maintained that he dealt with (acts and not with rumours. Alter describing in detail the evidence on which he based his statement, he said that he adhered to all that he had stated with regard to that air raid, and he hoped that the present divided counsels would not give another exhibition of such a lamentable nature. He held very strongly the view that we wanted a Director of air policy. They wanted to put an immediate end to the mischievous jealousy and friction which still existed, not only between members of the naval and military Air Set vices, but between some of the very highest officers now controlling them. Tnese quarrels had become a scandal. Lord Derby could not do the the country a greater service than by insisting on more harmony, both between units and persons. Sir W. Pearce said that to his mind the importance of aerial war fare grew day by day, and demanded the highest scientific and engineering intelligence of the country. We seemed to have given up any idea of being able to compete with the German Zeppelins, but he thought that observation pointed to the tact that in naval warfare they were being u-ed as scouts to the fleet. He hoped that i. would not be impossible for the Government to be able to make provision to give our fleet a similar system of Zeppelins, as he be lieved hat this was going to be one of the determining factors in the war. As far as aeroplanes were concerned, here ag in if we lost ground it was surely the fault of not bringii g under contribution the scientific and engineering ability of the country. Although he had been a careful listener to many of tie debates in that House of late, he had failed to discover who was the real culprit in not getting the best ability that the country possesses. He thought that it might veiy well be that in a comparatively few years that in the great advance in science that aetial waifaie would be the real determining factor in any c ntest between any two or more countries. Sir Alfred .loud said in view of the power which the possession of a very big fleet of aeroplanes gave to any country, that it was not p ssiole to continue treating aircraft as if it were something which was merely an adjunct 101 ob-etvation, for scoutii g or for bombing under the direcu..n of a Commandrr-in-Chi.f, or for scouting or other purposes und.r the Firm Lord of the Admiralty. <,>uite apart from what may be called the adjunct service of air, ihere was such a thing as air s ra egy, or air campaigns, which would have to be dei-wed in the futuie, and the first nai. n which seized it with energy might find yet in ihis very wa that it had got the decisive fictor. He did no* believe nyone who tnought the ques ion out could say triers could be any limit eithei as to the number of mac lines or Pliois wanted. mere wee undoubtedly limits as to the Bumber 01 machines and pilot that could be cieated in a given lime. The que-tion theref.re arose, was everything and all being aunc t > create trie maxi .ium numbers of machim s and pilots? He was afiai, everything "had not been done, and more could be o-'Brthan at the , resent time. He understood that many moie ng'nrs- could have been built than hive been built in the past, and engines o fi ,t cU-s engin- builders in this country have been L/DGHT] t.a "S* b.- the ;.,a.y "5"«g service »ith *-omuii tee, he any executive n-it Hut flyiny service, although adopted by the naval very goon results. Coming to Lmd Derby's ' Lo.d Uerby'- Committee understood that it could a single plane, or make design of an aeroplane, wanted M know had power at all, *s he •iiler 01 biy a single ei gine or s«igle suggeM on a- .egards the It had not a single shilling to spend in any direction whatever, but its function was to get hold of the represent atives of the Array and Navy Flying Corps and induce those gentlemen kindly to help each other instead of getting into each other's way. What we wanted was not only the Com mittee but an executive body similar to the Explosives Committee, which had done under the chairmanship of Lord Moulton such gi>od work. If a committee were formed of men on the lines of this 1.x plosives Committee with power to design, to provide the different machines that were wanted, and with great powers of spending money where they thought advisable, it would be a great advantage. They were dealing with an experimental service, and if we wanted to experiment, money must be spent, and spent intelligently. If we once had ascendency in the air service, he thought it was a great pity that we should ever have lost it, and he could not understand why this had been so. 1 le could only think that instead of de veloping new ideas we had been content with old ones. Criticisms had been made of our airmen by people who understand these matters better than he did, that there had been a great attempt on our part to design and produce one particular machine to carry out all possible objects, with the result that it was loaded with alt kinds of para phernalia, when in order to carry out those two or three objects it would be much better to have a number of machines. The Germans had sub-divided the service of their machines. What we had to do was to individualise our machines more and more. He hoped that we should not have a repetition of what had so often been in evidence, that is a prolonged agitation and reluctant acquiescence, but that we should have in advance a bold, large and determined programme of policy, which he was sure the country would endorse and welcome. Mr. Hogge thought that in the speech which had been made by the member for East Herts evidence had been submitted to the House which led one to the conclusion that the matter could not obviously be left in the present posi;ion, and that the War Office and the Admiralty must meet the charges that had been made in some belter way than in debate. It wasa matter that could easily be settled, because it wasa question of evidence. These questions could be de cided by any small body of men, and it seemed therefore that the request made by the member for East Herts to have the matter inquired into was a reasonable one, which the House should agree to willingly. Referring to the Royal Naval Anti- Aircraft Corps, he said that at the moment the members were disheartened by what was happening to the Corps, their places having been taken in many cases by military, and they were placed in a very invidious position altogether. If they were of no other use after all their training, he would like to suggest that in the personnel oi the Corps they had men who could easily provide the skeleton of an organisation for the East Coast. They could get sufficient men to man guns similar to those that were being used in London to-day, and if that were done inspiration would be put into a body of men who were to-day disheartened because of treatment which rightly or wrongly they were at present receiving from the War Office or the Admiralty. Mr. Tennant said Sir A. Mond had appealed to him to throw off what he seemed to think was a slightly wooden departmental attitude, and to confess that occasionally things Went wrong. He was as sadly and malancholily aware as any man could be thai mistakes had been made, and he was perfectly free to confess it. If, therefore, he did not at every other minute say it he hoped he would not be accused of not recognising it. He did not think it was the business of any Minister representing a great DwiajrUaeni in the middle of a great war to appear perpetually in a whfta Owel. The right hon. gentleman had also objected to the War Office acting in a kind of watertight capacity, and having nothing to do with its neighbour, the Admiralty. He appealed to hon. memliers to put themselves in his position of having to defend his Depart ment and having no control over other Departments. It was impossible for him to be so concerned at what might have been the responsibility of some other Department, but which was not his. Answering the poinls raised by Mr. Hogge, he said the War Office recognised and appreciated to the full the admirable services which had been freely given by the Anti-Aircraft Corps to help the defensive services of the country against hostile aircraft in I^ondon. It was not correct to think that the men of the Royal Naval Anti- Aircraft Corps had been replaced by men of the Royal Gariison Artillery. That was the first mis'ake. He had consulted the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, and this was the explanation of the idea which had gained currency. As new guns and new lights were erected in the section of the London defences belonging to the Royal Naval Anti-Aircraft Cstfps,, they were manned by personnel of that corps. This necessitated the. transfer of naval personnel from other sections of the defences, and the places of the men transferred were filled by military per<.,»iml. Were this not so, each section of the defences would be manned partially by naval and partially by military pcrsentttl, and the 297
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