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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0591.PDF
JULY 13, 1916. time it goes up or has to be flown by a special pilot, it is useless. The only point about the superiority of machines is success in beatin" the enemy. Mr. Billing asked Sir David if he was not in a position, before the war, to influence the Treasury to make grants to develop aviation. " Far from it." He spent the money voted for aviation, he added, in the way he thought best. Mr. Billing : Then you are not to b'ame for our unreadiness ? Mr. Billing was occupied for some time in reading through his notes, and apologised for keeping the Committee waiting. " I have had certain military duties to attend to in the interval," he said, " and they have rather interfered with the preparation of my papers. I should like my further cross-examination postponed." \pMl The Chairman said they could not ask General Henderson to attend again. Mr. Balfour Browne : I understand that the only military duty you have performed is to receive 2s. gd. ? Mr. Billing : Two shillings and sevenpence, sir. He protested against the Committee's decision, and sa:d he had about aoo pages of evidence to go through. The Chairman said the Committee were not responsible in any way for other things that had caused Mr. Billing to be unprepared, and while they regretted that anything should militate against the preparation of his case, they must proceed with the inquiry. The Committee then sat in private, and afterwards adjourned till the following morning. ® ® ® ® AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT. The Lost Aeroplane. MR. GWYNNE, on July 4th, asked whether a flying machine of the latest type was recently sent from Farnborough to France in charge of a pilot who had never been abroad before ; whether the officer informed the authorities beforehand that he did not know bis way ; whether he lost his way and eventually landed by mistake in the German lines ; and, if so, what steps, if any, have been taken to avoid our new est machint s being handed over to the Germans within a few hours of completion ? Major Baird (representing the Air Board): The facts are as stated, except that from the inquiry held it does not appear that any protest was made by the officer in question. The circumstances under which the incident occurred are as follows :—A batch of machines of a well-known type had been fitted with a new type of engine. These machines were urgently required at the Front, and a number of officers were detailed to take them over to France. Some of these officers had done the journey before, others had not: all were qualified cross-country pilots trained to fly the type of machine in question. The particular officer referred to graduated as a pilot for this type of machine after thirty-two hours' flying, which is consideied an ample amount. His report showed him as efficient and a good cross-country flier. The need for machines in France is so great that it is impossible to keep them back until cfficers are available to fly them over who have previously done the journey, which, moreover, is not considered a difficult one for a trained cross-country pilot. To take a machine across is an ordinary incident in a pilot's duties, and as many as twenty-four machines have gone over in one day lately. Such regrettable incidents have occurred to the Germans also, who recently presented us with a brand new Fokker. There is no means of avoiding them altogether in war times, but every care has been taken and will continue to be taken to reduce the risk of their occurrence to a minimum. The pilot in this case evidently lost hU way, and it appears from a letter received by his parents from him that his machine was hit and rendered unmanageable by fire from the ground as he was descending. Otherwise, on discovering his mistake, he might have got away. Mr. Ash'ey : Was the pilot supplied with the usual map, or was it an out-of-date map? Major Baird : I anticipated some curiosity on that point, and consequently I have taken the precaution of providing myself with a copy of the map, which I shall be prepared to show to my hon. and gallant friend. It is the Ordnance Survey map as used by the general staff and supplied to pilots. Mr. R. Gwynne : Will the hon. and gallant member say whether there was an observer on board, and, if so, had he any experience of the route? Major Baird : Yes, tir, there was an observer on board, but he had no more experience of the route linn the pilot. It is not a questicn of knowing the route anymore than you can expect the man who takes a ship to New York to know the road to New York. It is a question of knowing the navigation. This pilot was qualified as an aerial navigator, ai.d he should have had no difficulty in finding his road. Mr. MacCallum Scott: Was the passenger an observer, or simply a passenger? Major Baird : I should like notice of that question. The R.A.F. Report. MR. ASHLEY, on July 5th, asked whether the Committee appointed to inquire into the working of the Royal Aircraft factory at Farnborough has concluded its investigation ; and, if so, when will the Report be published ? Major Baird : The Committee has concluded its investigation, and its report will be laid before the House at an early date. Enemy Air Raids and Railway Employes. MR. THOMAS asked the President of the Board of Trade 591 whether he is aware that the agreement made by him with the Railway Executive Committee whereby the railway companies under their control should compensate men injured by hostile air raids or bombardment on the same basis as that on which com- pensat on is payable under the Workmen's Compinsation Act has not been made retrospective so as to cover the cases where such injury had already occurred : and whether, therefore, he will take the necessary steps to extend this measure of justice to all men who have suffered such injury whilst following their employment ? Mr. Harcourt : I will communicate with the Railway Executive Committee on this point, and inform my hon friend in due course of the decision arrived at. Why Names of R.F.C. Pilots are Withheld. MR. R. MCNEILL asked the Secretary of Sla^e for War who were the British aviators who succeeded in bringing down the Ger man, Captain Immelmann, and why their names have not been already published ? Mr. Forster : It is not customary to mention in commiiniifuts the names of officers or soldiers who perform acts of gallantry, and it is not considered desirable that an exception to this rule should be made in the case of officers of the Royal Flying Corps. The Com mander-in-Chief mentions in his despatches the names of those whose actions or services justify special mention. The Government Aircraft Insurance Scheme. MR. WING, on July 6th, in the House of Commons, asked the President of the Board of Trade if it will be possible to reduce the premiums of air-raid insurance ? The First Commissioner of Works (Mr. Ilarcourt): As stated, in answer to a question by the hon. member for Blackburn on May 24th, the aircraft insurance scheme, which came into operation in July last, has at present money in hand, but that position may- change at any moment. It is not proposed to increase the rates, but it would not be wise to reduce them. Mr. Tickler, on July loth, asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is awai e of the hardships suffered by residents on the Fast Coast, by reason of their havirg to insure against aircraft raids and bombardment risks ; and if he will grant them the privilege of being allowed to pay their insurance premiums by half-yearly or quarterly instalments, as the payment of the full yearly premium presses hardly upon the class of people residing in these districts ? Mr. Harcourt : While I sympathise with the bon. member's desire to make the payment of aircraft insurance premiums as easy as possible, I fear that it would not be possible at this stage to arrange for the annual premiums to be paid in instalments. The premiums are very small, and any sys em of payment by instalments would increase the wcrking expenses out of all proportion. Mr. Hogge: Why does not the Air Risks Insurance give the u ual days of grace for the repayment of the premium ? Mr. Harcourt: That is rather a complicated question. I have already explained the matter to my hon. friend. Sir Leo Chiozza Money asked what the Aircraft and Bombard ment Insurance Fund amounts to ; what has been paid out of it to the insured ; what proportion of it has been absorbed by expenses and the commissions of the various insurance agencies ; and what is the number of insured persons or firms, so far as the particulars are available, and the latest p jssible date ? Mr. Harcourt said that the number of policies issued under the Government Aircraft Insurance Scheme up to the end of March, including those issued through the Post Office, was about 1,884,000. In the case of insurances effected through an approved company, a remuneration of 10 per cent, of the gross premium is paid to the companies. In addition, a commission of 5 per cent, is paid to agents. The other figures could not be given.
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