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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0359.PDF
Flight, April 19, 1917. First Aero Weekly in the World. Founder and Editor : STANLEY SPOONER. A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport. OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ROYAL AERO CLUB OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. ~ m.. No. 434. (No. 16, Vol. IX ) APRIL 19, 1917. [Weekly, Price 3d.L Post Free, 4a. •• ... J" v • Flight.' Editorial Office: 44, St. MARTIN'S LANE, LONDON, W.C.2. Telegrams: Truditur, Westrand, London. Telephone : Gerrard 1828. Annual Subscription Rates, Post Free. United Kingdom .. 15s. 2<i.' Abroad .. ... .. ms. ad. CONTENTS. Editorial Comment: « • . PAGE The Supremacy of the Air .. .. .. .. .. •<. .v _';. 359 American Air Squadrons for France . .. 36O Keprisals .. .. .. .. jgo A Signal Honour for the Air Services .. . .. 362 The " Totally Enclosed " Aeroplane . .. .. .. ^63 The Royal Aero Club. Official Notices.. 366 The Roll of Honour .. ... jgj, Identification of German Aeroplanes .. .... /-.v .. .. .. 368 Notes from Paris. By D. W. Thorburn.. ;.. S ;/ .. .. .. 3yo Answers to Correspondents 37! Airisms from the Four Winds 3 Personals .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ., ., 3*5 The British Air Services 376 The Use and Abuse of Steel. By Lt.-Col. R. K. Bagnall-Wild and Lieut. E. W. Birch .. ..378 Air Work in the Advance .. . ... .. 375 Aircraft Work at the Front. Official Information 3SO The Society of British Aircraft Constructors, Ltd. ... , 3S2 Model Clubs Diary and Reports .. .. .. .. 3^2 EDITORIAL COMMENT. INCE we last wrote on the subject of the supremacy of the air, although that was onh' a week ago, much has happened to reassure those who have followed the course of the war in the air with some little apprehension. The great victory of Arras has come between, and the stories that have been allowed to appear regarding> the magnificent work of the Flying Services indicate that our aviators were very definitely " on top " of those Supremacy of the enem>7". Then, we have had the of the Air. assurances of the Canadian Prime Minister and of General Smuts that at last all is well. Presumably, they spoke out of knowledge confided to them by the War Cabinet, and we may therefore take it that a good deal has been done recently to redress the balance which was so manifestly against us at the opening of the 1917 campaign. So far, so good. Apparently, the impression has been fostered that those who have felt it their duty to point to obvious shortcomings—and we number ourselves among them-—have directed their criticisms against the personnel of the Flying Services. For example, even Gen. Smuts, in a speech delivered at Edinburgh, saw fit-;.to deplore the " carping criticism" that was being levelled against the Air Service, which, he said, was calculated to take the heart out of the young flying officers. We, for our own part, have- never on any single occasion found fault with the Air Services, nor to the best of our recollection have we seen since the beginning of the war one single word reflecting upon the flying personnel of the Service, published in any responsible journal. What has been criticised, and very justly, has been the muddled administration which has resulted in our aviators being -sent out to do their work with too great a proportion of obsolete and relatively in- efficient machines, and withal an insufficient number of them in certain stages of the war. That they have done so well with the material they were given is a fully sufficient tribute to their skill and gallantry, which has never been called in question. Certainly as recently as the end of January our men were handicapped by having to oppose old machines to the latest designs of the enemy. As the Daily Mail points out in a very temperate leading article, we should have known more than we did about the great German retreat if it had not been for this handicap. Severe as the latter was, our airmen nevertheless kept themselves well informed of the construction of new enemy lines in rear, but when the retirement actually took place it was to a great extent unobserved. The Mail is perfectly correct when it says that three times during the past two years the Germans have produced a new and improved machine before we were ready with aeroplanes of equal quality, which is tantamount to saying that there was more foresight and energy in the command of the enemy air service than in the control of our own. On each occasion the R.F.C. has had to fight for its life while our authorities were getting our new machines ready. We have no desire to continue in the path of criticism for the mere pleasure of criticising, but we really must point out that the strictures which have been passed upon the administration of the Air Services in the past have produced the effect of awakening the responsible authorities to a sense of their duty, and in the latest reports from the Front, relating to the work of the Air Services, we see the reflex of that awakening. It is, all very well for General Henderson—for whom, incidentally, we have the very greatest respect—to tell us that " every time the bell rang the Flying Corps was just about there." Everyone knows that. The point is that
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