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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0803.PDF
Flight, August 9, 1917. First Aero Weekly in the World. r ^: ^ / Pounder 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.. No. 450.. (Nor 32, Vol. IX.) AUGUST 9, 1917. . rweekly, Price 3d.L Post Free, 4d. 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 .. 15.S. id. Abroad.. .. .. 20*. od. "• >^r^':V-i^- CONTENTS. -~-^,-\::;-^>-^o--: Editorial Comment: » ••'•. •---' ' V PAGE "One Air Service; One Uniform ; One Badge " *. .... -'.'.. 803 Another Bureaucratic Department .. .. .. .. .. .. 804 We Want More Machines! .. .. .. ;. • . .. .. 804 Demobilisation Problems .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 806 The Kducation of the Apprentice .. .. .. .. .. .. 806 The L.W.F. Tractor Biplane (with scale drawings).. .. .. .. 807 The Identification of German Aeroplanes.—VII .. .. .. .. 811 The Roll of Honour .. 814 Theory of Pressure on a Plane Surface due to Relative Wind. By A. E. Watson 815 In the Hands of the Enemy .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 817 Airisms from the Four Winds . .. 819 The British Air Services .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 821 Personals .. .. .. . .. ... . 823 Aviation in Parliament . ..* " .. .". ,. 823 EDITORIAL COMMENT. AST week a meeting was held of Members of Parliament, under the chairmanship of Mr. Joynson-Hicks, interested in the air services, the object being to consolidate Parlia- mentary air interests and to work for the " unification " of the Ser- vices under an Air Ministry. While we welcome the move and approve of the motives prompting it, we could find it in our heart to wish . that the air party in the House had One Uniform^ 'more of a dennite programme upon One Badge."' which to base reform. Certainly, the word unification used in con- nection with the air services would seem to indicate that the Members who met to discuss the matter are not averse to seeing reform take the shape of the creation of a single air service, such as we have emphasised the need of for long enough now. As a matter of fact, we know that a number of members of Parliament are of the opinion that the single service is necessary and that it must come, but so far as we know the air party—if we may call it that— has not adopted the watchwords of " One Air Service ; One Uniform ; One Badge," as its official programme. Rather does it seem content to wait on circumstances. The attitude, by implication, is that of waiting until the intentions and wishes of the Government are known before definitely adopting any particular platform. If the Government comes to the conclu- sion that the interests of the Empire will be best served by the creation of an Imperial Air Service, well and good. If, on the other hand, the Govern- ment cannot see things in this light and is determined to carry out the war with the air services organised on their present basis, equally well and good, and the air partly will do all that in them lies to keep pressure on the Government with a view to making the very best of a bad arrangement. That is the way we see it. If the Parliamentary Air Party has any different programme to this, we are sorry for having misunder- stood it, but it has only itself to blame for the mis- understanding. There is nothing, when reforms are in the air, like having a clear cut and definite scheme to start with. Lord Montagu has put forward a very clear and constructive policy for the creation of a single service. It is not ideal, perhaps, but it is thoroughly sound in principle. Indeed, with the single exception of the organisation of the Board to which we alluded last week, it scarcely falls short of the ideal working arrangement for carrying out in practice what we have for a" long time insisted is the proper line of procedure. As we said then, if Lord Montagu will give us the machinery for creating an aerial War Staff, and place strategy and operations at the top instead of at the bottom of the scheme, we are absolutely with him. If the Parliamentary Air Party will take hold of the Montagu scheme and push it for all they are worth, until the Government is forced to its adoption, either as it stands .or in a slightly modified form, they will have deserved well of the country. In the meantime, we have entered the fourth year of war and are still tinkering with our air services. Instead of recognising the obvious and doing what will have to be done sooner or later, the Government goes on with its attempts to reorganise the air services on a basis which the tests of war have shown to be radically unsound. It is unsound, no matter from what point of view it is regarded. In the wider operations of the war it has failed in strategy, in that it has no strategy. It has created a line of demarca- tion between the two fighting branches which has been productive of endless jealousy and friction. It has been wasteful of money and it has stifled output, so that the country has not even received decent value for the money that has not been actually thrown away.' All along the line the system has been
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