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Aviation History
1917
1917 - 0847.PDF
AUGUST 16, 1917. Equipment Officers, 2nd Class.—Temp. Hon. Lieut. J. H. Smith, Gen. List,and to be Temp. Lieut, whilst so employed ; Mar. 17th (substituted for notifica- tion in Gazette of May 7th) ; Temp. Lieut. H. J. Lister, Gen. List, from theird Cl.; April 5 th. yd Class.—2nd Lieut. W. E. Hughes, Leic. R., S.R., and to be seed.; May 23rd. Temp. 2nd Lieut, (on prob.) N. G. Arnold, Gen. List, and to beconfirmed in his rank ; June 13th. General List.—Capt. (Temp. Major) G. C. de Dombasle, Can. Inf., a Sqdn.Comdr., and to be Actg. Lieut.-Col. whilst employed as Comdt. of a School of Mil. Aeronautics ; July 2nd. AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT. Officers from Overseas. MR. BILLING in the House of Commons on August 9th, asked the Under-secretary of State for War whether, in view of the aptitude for aviation shown by Canadians, Australians, and South Africans, he will consider the advisabilityof encouraging rather than discouraging overseas men to qualify for admission into the Royal Flying Corps. Mr. Macpherson : My hon. friend's suggestion is not borne out by the facts.The proportion of oversea men among the pilots of the Royal Flying Corps has always been large, and every encouragement is given to them. There are specialofficers in the Dominions selecting cadets. Mr. Billing: Will the War Office make a definite statement that they willwelcome volunteers from the overseas Forces for the purpose of training as fliers ?Mr. Macpherson : I hope that the answer to my hon. friend's question will get sufficient publication in the Colonies. Every encouragement is given to thesemen in the Dominions, where there are actually now special officers selecting cadets. . -.. , . ,. .. Air Services and Skilled Workers. ' "':'''.MR. BILLING asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the need for expediting the output of aeroplanes, he will consider the desir-ability of facilitating'transfers, rather than preventing them, of men who are of low medical category but who are skilled joiners, carpenters, mechanics, andother allied trades, to the Army Reserve for utilising their services in the aero- plane factories of this country ? Mr. Macpherson : If my hon. friend is referring to applications for release bythe Ministry of Munitions, which have been refused as the men applied for were employed at their trade as military artificers, I would remind him that itis usually not possible to spare such men for return to civil employment. Transfers to R.F.C.MR. BILLING on August 10th asked tbe Under-Secretary of State for War whether applications for transfer to the Royal Flying Corps are forwarded toand dealt with by the War Office, or whether the forwarding or the rejection of such applications rests entirely at the discretion of the officer comnianding theregiment or cadet corps in which the applicant is serving ? Mr. Macpherson : They are dealt with by the War Office, and instructions asto whether applications should be forwarded or not are issued from time to time. Mr. Billing : If a man applies to-day for transfer to the Royal Flying Corps,may he be assured that the commanding officer will forward that application to the War Office and that it will not be turned down by the commanding officerwithout reference to the War Office ? Mr. Macpherson : I cannot answer that definitely, but I know that in a greatmany cases that have come under my personal observation 'the applications have always been sent forward by tbe commanding officers.Mr. Billing: In view of the reply given the other day that every encourage- ment was to be given to men to volunteer, will the hon. gentleman issse a circularmaking it compulsory upon commanding officers to forward, withoutxomment, any application they receive ? Sir Tudor Walters : Will the hon. gentleman bear in mind tbe importance ofallowing commanding officers an opportunity of expressing an opinion as to the suitability or otherwise of the applicants ? Mr. Macpherson : That, of course, is the basis of all these applications fortransfer or promotion. I think that in ever ' application the commanding officer must have the first say.Mr. Billing : Is not the Selection Board a better judge of whether a man will make a suitable pilot than the commanding officer of an Infantry battalion ? Mr. Speaker : These questions are degenerating into a debate. German Lists of British Losses. MR. BILLING asked the Under Secretary of State for War whether hisattention had been called to the reprint in British papers of German official statements giving not only a list of our air losses for various months, but thenumbers and types of machines and the names of pilots ; and how this German official statement compares with the British official statements ?Mr. Macpherson : Yes, Sir; and in the main, I understand, they b^ive been substantially correct.Mr. Billing : Has the hon. gentleman's attention been called to these published facts, and is it not a fact fhat the Germans not only give the names of the machinesbut the types and numbers and the names of the pilots, and that they do not tally with the British official report ? Will he please say whether the Germanreport is accurate or inaccurate according to our figures ? Mr. Macpherson : I said in answer to the~ question that the information published from German sources that we had received in this country was, Iunderstood, substantially correct. Range- Finders. MR. BILLING asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether anysteps have been taken to convert the range dial of anti-aircraft guns and the fuse-punch registers from yards to metres or, alternatively, the range-findersto metres, so as to permit of some degree of accuracy being obtained by our anti-aircraft gunners on occasions of air raids over this country ? Mr. Macpherson : I am afraid I can add nothing to the reply which I gave tothe hon. Member on a similar question on the 30th July last. Mr. Billing: Will the hon. Gentleman take immediate steps, which couldhave been done two years ago, to have these range-finders marked in metres or the fuse punch altered from yards, because that is a very good reason why ourguns are not accurate enough ? Mr. Macpherson : I do not know why my hon. friend goes out of his way tomake a statement in reply to an answer I have just given, the reply being that no information of this sort could be published, and that no questions of this. sort ought to be put. Mr. Billing : Does not the hon. gentleman think that, in the interests of thepublic, attention should be called to this grave lack of efficiency in the Service ? Night-Landing Grounds. MR. BILLING asked the Under Secretary of State for War what is the mini- : *mum distance from boundary to boundary from all points of the compass stipu- lated for in the selection of new night-landing grounds; whether this appliesto those at present in use ; whether he is aware of the unnecessary and often fatal risks that arc being taken by practising night-flying on occasions of groundmists and fog; and whether he will give orders to prevent the recurrence of this?- Mr. Macpherson : The size of a night-landing ground depends very largely on its surroundings, and no definite size is laid down. This applies to thoseat present in use. The answer to the third part of the question is in the negative, and the fourth part does not, therefore arise.Mr. Billing : May we assume that it is against orders for any commanding officer to order any pilot up for experimental or trial flights during ground mistor fog, and will the War Office issue an Order to that effect ? Mr. Macpherson : I have not come across any case where that has been done.1 expressly stated in answering the first part that the answer is in the negative. Accidents and Flying Pay. MR. BILLING asked the Under-Secretary for State of War for what period -after an accident incapacitating a pilot does flying pay continue ; also for what '"'••" period after an accident does the flying of qualified observers continue ?Mr. Macpherson : The maximum period for which sick leave can be granted - in each case is six months. The actual period depends upon the nature of the -"accident, and the condition of the pilot or observer. % ; MR. BILLING : Willthehon.-gentlemanmakeadefinitestatementso that pilotsand observers know where they stand ? In some cases observers have their flying pay stopped although they are qualified to draw it. fMr. Speaker: The hon. member is taking the opportunity to make statements and not to ask questions. This is the time for asking questions. ' : " Disposal of Empty Packing Cases. . • MR. BILLING asked the Under-Secretary *x>f State for War whether it isthe practice to forward empty packing cases to a depot at Didcot; what action, if any, is taken when packing cases are found still to contain their original con-signment; and whether he is aware that recently bratd new air propellers '.' -_ discovered in these packing cases have been used to decorate the walls of the -depot at Didcot ? Mr. Macpherson : The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, .but empty packing cases are no doubt occasionally sent. I think my hon. friend is probably referring to an incident which occurred early this year whentwo packing cases were forwarded to Milton, each containing a damaged and unserviceable propeller. The propellers were struck off charge, and the bossof one of them, which was found to be fit for use, was taken on charge in the usual way.Pilot Officers' Leave. MAJOR KERR-SHILEY asked the Under-Secretary of State for War -1-whether the ferry pilot officers of the Royal Flying Corps stationed at Lympne : *. had not had any leave for over a year; and if officers stationed at home aredebarred from having leave? .:' Mr. Macpherson : No, Sir. I understand that leave is granted to these .officers .- ."'when their services can be spared. • " ;i No Inquest on Raiders. A NEW regulation under the Defence of the Realm Act provides that the Admiralty or Army Council may give direc- tions as to the burial of the bodies of enemies killed in hostile operations, and no inquest shall be held on any body when such directions are given. Aviation Causes a Fatality. WHILE watching an aeroplane from an open window at Croydon Infirmary, on August 7th, an inmate, over 70 years of age, named William Day, fell out, and was killed en the asphalt pavement below. French Aeroplanes u. Submarines. STATISTICS published in Paris on August 10th announce that there were 17 engagements between seaplanes or dirigible airships and submarines. On the morning of August 8th the Naval Air Station at Corfu saw a large submarine, which was attacked with bombs and hastily disappeared. Richthofen Wounded. IN a despatch dated August 9th, Mr. Malcolm Ross, War Correspondent with the New Zealand Force in France says :— " Prisoners captured state that the famous airman Richthofen received two bullet wounds in the head in combat with a British airman over the German lines, but landed safely in a meadow and Was taken to hospital." The Baron von Richthofen was last mentioned in German communiques on July 9th. • A German Observer Honoured. . .• - ; - THE Kaiser has bestowed the highest German war honour, the Order Pour le Merite, on an aeroplane observer, Lieut. Baron von Pechmann. Pechmann, who is said to be the. first observer to be so honoured, it is claimed has more than 400 battle flights to his credit. :. .-._, .....; Ferdinand and Zeppelins. A STUTTGART telegram to the Cologne Gazette says that the King of Bulgaria inspected the Zeppelin dock at Friedrich- shafen on August 9th, and afterwards, accompanied by the King of Wurtemberg and the two Princes, made a tour in a Zeppelin cruiser, German Seaplane Over Holland. A GERMAN biplane flew over Sas Van Gent on August 9th, going from the direction of Zeeland towards Flanders. It was fired at by the Dutch frontier guards. An aeroplane passing over Eindhoven in North Brabant was fired at by Dutch soldiers. 847
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