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Aviation History
1918
1918 - 1322.PDF
NOVEMBER 21, 1918 LORD WEIR ON FUTURE OF AVIATION OPENING the Enemy Aircraft View Rooms at the Agri-cultural Hall, Islington, on November 15th, Lord Weir, Secretary of State for the Royal Air Force, said that theexhibition was confined to samples only of enemy aircraft, and did not constitute a complete and real collection oftrophies. Somewhere oversea that day Germany was arranging, for the benefit of the Allies, a far finer and morecomplete exhibition of German aircraft—2,000 in number. At the outbreak of war both France and Germany had aconsiderable lead over this country both in military aviation and in the industrial field, which was the foundation of anytechnical strength of any air force. To-day the Royal Air Force of the British Empire was regarded as supreme andpredominant in every branch. In six months of 1918 the Air Force units working with the Armies in France alonetook a quarter of a million photographs, each of which yielded about 30 prints. These consisted of vertical photo-graphs for the artillery and oblique photographs for the infantry. The work involved photography of practicallyevery acre of ground in 6,000 square miles of territory. Reconnaissance and general observation, which coveredgeneral scouting and observation work of all enemy move- ments up to 50 miles behind the line, had been developed bymeans of the use of photographs taken at night with the aid of flares, and in this way the movement of troops by nightwere discovered. Bombing of communications and back areas was carried out mainly by machines designed for thepurpose, but latterly almost every machine which went over the enemy lines, apart from fighting machines, carried afew bombs for use on any suitable target which might be met with. The growth of the total weight of bomps droppedwas remarkable. During the whole of 1917, 1,000 tons of bombs were dropped. In the first six months of 1918 theAir Force units on the Western Front alone dropped over 5,900 tons. The Air Force had also advised the Commandin infantry attacks of difficulties met with and the progress made. The actual co-operation of infantry and Tanksduring an attack was a function initiated and developed entirely by the Royal Air Force, and in recent battles aircraftwere used to carry up supplies of ammunition, and even of food, to advanced positions. During the advance in Belgiumin September, on one day no less than 13 tons of supplies were carried up. Since January 1st, 1918, on the B.E.F.Western front alone, 2,967 enemy machines had been destroyed, and 1,333 driven down out of control. The costto us had been 1,500 machines missing, which included losses of all kinds, and did not represent fighting losses only. In the other theatres of war similar service had been pro-vided, with results equally good, and there was little doubt that it was largely due to the work of the Air Force that our_Arictory in Palestine was rendered so sweeping and complete. Ttfaj .-General W. G. H. Salmond, the Officer CommandingR.A.F. in Palestine, wrote :— " The mastery of the air was utilised to the utmost, not onlyin denying all information to the enemy, but also in rendering all plans for an orderly retirement quite impossible. No At the Opening of the Exhibition of Captured Enemy Aircraft, Agricultural Hall, Islington*—1. A row ofcaptured enemy aeroplanes. 2. Some of the captured aero engines, of which a great number are now on view at the exhibition. 3. Lord Weir making bis speech at the opening ceremony. 4. A Friedrichshafenbomber at the exhibition. 5. A reconstruction of a crash from 6,000 ft. The machine is an Albatros.
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