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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 0416.PDF
nciently far to jamb] itself securely, *"obviously presented itself. Considerable success was obtained. The head of the'anchor was made of cast iron with a long tubular shaft, and the wire was secured to a point close under the head. When this anchor had penetrated the ground to a considerable distance and the ship had drifted so that the pull came fairly oblique, the wire cut into the ground and tended to pull the whole grapnel sideways. To such: an action a very satisfactory resistance was obtained. Itjwas still, however, found that a heavy ship drawing her trail rope suddenly taut against a grapnel such as this, either parted the trail rope or ran considerable risk of damage to the mooring point of the ship. It was, therefore, necessary to devise some suit able means of gradually absorbing the energy of the drifting ship without oroducing any excessive impulsive tension on the rope. jp The problem of anchoring over the sea is a comparatively simple one. An ordinary drogue, formed much like a para chute, has quite a satisfactory effect in reducing the speed of a drifting airship down to two or three knots. It was thought that if an anchor was dropped so as to be on the further side of the drogue, the anchor would secure itself satisfactorily to the bottom of the sea, and the drogue would then act as a weight to resist the upward component of the pull of the ship. Under these circumstances, however, it is found that the drogue has a considerable tendency to pull out of the water. A drogue which is kept moving through the water can easily be arranged to keep itself full. It is not easy to pull a drogue such as this out of the water when it is desired to get under weigh again, and a slip has, therefore, been arranged whereby the drogue is secured to the end of the trail rope and can be spilled from the ship. There is much more which might be said about the handling arrangements connected with airships, but as the time avail able is short it is hoped that what has been given will suffice to show how far airships approach the completeness with which seagoing craft can be anchored and handled. There is, how ever, one important point to which it is desirable to draw attention in connection with the development of large air craft. It is often advanced as a handicap inseparable from the airship that she requires a large handling party. When all things are considered for aircraft carryiug the same dis posable load the advantage appears rather to be with the airship. An airship, however large she may be, can be o ^ QUESTIONS IN Balloon Factory, Flnchleyl Maj. NEWMAN, in the House of Commons on March 18, asked the Secre tary of State for War whether the War Office has purchased or intends to purchase the national balloon factory at Finchley with a portion of the land and houses adjacent; and, if the purchase has been completed, will he give the total cost and the use to which it is proposed to put the disused factory and the land and houses purchased ? Mr. Churchill: I am not in a position to make any statement on this subject at present. Dope Inquiry Col. WEDGWOOD, on [March 19, asked the Prime Minister when the Dope Inquiry is likely to be completed, and whether, if the complete Report is likely to be delayed beyond three months, he will ask that an interim Report be issued ? Mr. Bonar Law Leader of the House) : This Report is of necessity post poned by the absence in Paris of Lord Sumner, but I hope that it will not be long delayed. Col. Wedgwood : Does that mean it will be issued within the next three months ? Mr. Bonar Law: I hope so. I have discussed the matter with Lord Sumner himself, and he tells me they have made good progress. R.A.F. Pilot Pupils Mr. MOSLEY asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether observers of the Royal Air Force who are now training to graduate as pilots will be allowed to complete their course before being demobilised ? Mr. Pratt : The flying training of all pilot pupils, whether they have been observers or not, has been discontinued in the interest of public economy. Observers (Gratuities) Mr. MOSLEY asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air M;nistry whether the gratuities of observers who have been returned to England to undergo training as pilots are assessed upon the rate of pay which they received in France while drawing flying pay, or upon the rate of pay which O <s> Civil Aviation in Italy LARGE grants of money and material have been made to the Turin Polytechnic School and to the Civil School of Aeronautics in Rome for educating experts and skilled workmen for civil aviation, says The Times correspondent in Milan. A special State organisation, furnished with every means, is working to prepare all those accessories which guarantee success, such as aerial routes, aerodromes, meteoro logical observatories, telegraphic, telephonic, and radio connections, together with an elaborate system of day and night signals, and a special salvage service for overseas trips. Pourparlers are being conducted with the Norwegian, Japanese, Brazilian and Argentine Governments. MARCH 27, 1919 landed with as little difficulty as can the smallest airship. She can be brought slowly over the landing party, and can be taken in hand on any ground which is reasonably free from obstruction. She can then be made considerably lighter than the air she displaces so that the force which the landing party has to exert is mainly a downward one. Provided the aerodrome is clear and the surface good enough for the landing party to walk over, the ship can then be carried into her shed. Compare this with the large aeroplane, which must ne cessarily have a considerable horizontal velocity at the time it touches the ground. It must have a clear space of smooth hard ground to run for a considerable distance, and when it has come to rest it presses on the ground with the whole of its total weight. Under these circumstances its handling over any but the most carefully prepared ground is a matter of considerable difficulty. The difficulties connected with landing and handling an aeroplane on the ground will, it is considered, increase very rapidly with size, and the margin in favour of the airship is likely to increase rather than decrease. I have tried to crowd into one evening what really requires many very carefully prepared lectures to give a reasonably correct impression of the work which has been done even during the War. You must only, therefore, regard this lecture as a peep into airship engineering, a science which those who have experience of it realise to be at least as complex and involved, but also to have at least as great possibilities, as the corresponding aeroplane work. The man who knows much more about the aeroplane than the airship must realise that his view is distorted, while every one, if he wishes to gauge the relative possibilities of H.A. and L.A. craft, must remember that although the airship started first, the energy and talent devoted to its development has been incomparably less than that from which the aero plane has benefited, more particularly in very recent times. One must be careful in comparing two things at widely different stages of development. If the lecture has succeeded in stimulating in this our premier technical and scientific aeronautical institution, a new interest in and a greater insight into airship develop ment, I am certain that the onus laid upon me by the Council, when they invited me to prepare this discourse, willAhave been satisfactorily discharged. PARLIAMENT) they are now receiving in England, wheTe they do not draw flying pay during the period of their training ? Mr. Pratt : Gratuities are in all cases assessed on the basic rate of pay exclusive of flying pay, and the amount is not altered by the fact of being returned to England. Air Ministry Staff Viscount WOLMER asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Minister whether wounded officers and soldiers are being discharged from the Air Ministry while civilians and girl clerks are being retained ? Maj ,-Genl. Seely : In the reduction of staff which is at present taking place those airmen who have been demobilised have been so treated at their own request. Several wounded officers, whose work has come to an end, have also been discharged. The work on which girl clerks and civilians arc employed is unsuitable for officers. R.A.F. Carpenter Ratings Mr. HANCOCK, on March 20, asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether air mechanics entered into the Royal Naval Air Service as carpenter ratings, and who brought their own tools with them into the Service, were entitled to 3d. per day as tool money : and, if so, when will this money be paid ? Maj.-Genl. Seely : In the Royal Naval Air Service the carpenters bought their own tools and received 3d. a day for upkeep. In the Royal Air Force the tools are issued to the men on loan and no such upkeep allowance is made. Tools belonging to ex-Royal Naval Air Service men on joining the Royal Air Force were either bought by the Royal Air Force at a valuation or sent to their homes at public expense. Inventions (Rewards) Maj. LANE-FOX asked the Under-Secretary of State to the A-r Ministry whether any and, if so, what sum has been paid to any officer of the Royal Air Force as a special reward for the invention or development of anti-aircraft entanglements ? Maj.-Genl. Seely : The answer is in the negative. <3> • Air Reconnaissance in the Sahara SOME additional particulars are now available regarding the expedition by aeroplane and motor car towards the centre of the Sahara, recently carried out under the orders of General Nivelle, for the purpose of securing information about the regions of the Wadi Saura, Tidikelt, and the Mid-Sahara. The possibility of an aerial and motor route joining up the southernmost posts of the Algerian Sahara with the coast by way of Colom Bechar to Insalah and Tuggurt, thus creat ing a basis of revictualment for penetration across the Sahara towards the Niger, is said to have been established. The party consisted of 38 Europeans, with six motor cars and four aeroplanes, and it traversed several thousands of miles. 416
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