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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 1102.PDF
,ism AUGUST 21, 1919 to us that all Gen. Seely actually accomplished was to throw a certain amount of dust in the eyes of the House by pointing to the present record and ignoring altogether the main charges. It is an old game, and a very successful one as a rule. It seems to have succeeded more or less on this occasion so far as the House is concerned, but the comments of the Press on the lame explanations indicate that it has not come off so well outside. • • 4> The success of civil aviation depends, Civil if not mainly at least very largely, on Aviation adequate supplies of suitable oil -fuel, Native readily accessible and cheaply obtain- Oil Fuel able. It is true that we have hitherto not felt an acute shortage, even during the War, though it is equally true that when the German submarine campaign was at its height there was grave cause for anxiety. It culminated in no disaster, as we know, but one of the prime lessons of the War was that of the necessity for us to render these islands as self-supporting as possible, not only in the matter of food, but of such essentials to the successful conduct of transport as oil fuel. There are, it is true, some things that it is physically im possible to produce, and in that we are not at all singular. It was the blockade which made it im possible for the Central Powers to obtain certain essentials that contributed in no small measure to their downfall. Oil fuel, it scarcely needs to be said, has attained a position of almost prime importance in the life of the nation. Without adequate supplies of oil the whole of our transport system must break down hope lessly. There can be no development of aviation, either civil or military. Without it the Navy would be paralysed, and even our mercantile shipping would be seriously hampered. AH these facts are so self- evident as to be truisms. Fortunately, the War has so driven home the realisation that oil is as essential to our existence as coal that we have really awakened to the necessities of the case, and are at last taking what seem to be adequate measures to develop the undoubted resources we possess within the confines of the British Isles, and, what is more and better, there is reason now to think that before very long we shall be as nearly self-supporting as need be. Apart from any success which may attend the boring operations of Lord Cowdray's company, of which very little has been heard lately, the reports which reach us of the development work proceeding on the Norfolk shales seem to promise excellent results. A number of borings have been sunk in this area, and in some cases liquid shale oil has been tapped at as little as 28 feet below the surface. It is pointed out that this oil must not be confused with crude petroleum, from which it differs both in colour and content. It is evidently a superabundance of hydrocarbon which the shale beds have been unable to take up. Another remarkable discovery has been made at the test boring at Stow, on the edge of the field. Here the oil shales, at a depth of 130 ft., became of a rich ness approaching ozokerit, such as is mined in Galicia, but from the appearance even richer. The ozokerit seam at a greater depth became so waxy in its nature that at 200 ft. the core barrel became so firmly wedged that it was impossible to move the drilling rods, and farther sinking was impossible. Naturally, it will not do to assume too much from all these indications, but the main thing is that there is undoubtedly a vast store of oil contained in these shale beds waiting to be recovered. Nor is there any reason to quarrel with the estimates of competent scientists who appear to be satisfied that, properly worked, the Norfolk shales should make us almost independent of imported oil fuels. It will take a long time and entail a great deal of development work to bring about that consummation, and, in the meantime, it will perhaps be wiser to regard it simply as being certain that there is enough oil below the surface of the country to make a very appreciable difference to our situation. Which, apart from all other considera tions, is excellent to contemplate when we regard the way in which the coal situation goes steadily from bad to worse. • • • Apropos our article on the formation of The a Territorial Air Force in our issue of TetAiF>rial Juty I0' we nave received a letter from Idea a correspondent who requests us not to publish his communication, in which he complains that the R.F.C. Special Reserve has been very shabbily treated by the Government. He says that according to the terms of the pre-War arrangement, officers of the Special Reserve were to receive £150 per annum, provided they remained in the Corps for a period of four years, attended the annual manoeuvres and kept themselves efficient in flying. Now that the War is over he complains, Special Reserve officers are given the choice of whether they will elect to receive a service gratuity on the general basis or take it in the form of deferred Reserve pay. "It is a case of deferred pay or gratuity, not both, though entitled to both," is the way he puts it. We do not know whether our correspondent voices the general feeling of Special Reserve officers or not. If we thought he were alone in his grievance, we should probably not have referred to it, but as there may be others who feel the same way, we think we are justified in asking why there should be any grievance at all ? Our correspondent endeavours to make the point that the £150 a year would have been payable even if there had been no war. Quite so. But he seems to forget that if there had been no war he and his fellow officers of the Special Reserve would not have been drawing active service pay for the past five years. They have received exactly the same service pay as regular officers of the R.F.C. and R.A.F., with the same allowances, all through the War. They are qualified to receive service gratuities on the same scale. The only doubtful point seems to be that of exactly why they are given the option of taking deferred pay in lieu of gratuity. That scarcely matters, however. But we really cannot see why Special Reserve officers should seriously expect to benefit over other R.F.C. officers to the extent of £150 a year during the whole period of the War. It is not at all in derogation of their services to the country that we say we can see no case for rewarding them to the tune of from £600 to £750 each for those services over and above the sums received by others. One of the points our correspondent endeavours to make is that if it is decided to form a Territorial A.F. the Government should get away from the idea that it can treat its personnel as shabbily as it has treated the old Special Reserve. If and when the T.A.F. is formed its officers and men have no more to com plain of than he discloses in his letter to us, we do not think there will be any lack of recruits. 1104
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