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Aviation History
1919
1919 - 1358.PDF
good in war but fatal in peace, ' Get the thing done and never mind the cost.' May I again press upon the Government the appointment of a Parliamentary Committee to examine, in consultation with the General Staff, the needs of the Air Service and the possibilities of the Exchequer, wtth power to fix—subject, of course, to the Cabinet—first the nature of the new Air Force, and, secondly, the total amount that can be allotted to it ? " On general principles we agree with the views thus expressed, but we fear this is a thorny and a contro versial subject. In the past, especially during the War, the cry has been always for experts to run the fighting Services. The man in the street has wanted to know why a politician and not a sailor has been at the head of the Board of Admiralty, and why we should be content with a political War Minister when there were available distinguished and able soldiers capable of running the business of preparing for and making war. Equally the argument extends to the R.A.F., and on grounds of efficiency it might be asked whether the three distinguished names quoted by Sir William are not those of men better qualified to run the R.A.F. than the best politician of them all. In any case, as we understand the position, General Trenchard has been told most categorically that the maximum amount to be spent annually on the services of the Air Ministry is £25,000,000, and that he must cut Ms coat accord ingly. Of course, it might be reassuring to the public that such a Parliamentary Committee as that suggested should be appointed to make sure that the £25,000,000 is the minimum required, and that it is being spent wisely. We are not, however, particularly enamoured of Parliamentary Committees of the kind. They usually spend a lot of time, not only their own, which does not matter particularly, but that of a number of officers and officials who are taken from their proper tasks to compile masses of information and to give evidence before the Com mittee—time which could be far more usefully employed. In the end, they make a report to Parliament, which is read and promptly forgotten. What we should like to know about the allocation of the £25,000,000 is exactly what proportion is to be devoted to civil aviation, and we shall look anxiously forward next year to the detailed estimates for the information. It is fairly generally agreed that for the present we shall do better to cut down on the active list of the R.A.F. and go in for a policy of encouragement of civil aviation in such a way as to build up an adequate and efficient flying reserve which would be at the disposal of the Air Ministry in case of national emergency. The arguments pro and con. for this policy have been set forth in the columns of FLIGHT on several previous occasions, so we do not propose to traverse them again now. It appears to us to be the best line of policy to be adopted in the circumstances, but the Air Ministry seems to be chary of taking the public into its con fidence, and if Sir William will press for a statement on policy in the course of the debate on economy which is sure to take place when Parliament meets next week, we had rather see that than any contro versy about the appointment of a purely civilian head of the R.A.F. • • • The Air Ministry has recently issued a The R.A.F. b00k2et containing the regulations for Profession tne R.A.F. Cadet College. In the main, they closely follow those governing Sandhurst and the R.M.A., the objects of the college 136 OCTOBER 16, 1919 being precisely similar in their scope. The limits of age for admission to the college are from 17J to 19, with the exception of those who are actually serving, or have served, in the forces and are recommended by their CO. for a permanent commission in the R.A.F., in which case the age limit is twenty- one. The subjects for the entrance examination which are obligatory are English, English history and geography, elementary mathematics and one modern language. Optional subjects are Latin, Greek, another modern language, mathematics (elementary, intermediate and higher), science, and elementary engineering. All the obligatory subjects must be taken, but not more than three of the optional. Incidentally, we had begun to think that the fetish of the dead languages had almost departed, but it does not seem to be so. How much better a flying officer the candidate is likely to make if he passes high in Greek than as though he were unable to differentiate between 4> and # is one of those things which are possibly only known to those who drafted the syllabus. Candidates will be expected to qualify by obtaining not less than 33 per cent, of marks in the four obliga tory subjects. They will receive extra marks if they hold Certificate A from an O.T.C., or if they have served in the senior division of the O.T.C., or if they have completed four months' continuous service as officers, warrant or non-commissioned officers or in the ranks in the Services. A certain number of prize cadetships will be awarded to successful com petitors in order of merit, carrying certain emolu ments and financial benefits. These are designed to give assistance to those who stand in need of the emoluments attached to them. There will also be King's cadets appointed by the Secretary of State, and honorary King's cadets nominated by the Secretary of State, and a limited number of cadetships will occasionally be filled by suitable candidates specially nominated by the Air Council, such recom mendations being submitted by the candidates' head masters. The course of study at the College during the first year will include : English literature and language, the British Empire, practical mathematics (including mechanics and draughtsmanship), general elementary science, history of the R.A.F., outline of Army and Navy- organisation and characteristics of the various arms and types of ships, map-reading, R.A.F. law and administration, drill (with rifles) and physical training, hygiene and sanitation, practical work in the work shops, the Morse code, passenger flying, with instruc tion in map-reading and use of compass and machine- gun. During the second year the course will be : Theoretical and practical instruction in engines, including magnetos and their management, theory of flight, practical rigging, advanced work in wood and metal workshops, wireless telegraphy and telephony, machine and Lewis gun, instruction in aviation. There is nothing remarkable in the conditions. They are, as we have already remarked, practi cally identical with those of the Army training colleges. The main point is that they definitely mark the establishment of the R.A.F. as a separate and distinct Service, self-contained and self-centred in the same manner as the Navy and the Army. 1
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