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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0029.PDF
JAMJAHY i, i<jio AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT GunsTand Aircraft Handed Over by Germany*S BRIG.-GEN. CROFT, in the House of Commons, on December 16, asked what is the total number of guns and aircraft which has been handed overby Germany in accordance with the conditions of the Armistice; and how do these figures compare with the numbers laid down ? Mr. Churchill: The total numbers of guns and aircraft which have beenhanded over by Germany in accordance with the terms of the Armistice are as follows:—5,000 guns, 25,000 machine guns, 3,000 trench mortars, 1,700aeroplanes. These figures are the numbers laid down. Ana-Aircraft Station, Putney HeathSIR ARTHUR FELL asked what is the reason for maintaining the anti- aircraft station near the reservoir on Putney Heath ; if the lorries employedthere and the guns are of any possible use ; and when will the station be closed down ? Mr. Churchill: The anti-aircraft station near the reservoir on Putney Heathhas been maintained as it is the headquarters of the West London Anti- Aircraft Defences, and is responsible for closing down the forty-six stationsm these defences. This work is nearing completion, and it is hoped to vacate Putney Heath in the early part of January next. The headquarters willthen be transferred to one of the stations which it is proposed to maintain under the new scheme. The lorries referred to are employed on work connectedwith the clearing of the stations mentioned. There are no permanent guns at the headquarters. Manston Park Station, Margate SIR H. NIELD, on December 17, asked the Parliamentary Secretary tothe Admiralty whether he will state under what statutory enactment. Regu- lation, or other authority possession was taken by the Department of theland at Manston Park, near Margate, belonging to Mr. J. Proctor; for what purpose is possession still retained, and whether it is proposed to occupy itpermanently ; if so, what is the reason for delaying negotiations for purchase ; in the event of the Department proposing to give up possession, will he statewhen this is likely to take place, and whether the premises will be put into the condition they were at the time when the Department took possessionbefore restoration to the owner ; and what proposals has he to make for compensating the •wner for the occupation of the premises before and sincethe Arimstice, or is it the desire of the Department that the occupier should be compelled to proceed with his claim before the War Losses Commission ? Mr. Churchill . The answer to the first question is that this land was takenunder the Defence of the Realm Regulations ; to the second, that this is one of the stations which it is proposed shall be permanently retained for theuse of the Royal Air Force; to the third, that the decision to retain this aerodrome has only recently been made and is subject to Treasury sanction,for which application will be made. In view of the above, the fourth question does not arise. The answer to the fifth and sixth questions is that the AirMinistry is not satisfied that the owner has sustained any loss, but that matter can be discussed in the course of the negotiations which must takeplace when the Ministry is in a position to take final action. Kenley AerodromeSIR STUART COATS, on December 18, asked the Under-Secretary of State to the Air Ministry whether, in view of the danger to aviators landing atthe Kenley Aerodrome on account of its exceptional altitude and liability to be enveloped in clouds and fog, as instanced by the recent fatal accidentnear Caterham, and also in view of the annoyance caused to the residents of the district by the noise of arriving and departing aeroplanes, he willconsider the permanent abandonment of the site and the restoration of the common, so far as may be possible, to its original condition ?Mr. Churchill: The situation of this aerodrome, on which a large amount of money has been spent, renders it of great importance in connection withthe Air Defences of London, and it is considered desirable that it should, therefore,"be retained as a permanent station by the Royal Air Force. Theadvantages and disadvantages of the prevailing atmospheric conditions at Kenley were fully considered at the time when this decision was taken. Airships for Commercial Purposes and IndiaMAJ. SIR B. FAILE, on December 22, asked the Prime Minister if he is aware that the R. 34 and R. 39, the two latest rigid'airships, are to be soldfor commercial purposes ; and if he will allow one of them to be retained for the use of the Indian Government on the North-West Frontier of India ?Mr. Bonar Law : The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. I am making inquiries in regard to the suggestion in the lastpart of the question. Seaplane Station, Hornsea Mere CAPT. STANLEY WILSON asked the Parliamentary Secretary to theMinistry of Munitions whether he is aware that the Disposal Board of the Ministry of Munitions have advertised Hornsea Mere, in the East Riding ofYorkshire, as being for sale as a seaplane station ; whether this has been done with his consent; and whether he is aware that this lake is privateproperty which was acquired temporarily by the Admiralty under agree- ment with the owner in 1917 ?Mr. Kellaway : Hornsea Mere was advertised as being for disposal with a view to ascertaining whether the Government property there could bedisposed of in any way other than by the dismantling of the buildings and plant. The Department has now given instructions that any buildingswhich might be of use to the owner should be sold to her, and that the remainder, if any, should be sold for removal. Air EstimatesMAJ. GLYN, on December 23 : I beg to ask a question of the Leader of the House in reference to a question which I had put down for theSecretary of State for War, in view of the importance of the reply which I have received. The question was :— " To ask the Secretary of State for War whether the memorandum by theChief of the Air Staff issued with the Air Estimates had received detailed consideration by and the approval of the Board of Admiralty and the ArmyCouncil; and whether it is intended to supplement the Chief of the Air Staff's memorandum with any comments passed on it by the Admiralty andthe War Office in so far as those Departments are affected by the proposals contained in it." In the reply which the Secretary of State for War courteously sent mehe says:— " No, Sir, it was stated in the memorandum that the organisation proposedwas provisional. I was anxious that it should be published in order that the House might be informed at the earliest possible moment of the generaloutline of the proposed permanent organisation of the Royal Air Force. Discussions are now proceeding, between the Departments concerned. Thefinancial limits of the scheme must be taken as definitely settled by the Cabinet." In view of the importance of that reply, which shows that there is noco-ordination between the technical heads of the Air Ministry, the War Office and the Admiralty, are we to assume that the terms of that memo-randum by the Chief of the Air Staff will remain the policy of the Govern- ment, and if not, will any fresh proposal receive the consideration of theCommittee of Imperial Defence or the recognised experts of the Navy and ° l^e Army before they are presentedjto this House as the settled policyof the Government ? Mr. Bonar Law r I am sure it will be recognised that I cannot give ananswer to this question without notice. What I do know is that the Trenchard scheme was before the Cabinet, and that we approved it ongeneral grounds. It is quite obvious that there must be negotiations between the Army and the Navy with reference to the subject. Maj. Glyn : May I ask the Leader of the House whether he will impressupon his colleagues in the Cabinet the immediate importance of the forma- tion of a Joint Imperial Staff ? Mr. Bonar Law : That is a very big question ; it is receiving our attention. R.A.F. Hair Mattresses MR. MACQUISTEN asked the Secretary of State for War if he has fore-gone his demand for 100 tons of curled hair desired for the 7,000 beds for the R.A.F.; whether tenders are now being asked therefore in the IrishPress ; and where and on what are the R.A.F. to sleep now ? Capt. Guest : The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative.The 90 tons of hair has been definitely accepted by the Air Ministry and tenders are now being invited from the trade by His Majesty's Office ofWorks (on our behalf) for the making up of this hair into mattresses. With regard to the second part of the question, nothing is known of this. TheAir Ministry does not at present possess a Contracts Branch, and is there- fore not in a position to invite tenders. The third part of the question doesnot now arise. Disorder at Henlow MR. W. THORNE asked the Secretary of State for War if he is awarethat on Sunday night, November 2 last, there was an outbreak of disorder among the R.A.F. men at Henlow station; that whilst the disturbancewas being dealt with by non-commissioned officers, a number of men con- cerned entered hut No. 21 whilst the proper occupants were in bed andasleep ; that following the occurrence a number of the latter were picked out and charged with inciting to mutiny and other counts, and withouttheir defence being considered were sentenced to detention at Wandsworth and loss of grade ; that such punishment has caused indignation and dis-content ; and if he will order an inquiry into the matter with a view to justice being done to innocent men ? Capt. Guest: The answer to the first part of the hon. gentleman's questionis in the affirmative ; to the second part, that the men who caused the dis- order were rounded up in hut No. 21 ; to the third part, that these menwere brought before the Commanding Officer, and that none of them were dealt with without their defence being considered. Four men were tried bygeneral court-martial, 11 elected to be tried by district court-martial and have already been brought to trial, and the remainder were dealt withsummarily. I am not aware that indignation and discontent has been caused by the way in which this outbreak has been dealt with. If the hon. memberhas any reason to believe some or any of the men who were in bed and asleep have been punished unjustly and will furnish me with the names, Iwill have that matter inquired into. Aeroplane Durability MR. MURCHISON asked tbe Secretary of State for War whether he canstate the average life in flying hours under peace conditions of two-engined aeroplanes capable of carrying 20 to 30 passengers and single-engined aero-planes carrying up to four passengers ? Capt. Guest : The period that has elapsed since civil flying under peaceconditions commenced has been insufficient to allow such reliable data to be obtained as would enable a useful answer to be given to this question. Thenecessary data are being collected. It may, however, be observed in this connection lhat if the proper replacements, both of engine and aeroplaneparts, are made during the periodical overhauls, there is no reason why any aeroplane should ever wear out, as after 200 hours' flying there will probablybe very little of the original machine left. Officers (Rank) VISCOUNT WOLMER asked the Under-Secretary of State to the AirMinistry whether officers of the R.A.F. promoted to the substantive rank of major for distinguished service rendered in the War by His Majesty in theNew Year Honour List have been now instructed to vacate their position in the R.A.F. as majors, to relinquish this rank, and to report back to theirold unit ? Maj. Tryon : Promotion in the R.A.F. is given in respect of an officer'sR.A.F. commission and is not Army rank. The number of Air Force officers has been reduced from, approximately, 30,000 at the date of the Armistice,to about 4,000 at the present date, and consequently a large number of officers seconded to the Air Force from the Army have been returned to their units.Promotions in the R.A.F. conferred as rewards for good service in the Air Force on officers seconded from the Army must necessarily become in-operative during the subsequent service of these officers in the Army unless they have attained equivalent rank in their parent service. The questionof allowing officers, who have not then attained Army rank equivalent to their R.A.F. rank, when they finally leave the Army to reassume their R.A.F.rank will again be considered. Blackwater Farm, Government AcquisitionVISCOUNT WOLMER asked the Under-Secretary to the Air Ministry whether he is aware that during 1917 the Government compulsorily acquireda farm of Mr. W. Watts, Ivy Cottage, Hawley Road, Blackwater, Hants, for the purpose of building cottages for the employees of Farnborough Air-craft Factory; that when they took it over the farm had been heavily manured and cultivated at Mr. Watts's expense, and by the action of theGovernment he was deprived of all his crops and had to dispense with 10 of his best cows at a sacrifice, and that Mr. Watts has been thereby ruined ;that an expert valuer engaged by Mr .Watts has assessed his losses at £700, and that after keeping him waiting nearly three years the Government haveoffered him only £340 ; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made with a view to redress being given ? Mr. Kellaway : I am at present unable to answer this question owing tothe short time available for the investigation of this matter, but I will com- municate with my noble and gallant friend as early as possible. Air Estimates (Memorandum)MAJ. GLYN asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Memo- randum by the Chief of the Air Staff issued with the Air Estimates hadreceived detailed consideration by and the approval of the Board of Ad- miralty and the Army Council; and whether it is intended to supplementthe Chief of the Air Staff's memorandum with any comments passed on it by the Admiralty and the War Office in so far as those Departments areaffected by the proposals contained in it ? Maj. Tryon : No, Sir. It was stated in the memorandum that theorganisation proposed was provisional. I was anxious that it should be published in order that the House might be informed at the earliest possiblemoment of the general outlines of the proposed permanent organisation of the R.A.F. Discussions will now proceed between the Departments con-cerned. The financial limits of the scheme must be taken as definitely settled by the Cabinet. ^
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