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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0636.PDF
•-' Again, with regard to the contention that aircraft are merely extensions of the power of navies and armies. This seems to us to be a very limited argu- ment indeed. As a matter of fact, it is exceedingly thin. It is doubtless true in a measure, but by parity of reasoning we should be equally justified in holding that, in the case of an Empire like our own, which is based primarily on sea-power, the Army is simply an extension of the power of the Navy, to be used under the directions of the naval authorities to complete on land the work begun by the fleet at sea. This is obviously an absurd and extreme standpoint to adopt seriously, and if it were put forward in all seriousness it would be promptly and properly laughed out of court—-because the functions of fleets and armies as such are so well understood and generally appre- ciated. It is only because, however, the strategic functions of air power are not so well understood that such equally extreme arguments are allowed expres- sion. During the war it was demonstrated beyond all question that air power, in common with all plans for the military defeat of an enemy, has two separate and distinct aspects. It can assist in that defeat either in combination with either or both the other recognised Services or by its own unsupported action. How far the latter can come to being decisive we saw in such a comparatively trifling affair as the last Somaliland campaign, in which air power secured a decision in almost as many days as the Army had spent years in trying to effect without success. As a matter of fact, we do not know yet precisely how far along the road to a decision air power alone can carry us. A great deal, of course, depends upon the character of the operations involved and the character of the opposition. But whatever these may be we do know enough to be certain that air power and a. separate and unified Air Force is as essential to the safety of the Empire as a. correspondingly powerful Navy. Nor need there be any question of starving the other Services to secure it. Their full require- ' JUNE 17, 1920 ments in aircraft and personnel must and can be met without weakening the striking power of the main Air Force, whose role is strategic. To our way of thinking the need for keeping the Air Force clear of the reactionary influences of the Admiralty and the War Office is as strong, or stronger than ever. Air The success of the London-Paris air_, Air . services has been such that the operatingTransport , , , . , r ,.° Charges companies have been enabled recently to announce that the charges for passen- gers and goods are to be considerably reduced. It is possible now to travel by air from London to Paris ' for 10 guineas, or 18 guineas for the double journey. For goods the rates are : Parcels up to 10 lbs., 2s. per lb. ; up to 30 lbs., is. gd. per lb. ; up to 100 lbs., is. bd. per lb ; and over 100 lbs., is. 3d. per lb. This is indeed progress, nor need there be any question that these greatly reduced rates are any- where near final. In the future, and as aerial trans- port grows, they will come down still more until the aeroplane will not only, as now, surpass in speed but will compare in actual cost with the older forms of transit with which it is in competition. One question which must inevitably be asked in connection with this matter of reduced rates is of how the Post Office proposes to justify its present extortionate charge per ounce for conveyance of letters by air between England and the French capital. We have always argued that it would be perfectly possible to make the mail service pay handsomely on a charge of 6d. an ounce for mail matter, and that such a compara- tively low charge would induce the business com- munity to take full advantage of the facilities offered. If the Post Office is sincerely desirous of assisting both the aircraft industry and the business of the country, it will at once set about a revision of its rates, which are far too high to be justified, even by a public department. , . " Sir H. Trenchard to be MarriedALL who have followed the progress of the Royal Air Force and know how much it owes to the wonderful leadershipof the " C.A.S." will be more than interested in the announce- ment that a marriage has been arranged, and will take placeon July 17, between Air-Marshal Sir Hugh M. Trenchard, Baronet, K.C.B., D.S.O., Chief of the Air Staff, Hon. Maj.-Gen. in the Army and Col. of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, and Katherine, widow of Captain the Hon. James Boyle, RoyalScots Fusiliers. " • .' ./" 1,000 Mile Trip by "R33" LATE in the evening of June 8 the " R 33 " returnedto her station after an instructional cruise of about a thousand miles, which practically embraced the whole of England exceptthe extreme southern parts. The vessel was in the air 24 hours. When she left Howdenshe turned north, crossing the coast line at Scarborough. Passing over the North Sea she came in again near the Tyne,crossing Barrow and Newcastle. Then she went north again, but before reaching Edinburgh veered southward, andpassed over Manchester and Liverpool, across Cheshire, and on to Birmingham, Leamington, Bedford, and Pulham, afterwhich she took the east coast route back to Howden. R.A.F. Reunions Seaplane Squadron No. 8, R.N.A.S., German EastAfrica, 1916-1918.—A. reunion dinner will be held at the Holborn Restaurant (corner of Kingsway) on Friday, June25, at 7 p.m. It is hoped that all officers and men who served withthis squadron will attend. Mufti. Tickets (10s. 6d) from Capt. C. S. Thompson, Orient House, 42-45, New BroadStreet. London, E.C.2. No. 2 Squadron, R.A.F.—It is proposed to hold areunion dinner in the autumn. The hon. sec. (J. O. Comber, Ashenhurst, Guildford) will be glad to hear from anyinterested. ! Raid on Turkish Aeroplane Park ON the forenoon of June 8, several Turkish flying officers,accompanied by cadets of the School of Aviation and several soldiers of the Air Force, entered the Aviation Park ofMaltere, some 12 miles east of Scutari, and tried to start the engines of seven aeroplanes parked there in conformity with theArmistice, reports The Times correspondent at Constantinople. " According to information from a Turkish official sourcethree machines which could not be started were damaged by . the officers. Four or five of the officers, one of whom wasaccompanied by his wife, then attempted to escape on the other four machines to the Nationalist lines about 30 milesaway. One machine promptly crashed, and the pilot was seriously injured, two descended apparently through ineffi-ciency of the pilots west of Ismid, and the occupants were arrested, the fourth disappeared into Nationalist territory.It is strange that no precautions had been taken by the authorities responsible for the enforcement of the Armisticeterms against such an attempt." A Record Weather Balloon Ascent SOMEWHAT of a record, for this country, at any rate,was created on June 9, when a weather balloon sent up from ,' Cranwell, Lincolnshire, was kept under observation con- "'• ;-ttinuously until it reached the altitude of 110,000 ft. or 20 f miles. It was only at the highest point observed that the .,wind attained the force of a gale. ;_;. - A High Climbing Test ,AN interesting test was carried out by Lieut. Casale ; • at St. Cyr recently by way of preparing for an attack on thealtitude record. Entering an insulated cylindrical chamber, the air was gradually exhausted until the atmospheric condi-tions, as indicated by the barograph, were similar to those at a height of 12,000 metres (39,300 feet). The "ascent"was made in 47J mins.. an 1 tn« '' descent " in 20 mins. Lieut. Casale started to inhnle oxygen at 4,600 metres. During theexperiment 1,000 litres of oxygen were consumed. 636
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