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Aviation History
1920
1920 - 0892.PDF
and Rabat has been operated by the Compagnie de NavigationAerienne (M. G. Latecoere) which has obtained a concession from the Spanish Government. The route passes over Spain,with stops at Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga. Flights are made twice weekly in each direction. Mails and passengersare conveyed between France and Morocco and by a special arrangement Spanish mails are carried between the inter-mediate stopping places. The concession granted to the French Company is provisional and does not exclude or limitsimilar grants to others. Another French company, the Societe Anonyme des Trans-portes Aeronautiques du Sud-Ouest has been reconstituted under the title of Compania Franco-Bilbania des TranspcrtesAeronauticos, for the purpose of forming a Franco-Spanish company to open a service between Bayonne, San Sebastian,Bilbao and Santander, by which it is hoped to carry mails from Bilbao to connect with the Paris express at Bayonne,and, in the case of English mails, secure delivery in London on the following day by arrangement with the Paris-Londonair service. The company would be registered in France in order to retain the right to the French air transport subsidies.A regular service between Nlmes and Nice is conducted by the Compagnie Aerienne Franoaise, a flight being carried outin both directions bi-weekly. The company is subsidised under the Government scheme. The " Aero-Navale " Com-pany has under consideration the establishment of a seaplane service between Marseilles and Algiers, with an intermediarylanding on the Balearic Isles (Spanish). At Pierrefeu, in the neighbourhood of Marseilles, there is a large rigid airship shedwhich is conveniently placed for international civil traffic by airships. The policy of carrying out long-distance flights in order toconnect France with her colonial possessions by air is still being actively pursued, and a successful flight has been made acrossthe Sahara from Algiers via Timbuktu to Dakar. Germany—The organisation of civil aviation has beensteadily progressing during the last six months, but actual flying has been partially suspended owing to the shortage ofpetrol and the disturbed condition of the country. Germany now possesses a Ministry of Air and Transport. The Depart-ment for Air supervises general questions concerning air traffic, air regulations, aerodromes, aerial photography, thedistribution of material, the classification and testing of types, inventions, meteorology and intelligence, wireless telegraphy,and the control of aerial organisations. The German Government have also established a strictcontrol over the movements of all aircraft. At the beginning AUGUST 12,. 1920 and end of each flight proof has to be given of the purpose ofthe journey. The pilot is obliged to hold a pilot's certificate issued by the State Air Department and, except in the caseof flights carried out by air transport companies, a permit issued by the police authorities for each flight. Air transportcompanies, it is understood, are allowed to issue permits for flights under an arrangement with the State Air Department,to which they are responsible. All luggage carried by aircraft is subject to special inspection.A number of new transport companies have been formed, and at present there are 25 such companies in existence. Allthese companies are as yet undeveloped, and the activities of the two principal organisations—the Deutsche Luftreedereiand the Sablatnig—are at present very slight. Although the list of companies and firms engaged in civil aviation is at firstsight imposing, it represents little of real account, in spite of the big press campaign conducted to demonstrate the existenceand importance of German civil aviation. The present object of the companies is to interest the public in aerial transportand to keep going until the commercial aeroplane is a prac- ticable proposition.Germany has not yet produced a commercial aeroplane suit- able for civil aviation, but many German engineers are workingto discover a satisfactory type. The Government Department for Air and Power Transport(Reichsamt fur Luft und Kraftfahrwesen) has in the Supple- ment to the Home Allowance of the State Transport Ministryfor the year 1919 allotted the sum of 500,000 marks (£2,300) as a subsidy for German aviation enterprise. The grantingof the subsidy is conditional on the maintenance of air communication and of an air post. In the Home Office grantfor ig2.o, 12,000,000 marks (^55,800) are to be devoted to the same purpose.Germany is undoubtedly looking to airships to play a. prominent part in her schemes for the future, and it is under-stood that the Germans hold the same views as ourselves as to the ultimate r$le of airships, namely, to carry out long-distance trans-oceanic and trans-continental non-stop tours. The airship " Bodensee " has been increased by 10 metres inlength, and a new airship, " Nordstern," similar to the un- modified " Bodensee," has been completed. It is believedthat the airship company using the present Friedrichshafen- Staaken route, on which the " Bodensee" successfullyoperated for three to four months last year, is to extend this route to the principal Scandinavian towns. This companyhas not carried out any flights since the end of November 1919- (To be Concluded) AVIATION IN PARLIAMENT Houton Station, OrkneyMR. WASON on July 29 asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware of the extravagance carried on at Houton, Orkney, in running the Air Force ;that the lorry and tender are doing no real work and are practically only used for running into Kirkwall and back for amusement, and that all thestores and rations could easily be carried by a small cart; and whether, under all the circumstances, he can see his way to abandon the station ?Mr. Churchill: I cannot accept the suggestion that there is any extrava- gance at Houton Station. Enquiries have been made, and the Air OfficerCommanding reports that mechanical transport is only used for Service purposes. It would not be economical to provide horse transport speciallyfor light loads. The question whether this station can be dispensed with is now under consideration. Air Raid Victims' GrantsMR. FORREST asked the President of the Board of Trade when the Special Commission will be appointed to consider ex-gratia payments to people who,uninsured, have suffered from air raids ; and whether he will announce the method under which applications are to be submitted ? Mr. Chamberlain : It is not proposed to appoint the Commission untilsufficient payments on account of reparation have been allocated to the Exchequer of the United Kingdom over and above prior charges, such ascost of Armies of Occupation. The method of applying for grants will be a matter for the Commission when appointed. British and American Aircraft Patents (War Claims)LIEUT.-COMMANDER YOUNO asked the Prime Minister whether His Majesty's Government has agreed to indemnify the Government of theUnited States against claims by British subjects against that Government in respect of the use by that Government during the War of British patentsand other proprietary rights relating to aircraft; whether any reciprocal liability has been undertaken by the Government of the United States towardsthe British Government; and what is the estimated or ascertained measure of the financial liability of the British Government under this indemnity ? the subject of consideration. The financial aspect of the matter cannot atpresent be gauged inasmuch as the responsibility of the respective Govern- ments has not been clearly defined, and the claims to be dealt with thereunderhave not yet been investigated. Bristol Aeroplane Company.MR. RENDALL on August 5 asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that men who left their work in 1914 and 1915 and went to theBristol Aeroplane Company to work are still retained there, including wood- workers, carpenters, joiners, masons, etc., who are badly wanted for providinghouses in and around Bristol; and whether women who left situations in shops and domestic service, and went to this firm in 1916, are also retained therewhilst over 5,000 ex-soldiers are out of work in Bristol ? Mr. Churchill: The Bristol Aeroplane Company is a private concern, andthe Air Ministry has no control over the numbers and types of workpeople the firm may see fit to employ. In so far, however, as skilled men are being em-ployed in carrying out Air Ministry contracts, I can assure my hon friend that the work which they are doing is necessary for the Royal Air Force.Mr. Rendall asked the Secretary of State for Air what contracts the Bristol Aeroplane Company, formerly the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company,• have for the Government; and whether the Government are financing the.. above firm or giving them any form of subsidy ? •Mr. Churchill: I am sending my hon. friend a list of the Air Ministry contracts on which the Bristol Aeroplane Company are engaged. The com-pany is not financed or given any form of subsidy by the Government. West Fenton Aerodrome, Haddingtonshire MR. J. HOPE on August 6 asked the Secretary of State for Air whetherhe is aware that the West Fenton Aerodrome, Haddingtonshire, occupies a large area of land, of which 30 acres is unused and uncultivated ; that this landof high agricultural value is a mass of weeds, the seeds from which contaminate adjacent highly cultivated farms ; and whether he will either take .steps tocultivate the land or clear it of the weeds ? Mr. Churchill: A report has been called for by the War Office, and I willwrite to the hon. member as soon as it is received. The Air Navigation BUI MR. CHURCHILL, Secretary of State for War and Air, on August 9 movedthe second reading of the Air Navigation Bill, which had passed the House of Lords This bill is the embodiment of the Air Navigation Convention held atParis on October 13 last. The Convention wasframed on the assumption that complete territorial sovereignty should be exercised by each Power over theair space over its own territory. Among other provisions of the bill are those giving local authorities power to acquire land for that purpose in con-nection with civil aviation, and dealing with jurisdiction in respect of crimes committed in the air. After a brief discussion the bill was read a secondtime and committed to a standing committee. : Brussels-New York Airship ServiceA MESSAGE from Brussels indicates that a scheme isbeing considered in Belgium and the U.S.—where it is being York. It is estimated that, with airships measuring 310 ft.in length and engines aggregating 6,000 h.p., the journey could be done in not more than 48 hours. Each airship,pushed by the Belgian Chamber of Commerce—for the or- it is said, would be capable of conveying 200 passengers ^qnisa+inn of an airshin servire. hcrwwn Rni<j=ol= *T,H M««r andjthe cabins would be luxuriously fitted Up.ganisatio airship service betwee Brussels and New 894
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