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Aviation History
1923
1923 - 0776.PDF
DECEMBER 27. 1923 On November 26 the Belgian Poncelet light mono- plane " Vivette " made several nights carrying pilot and one passenger, although the engine was of less than 800 c.c. capacity. A new world's speed record was established on November 4, when Ensign Williams, winner of the Pulitzer race, covered the new 3 kilometre speed course at an average speed of 429 kms. (226-2 m.p.h.). This record has been homologated. The machine was the Pulitzer race Curtiss. On December 8 Mr. Alan Cobham, flying a D.H. 53 light monoplane, flew from London to Brussels in 4 hours 5 minutes. December 17 was the twentieth anniversary of the first flight in a power-driven aeroplane, Mr. Orville Wright succeeding on De- cember 17, 1903, in making four short flights. A very regrettable accident occurred on Decem- ber 13, when Mr. Lawrence Sperry, who had set out from Lympneon his "Messenger" biplane to fly to Amsterdam, came down in the Channel off Hastings. Eye-witnesses stated that the engine was running badly, but when the machine was salvaged it appeared to be practically undamaged. Of Mr. Sperry no trace has been found, his fate remaining a mystery. AIRCRAFT v. BATTLESHIP Admiral Mark Kerr and Viscount Curzon State their Views A VERY interesting, although to our way of thinking notaltogether conclusive, debate on the battleship policy took place at the Royal United Service Institute, Whitehall, onDecember 14, Lord Ampthill being in the Chair. The " challenger " in the debate was Admiral Mark Kerr, who putforward the following proposition : " That in order to preserve the command of the sea it is necessary to adapt our warshipsand aircraft to modern requirements, since the present type of battleship no longer performed that function ; the reorgani-sation of the naval bases thus becoming requisite." Admiral Kerr first pointed out that in an Empire like ourscommunications were as vital to us in peace as in war. The British Navy existed for the sole purpose of maintaining ourcommunications and stopping those of the enemy in times of war. It could never win a war, but no war could be wonwithout it. Throughout our history the lines of sea routes had been kept open for our merchant ships by cruisers ofvarying types, whilst enemy Mercantile Marine had been captured or debarred from them by the same means. In order that these light, fast craft could perform theirfunction properly, the battleship was produced to hold the ring and prevent interference from the enemy. This, hedeclared, was no longer possible, for the mine, the submarine, and aircraft had radically altered the conditions. AdmiralKerr said this was a very important point, because it did away with the principal function of the battle fleet to hold the ringso that the cruisers could work in safety. The problem before them came under two principal headings : (1) What type ofship should the present battleship be so that it can hold the ring under modern conditions ? (2) How are we to commandthe sea communications between our Empire and other parts of the world in the face of present-day circumstances From the earliest times man had striven for three things inorder to win in the struggle against the animals and other men. They were range, speed, and invisibility. The last-word in speed was spoken by the air, whose craft could travel on unfixed routes at over 200 m.p.h. For invisibility manused smoke screens on land and sea, submarines, and aircraft. Admiral Kerr went on to say that he had observed the effectof the flotillas of the air on the flotillas of the submarine, and from the returns received it was shown that never was a vessel. sunk which was escorted by heavier-than-air craft, and he thought there was only one case of a sinking when escorted bya lighter-than-air vessel. The submarine loathed and detested the aircraft. It was the only enemy that could strikeit without itself being hit. He agreed that there will always be battleships, but theirsize, type, and armament will change. " A battleship," he said, " may be a submersible of 5,000tons or an aeroplane-carrying ship of 15,000 tons, or some other kind not yet thought of, of 50,000 tons or 5 tons, but itcertainly is not the present type, if it is to be of any use. Let H H Manchester-Belfast Air Mail COLONEL SHELMERDINE, of the C.A. Department of theAir Ministry, arrived in Belfast on December 14 by aeroplane from Manchester to inspect the ground at Musgrave Park,Balmoral, which the Corporation propose should be provided for the purposes of a terminal point of the suggested air mailservice between Belfast and Manchester. - .,- us find out what we really want before spending money infeverish haste on what is of use no longer." He believed the present form of battleship should be anaeroplane-carrying ship, with aircraft carrying 21-in.torpedoes, others with depth-charge bombs and smoke bombs, and withsome fighting machines as well. There would be in attendance on this vessel submarine destroyers when necessary, accordingto the work and position of the ship. A secondary armament of 6-in. guns.would be provided for defence against submarinedestroyers, and the vessel should be fitted with blisters and •well sub-divided. Admiral Mark Kerr also advocated a Minister of Defencefor the fighting services, and criticised the spending of so large a sum of money on the Singapore Base. Replying for the other side, Viscount Curzon said thatAdmiral Kerr's case depended entirely on whether the capital ship could be destroyed by the submarine or by aircraft.Unless they could prove that the modern type of battleship was unable to withstand a reasonable amount of attack fromthese sources, there was every reason for continuing to build such vessels. The existence of the capital ship had beenthreatened from time to time by various new inventions, such as the torpedo, the mine, and aircraft. The advocates ofthese devices had prophesied the end of the capital ship, but it had been developed so as to meet their threats withsuccess. Mines, submarines, and aircraft had added to the difficultiesof defence, but he contended that torpedoes and bombs were not weapons of precision as were shells from guns. Most ofthe damage in the Battle of Jutland came from gunfire, whilst the mine had been combated by the paravane. He didnot think the bombing experiments were any guide as to the results which would have been obtained against modern shipsunder actual war conditions. He did not deny they were a menace, but before he accepted Admiral Kerr's view he wantedto know the exact proportions of the menace. If the present progress in anti-submarine warfare was maintained, he thoughtthe submarine would be rendered powerless. As to the aeroplane-carrier battleship, if the present type was obsoletethe other suggested type of vessel would be more vulnerable and less efficient. The conclusion he reached, therefore, was that the presenttype of capital ship remained today, as it had always been, the unit on which all other naval forces must depend forsupport, and which, when the critical hour of the fleet action took place, became at once the dominating factor. Vice-Admiral Bernard, Captain Altham, CommanderBoothby, and Rear-Admiral Boyd also took part in the discussion, and in summing up the debate the Chairman saidthat he must rule that the challenger had failed to make out his case against the present type of battleship, or in regard tothe Singapore base. Paris-South'America Air Line FROM Paris it is reported that Government support will be given to a scheme for an air line from Paris via Bordeaux, Lisbon, Casablanca, Dakar, and across the Atlantic to Pernambuco. At first the air line will only extend as far as Dakar, mails and goods being conveyed across to Pernambuco by steamer. ... . 773
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