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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0166.PDF
MARCH 19, 1925 He asked what had been done to prevent the whole vastarea of Central Europe being blocked to British air lines, and if anything had been done to encourage a scheme ofco-operation between France and ourselves for carrying mails by aeroplane to India. Rear-Admiral Sueter declared that he regarded 'the Estimate as inadequate. He hoped that some of the older men would be put on a reserve list, to accelerate the pro- motions of younger men. It was very unsatisfactory that France should have three times as many aeroplanes as this country. In his opinion, the present number of men was inadequate for a first-class Air Force. He asked for informa- tion as to the types of machines which were being constructed —were seaplanes of the boat type being developed ? He suggested that the Minister should closely investigate the work of the Farnborough factory, on which £2,000,000 had been expended during the last five years. As regards the Aeronautical inspection Department, he thought that they tied the firms up too much. He suggested that if the Air Minister trained up a real engineering personnel inside the Air Force, accidents would be reduced by something like 50 per cent In regard to airships, he pleaded that more money should be given for the carrying out of experiments on girders, and urged that the Admiralty should not be allowed to have any- thing to do with the designs of airships. Sufficient money was not being devoted to civil aviation, and he wished to know whether there was any check on the million miles supposed to be flown by the Imperial Airways Company, and whether, under the subsidy, that concern was liable to provide new instead of continuing to fly old machines ? He hoped the Air Minister would resist to the utmost the suggestion that the Admiralty should have a Naval Air Service again. When the Admiralty had an air arm they blocked it at every turn. They smothered the Air Service in its infancy, and then threw it overboard. And yet some people advocated that the Admiralty should have an air service again. He knew that some naval men did not subscribe to that view, but he would ask them, Did any captain of the Excellent ever try to help the Air Service to " spot " for their guns ? Admiral Bacon said that the shooting of the Cruiser Squadron was deplorable ; but did Admiral Beatty ever attempt to develop the shooting of his squadron by aerial " spotting " ? Maj.-Gen. Sir John Davidson said he agreed with Sir A. Sinclair that construction should proceed at a quicker pace, if possible, so as to bring us up to a standard of equality with any European Power. He thought that the Air Service in Imperial defence was not getting proper recognition either from the House, the public, or from the Army and Navy. It would never get that proper recognition from the Army and Navy until we had a more effective system of co-ordina- tion. What was required was a real super-Chief of the War Staff with power to co-ordinate the three Services. We were defending our strategic points in an expensive and inefficient manner by maintaining fixed armament defences instead of utilising aircraft. Sir P. Sassoon (Under-Secretary for Air) said the Air Ministry was fully alive to the importance of doing everything possible to foster and stimulate civil aviation. It was a definite part of its policy, and the Ministry looked forward hopefully to the time when civil flying would occupy the same relative position towards the Air Force as the Mercantile marine did towards the Navy. But there were limits to the amounts that even the most enthusiastic Air Minister could ask the House to vote. The Ministry was engaged on a progressive scheme for the expansion of our defence forces, and therefore the greater part of the money voted in these estimates had necessarily to be devoted to the completion of that scheme. Tn France the development of the military air forces hadprogressed at such a pace during the last few years that the necessity for the development of defence did not presentitself so imperatively, and more money was available for commercial flying. Therefore, it was not quite fair tocompare the /i35,000 we were spending on civil aviation with the ^£00,000, or thereabouts, that was being spent inFrance. In Germany the military restrictions imposed by the Allies on aviation left far more money available for civilian aviation, and this country was paying the penalty for the neglect which took place in the years immediately following the War. He emphasised the largeness of the capital expenditure which the Air Ministry was facing. It was bound to swell until the present home defence plans were completed, but he hoped that it would not recur. It was only fair to point out, however, that, whereas in 1918 no fewer than 81 men were required to keep one machine in service, in 1923 the figure had dropped to 65, and in 1924 to 21. Some gratifying improvement was noticed in the number of hours flown per machine in the last four years—thejT were two and a half times greater than in 1921. The Air Ministry were fully alive to the importance of establishing and encouraging commercial air routes, and in not allowing this country to fall behind other countries. Capt. W. Benn asked if anything conld be said as to the suggestion made in The Times that the Imperial Airways, Ltd., was to take over the Cairo-Baghdad service. Sir P. Sassoon said the Air Ministry had a very watchful and friendly eye on the development of the air services in the Near East, and on schemes of co-operation with our neigh- bours in other parts, such as Syria and the route to India. All these matters were having the consideration of the Director of Civil Aviation, and he hoped that he would not be pressed to reply until the Director had returned and made his report. The statement that the proportion of our machines to those of the French was three to one was a perfectly fair one. It was arrived at after making full allowance for all the demands that might be made on the Air Service, whether naval, military or reserve, and it was exclusive of overseas aircraft. The proportion of three to one was fair, even allowing for the deduction of machines for ancillary services from the striking forces. As regards the Fleet air arm, he could assure the House that no change had taken place whatsoever. The agreement was that the Admiralty and the Air Force settled before the Estimates what the Fleet air arm was to cost, and the amount was placed in the Navy Estimates as a grant in aid for the Air Force. It was the duty of the Air Force to supply to the Navy the whole of the materiel. The present arrangement _ merely crystallised a scheme of co-operation and co-ordination which existed before. As hitherto, the Admiralty remained solely respons- ible for deciding how many machines and how much Air Force material were to be placed on the carriers, and the Air Ministry had to furnish the full complement to be carried. The Admiralty had to decide what they needed for these carriers, and had the responsibility for the operation and control of them. It was an undivided responsibility for instruction and design and for training and organisation of the unit. Sir Archibald Sinclair asked if the Admiralty accepted without reservation the absolute and unified control of the Air Force by the Air Ministry. Sir Philip Sassoon said the Government did. He was sure that the Admiralty would never put technical difficulties in the way of anybody. Comparisons between aeroplanes were often inaccurate and misleading, but he saw no reason to believe that British machines were not just as good as the machines of any other country. The Air Ministry, however, had no false pride ; they were perfectly willing to accept hints from any quarter and to act on them. They had had extremely good results from experiments in flying by night and in foggy weather with directional wireless operated from the ground. The problem of flying safely by night seemed likely to be dealt with successfully in the near future by a system of lights and leader cables. It was the considered policy of the Ministry to put at the service of civil flying all its experience and all the results of the costly research which it undertook. Imperial Airways, Ltd., had flown a million miles a year, and were keeping to their contract schedule. He saw every reason to believe that the company would take a leading part in commercial flying in Europe in the future. Farnborough was the centre of research work of all kinds, and the Air Ministry did not intend to undertake construction there. Research from the ground was showing extremely good results, and work in connection with helicopters and wireless directional control was proceeding steadily. He could not give information of a most secret character across the floor of the House. , Mr. Ammon said that France was in the position to spend money on civil aviation, while we, deprived of the money which was our due, found ourselves very much behind in our air defences and unable to go forward in regard to civil aviation. He hoped the Air Ministry would take their courage in both hands and establish one control. 166
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