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Aviation History
1926
1926 - 0028.PDF
JANUARY 21, 1926 one at that—is reported to be planning the postpone- ment of the home defence scheme which has for several years now been regarded by all parties as essential to the safety of the country. It is obvious to anyone who makes any pretence of having given the subject more than a passing thought that the pivot of the whole position is the aircraft industry. Unless that industry is kept alive, and kept alive to such an extent as to be capable of immediate expansion in case of emergency, our air defence must rest on a very insecure basis. Yet ii appears that this vital industry is again to be faced with starvation, and that at a time when more than ever a continuity of policy is essential. The British air- craft industry in the past has suffered—more than most people realise—from a lack of such continuity. Orders have been given by fits and starts, works have been feverishly busy for short periods, followed by long waits for another order. One result has been the inevitable, viz. : that it has not been an easy matter to attract finance to the industry, and what is, perhaps, more important still from a national point of view, such few machines as have been ordered and delivered have necessarily been a good deal more costly than they need have been if the system of placing orders had been continuous instead of inter- mittent. During the " economy " years some 20 aircraft firms succeeded in weathering the storm, at what sacrifice will probably never be fully realised, and it came to be accepted that if the country were to enjoy any measure of security it would be highly dangerous to go below that number. Yet if the con- templated reductions in air expenditure reported are really to come about, we venture to predict that more than one of the existing aircraft firms will have to close down, at a loss to the Empire which cannot be assessed in intrinsic value, and with the result that many trained expert workers will have to leave the trade of which they have made a speciality and in which they excel. Even apart from the national safety point of view, and placing the matter on the lowest level, the " economy " will be a false one, since the country will in very many cases, be paying a highly-skilled man the dole instead of paying him for doing work of real national importance, whilst the leeway which will have occurred must sooner or later be made good at an ever-increasing cost. In view of the fact that these things are apt to be forgotten, may we try the patience of our readers by quoting a few figures relating to Britain's post-war air history ? Figures are, we realise, generally dry, but in this case they are illuminating. The Air Estimates for 1919-20 showed a maximum establishment at home and abroad of 150,000 officers and men, and the total estimate for the year was £66,500,000. In the Air Estimates "for 1920-21 the number of personnel was reduced from 150,000 to 29,730 and the net estimate from £54,030,850 to £21,056,930. The following year, 1921-22, the personnel voted jor was 30,880, and the total net estimate was £18,411,000. By 1922-23 the " Geddes Axe " had got busy, and the personnel was 31,176. This appears as an increase, but actually during the previous year increases had been made which brought the personnel up to 40,880 instead of the 30,880, so that in point of fact there was a decrease. The most drastic reduction that year was found in the total net estimate, which sank to the relatively very low 28 figure of £10,895,000. That year was the low-water mark in the Air Estimates, and from then onwards a steady increase is to be found. Thus in the 1923-24 Estimates we find a personnel of 33,000, and a total net vote of £12,011,000. The 1924-25 Air Estimates were signed by Lord Thomson—in other words, were the Labour Government Estimates—and, in spite of this fact they showed an all-round increase :— Personnel 35,000, and net air vote £14,511,000. By 1925-26 there was an increase in personnel of 1,000, i.e., a total of 36,000, and the net vote had risen to £15,513,000. The general increase in the Air Estimates during the years following the " Geddes Axe " year are dut- to a general admission that the air has become our " first line of defence." This view appears to be shared by all parties, and that being so, and mort.- especially in view of the fact that development in the technical sense is rapid in air matters, it becomes dangerous to attempt " economies." What makes the position even more difficult is that it is becoming clear that in the national interest a change in policy is required as regards aircraft construction. Hitherto, as readers of FLIGHT will be well aware, machines have been built in the main of wood. We have no intention here to enter into a discussion of the relative merits of wood and metal from a technical standpoint. But the hard cold fact has to be faced that the world's supply of suitable timber is running very short indeed, and that whether we like it or no, we shall have, if for no other reason, to turn to metal construction in order to ensure supplies in case of emergency. That being so, our aircraft firms will, during the next few years, be faced with the problem of evolving methods of construction in metal which shall be technically effective, and at the same time shall be based upon the use of materials obtainable in time of war. These technical problems are sufficiently serious and difficult in themselves, but if our aircraft firms are to be, in addition, kept on short rations in the matter of orders, then the outlook becomes black indeed. Briefly summarised, the position may be stated somewhat as follows :—The Air is now the Nation's First Line of Defence. The basis of an effective and efficient air force, capable of expansion in time of need, is a healthy aircraft industry. An aircraft industry, to keep pace with developments abroad, must be adequately supported by the Government, in the form of orders, otherwise it either cannot exist at all, or at best it cannot make the technical progress which the rapid development of aircraft design, the world over, demands. Surely the argu- ment is logical enough in all conscience. Lest we should be accused of " having an axe to grind," we publish elsewhere in this issue a leading article from The Daily Telegraph of January 19, 1926, in which that newspaper, always eminently sane, well-balanced and unbiased in all matters, especially those relating to the British Empire, and certainly not likely to start unnecessary " scares," utters a word of warning concerning the slowing up of air development. The views expressed by The Daily Telegraph so precisely tally with those put forward in FLIGHT for years that we feel they form a corroboration, from a totally unbiased source, of what FLIGHT has so long been preaching, and we have therefore felt justified in publishing the article in full.
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