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Aviation History
1931
1931 - 0527.PDF
FLIGHT, MAY 29, 1931 THE ROYA IR FORCE London Gazette, May 19, 1931. General Duties Branch The follg are granted short-service commns. as Pilot Officers on probationwith effect from and with seny. of May 6:—M. Hare, A. J. Hicks, E. S. Virnherson T H. L. Nicholls, J. Ramsden, G. G. Sharp-Bolster, D. Sloan,S W F. Smyth, A. Threapleton, G. F. Wood. The follg. Pilot Officers on probation are confirmed in rank :—J. G. B. O'Hagan April 11); E. J. N.Heaven (April 25). The follg. Pilot Officers are promoted to rank of Flying Officer-—F A. McNeill (Jan. 13) ; G. G. Barrett, F. R. Drew (Jan. 27) ;D W 'H Heath (Feb. 28) ; H. St. G. Burke (with seny. Sept. 27, 1930) March 27) ; C. P. F. Alderson, N. D. Lamb, J. F. Sutton' (April 11) : I. O.Baldwin" N V. Bertram, F. P. R. Dunworth, N. Foster-Packer, N. Hill, G. W. Lawson, D. E. Milson, F. A. J. Pollock-Gore, W. J. Scott (April 14). Pilot Officer on probation W. R. Ottewill resigns his short-service commit.(May 10); the short-service conimn. of Pilot Officer on probation H. W. Riley is terminated on cessation of duty (May 20) ; Lt. Cdr. A. N. R. Keene,RN Flying Officer, R.A.F., relinquishes his temp, commit, on return to Naval duty (April 8) ; Lt. J. E. yallance, R.N., Flying Officer, R.A.F.,relinquishes his temp, commn. on retirement from the Royal Navy (May 20) ; Lt. P. Bethell, R.N., Flying Officer, R.A.F., relinquishes his temp, commn. on return to Naval duty (April 22) (substituted for Gazette, May 5) ; Gazette,May 12, concerning Wing Commander E. B. Beauman is cancelled. RESERVE OF AIR FORCE OFFICERSGeneral Duties Branch The following are granted columns, in Class AA (ii) as Pilot Officers onprobation :—B. G. Horstmann, B. P. Turner (May 4). The following Pilot Officers on probation are confirmed in rank :—E. P. S. Davidson (April 25) ;A. M. MacLachlan (May 5) ; R. W. O'Sullivan (May 5). Pilot Officer the Hon. H. C. H. Bathurst. of the Special Reserve, is promoted to rank of FlyingOfficer (April 26) ; Flying Officer F. F. Wilkinson is transferred from Class A to Class C (July 3, 1930). The following Flying Officers relinquish their commits, on completion ofservice:—F. R. Matthews (Nov. 9, 1930) ; H. E. Greenberry (March 29) ; P. A. A. Boss, B. H. Cook, W. E. L. Courtney, I. Craig, H. M. Gibbs, G. A.Milbank, G. Richardson, R. V. Weeks (April 20) ; P. R. Dawson (May 1). Flying Officer G. H. Winckworth relinquishes his commn. on completion ofservice, and is permitted to retain his rank (Dec. 8, 1930). Stores Branch Flying Officer R. Lamb relinquishes his commit, on completion of service (April 30). ROYAL AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE Appointments.—THE following appointments in the Royal Air Force are notified :— General Duties Branch Wing Commanders : L. F. Forbes, M.C., to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, ontransfer to Home Estabt., 26.4.31. H. P. Lale, D.S.O., D.F.C., to H.Q., Inland Area, Stanmore, 11.5.31. H. I. Hanmer, D.F.C., No. 503 Sqdn.,Lincoln, to command, 11.5.31. Squadron Leader T. W. Elsdon to H.Q., Coastal Area, 12.4.31.Flight Lieutenants: L. Young, to R.A.F. Reception Depot, WestDrayton, 11.5.31. F. H. E. Reeve, to Station H.Q., Amman, Transjordan, 22.3.31.S. M. Park, to H.Q., Aden Command, 1.4.31. W. J. M. Akerman, to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 26.3.31. H. A. Evans-Evans, to H.Q., R.A.F., Transjordanand Palestine, 22.3.31. H. S. Sandiford, to No. 5 Flying Training School, Sealand, 11.5.31. Flying Officers: H. V. L'Amy, to No. 40 Sqdn., Upper Heyford, 20.4.31 ;G. Calvert, E. G. Reed, R. B. Whittingham, all to No. 40 Sqdn., Upper Heyford, 5.5.31. G. H. W. Selby-Lowndes, to Central Flying School, Wittering, 11.5.31. J. Mutch, to Central Flying School, Wittering, 11.5.31.J. N. Jaques, to No. 5 Flying Training School, Sealand, 11.5.31. Pilot Officers : M. Hare, A. J. Hicks, E. S. Macpherson, T. H. L. Nicholls,J. Ramsden, G. G. Sharp-Bolster, D. Sloan, S. W. F. Smyth, A. Threapleton, G. F. Wood, all to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, on appointment to short servicecommissions as Pilot Officers on probation, with effect from 6.5.31. Stores BranchFlight-Lieutenants : F. J. W. Humphreys, to No. 10 Group H.Q., Lee-on- Solent, 12.5.31. A. H. Comfort, to R.A.F. Base, Gosport, 4.5.31.Flying Officers : C. H. Baker, M.B.E., to Stores and Supply Depot, Aden, 2.5.31. T, A. Head, to Station H.Q., Kenley, 1.5.31. Accountant BranchFlight-Lieutenant V. Hay, M.C., to No. 2 Flying Training School, Digby, 1.5.31. Medical Branch Squadron Leader A. J. Brown, D.S.O., to R.A.F. Depot, Uxbridge, 19.4.31. <$> IN PARLIAMENT Aviation Accidents.MR. MONTAGUE, on May 20, in reply to Maj. Glyn, etc., said : The following table gives the aircraft accidents during periods January 1 to May 19 :— — Royal Air Force personnel:— KilledInjured Persons using commercial air-craft :— Killed Injured 1925. 1647 1 1927. 2439 — 1929. 1631 2 1931. 4539 1 2 I should add that in 1931 there has been a very large increase in the amountof flying carried out both by Royal Air Force and civil aircraft as compared with the earlier years. No persons were killed or injured while using machinesof British companies operating regular or taxi air-transport services in or originating from this country during any of the above periods. The figuresexclude accidents to club or privately owned aircraft. The original cost of Royal Air Force machines that have been lost thisyear as a result of accidents both at home and overseas was roughly, £220,000, but the actual value at the date of loss was, of course, very much less; thevalue of the parts aalved cannot be estimated without undue labour. ROYAL AIR FORCE FLYING ACCIDENTS DURINC PERIOD JANUARY 1 TO MAY 19, 1931 Aeroplanes crashed and written off charge*hese figures include :— New aeroplanes under testAeroplanes of a type over three years old Aeroplanes crashed as the result of failure of engine or other materialAeroplanes crashed as the result of col- lision Home. Abroad. 56 Nil47 17 Nil12 2 Nil . Full information as to the causes of many of the accidents which resultedin aircraft being written off charge is not at present available, and it is 1' 'isible that the figures relating to engine and other failure may have to ber^viscd. * A..F. and ParachutesCOMMANDER SOUTHBY, on May 20, asked the Under-Secretary of State for A;r what is the date of the design of the life-saving parachutes now used in the Royal Air Force ; at what minimum height they are considered to beeffective ; whether any new or more efficient parachute is under considera- tion ; if so, at what height it is effective ; and whether it is intended tosupply the new type to the Royal Air Force without delay ? Mr. Montague : I am glad this question has been put, as it enables me todeny emphatically the allegation, which has appeared in a certain newspaper, that the parachutes used by the Royal Air Force are obsolete and are notsafe under 800 to 1,000 ft. As regards the first three parts of the question, the parachute now used was originally designed about 1922 and is standardequipment in the air forces of at least 17 countries and is extensively employed in civil aviation. It is difficult to state definitely the minimum height atwhich it will certainly be effective, as this depends, among other things, on the velocity at which the aircraft itself may be falling ; but on two occasionsthese parachutes have saved life in drops from as low as 150 ft. The Air Ministry is always alive to the possibility of an improved type of parachute,but in its existing form the present standard type is more efficient and effective than any of the other types which have been examined since itsintroduction. The last two parts of the queston do not, therefore, arise. Commander Southby : Has the attention of the Under-Secretary beenspecifically called to the new type of parachute which was recently tried at Brooklands ?Mr. Montague : The statement made in the newspaper to which I have referred is the only one of which I have heard recently, and that was dealtwith by the Air Ministry over 18 months ago and turned down. New types are being constantly experimented with and tried. R.A.F. (Parachutes) SIK W. BRASS, on May 21, asked the Under-Secretary of State for Airwhether his attention has been called to the new British Russell-Lobe para- chute which was demonstrated recently at Broqklands ; and whether hisexperts have yet had an opportunity of testing its efficiency under service conditions ?Mr. Montague : I am advised that the Russell-Lobe parachute is, like the Irvin parachute at present standard in the Royal Air Force, an American"parachute manufactured under licence in this country. It was tested less than 18 months ago under the same conditions as all other parachutes sub-mitted to the Air Ministry. If any new features have been embodied in its design since then, the makers have not brought the fact to the notice ofthe Air Ministry or asked that a further test should be conducted in the light of them. The Air Ministry is, of course, at all times ready to investigatethe merits of any new design which affords promise of being an advance on the type at present in use. All the alternative types so far tested have beenfound to suffer from drawbacks of one kind or another which render them definitely inferior to the existing pattern. Trinidad, HeliumMR. MONTAGUE in reply to Dr. Morgan, said : It has been suggested, from time to time, that helium might be found in the natural gases from theTrinidad oil fields, but my information is that nothing more than a trace ol helium has so far been identified. Further investigations into the possibilityof helium being found in quantity are in progress. The Air Ministry is, of course, closely watching developments. 489
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