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Aviation History
1933
1933 - 0530.PDF
FLIGHT, SEPTEMBER 14, 1933. the country. In the end he achieved his objects. He won the love of his Shiah subjects, and he re mained a good friend of the British who had placed him on the throne. The mandate has been resigned, and Iraq has become a member of the League of Nations. A treaty has been signed with Great Britain which satisfies all except the extreme nationalist party in Iraq. The Royal Air Force remains in Iraq, but its chief station is to be re moved from Hinaidi, outside Baghdad, to a new- location on the Euphrates river. There it will be less in the public eye. It will not be a constant reminder that the forces of Iraq are not yet able to secure the integrity of the frontiers and internal peace. At the same time, the personnel of the Royal Air Force will be in better harbourage than they have been at Hinaidi. The new King Ghazi is only 21. Naturally, he is inexperienced, and has not yet been able to show what stuff is in him. Still, an Oriental comes of age at 18, so that at 21 a man is more than a mere stripling. King Ghazi is an old Harrovian, so that he already has close ties with Great Britain. It is said that his greatest ambition hitherto has been to enter Cranwell as a Flight Cadet. If that is true, it is very satisfactory. The new King will be a good friend to aircraft and air power. This is of good augury, not only for the cause of flying in general, but for the best interests of Iraq. It has been proved beyond all doubt that in a desert country air power is the cheapest and also the most efficient way of keeping order. That may not be so in a moun tainous country, where the best role of aircraft may well be co-operation with an army, but, so far as desert countries go, the case for air control needs no further demonstration. All rulers, whether Kings, Dictators, or mere Premiers, who recognise facts like this, are assets to the present and the future. At the same time, British patriotism and pride in the record of the Royal Air Force in Iraq does not compel us to insist, or even to hope, that our squadrons must stay in that country for ever. We can heartily sympathise with the ambition of the Iraqis to undertake fully the defence of their own country as well as its internal administration. They are a virile race, and no race of men worthy of the name like to think that they cannot defend their country with their own strong right arms. It will certainly be part of King Ghazi's business to build up by degrees an efficient army and an efficient air force. At present there is a flying corps which is part of the Iraq Army. It is small, and its equip ment is modest, but the officers have mostly been trained by the British Royal Air Force, and have passed out as very competent pilots. Great develop ments are sure to come, and some day no doubt the Iraqi Air Force will be able to take over full respon sibility for the control of their own land. Then, no doubt, the British squadrons will be withdrawn. We have need of more squadrons elsewhere, and this reinforcement of our air strength in the British Empire proper will be very welcome. At the same time we shall feel great gratification when our pupils show proof of the competency of our instruction. Gratitude is not to be expected between one nation and another, and those who say that they expect it are only looking for disappointment. Friendship is another thing. Iraqi pilots, who have been attached to British squadrons and have lived in the officers' messes, have made friends among their British mess mates. They will pass on that tradition of friendship to their juniors in the Iraqi Air Force, and when the time comes for our squadrons to leave Iraq, we may hope with good reason that the friendship between the two nations of airmen will remain unbroken. • • • •> It is reported that Wing Commander Wackett has designed a new type of aeroplane for Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, to be called the " Codock," of which some account is given on another page. It is also stated that this machine is to be Singapore- tne bas:js 0f a tender by Sir Charles for Tenderers *ne contract for the air service between Singapore and Australia. This is interesting, though it does nothing to make clearer a position which is not as lucid as it might be, and which seems to be constantly changing. Sir Charles and Mr. Ulm were recently the two managing directors of Australian National Airways, Ltd., which has now gone into liquidation and sold up its Avro If machines. Mr. Ulm, one of the most astute men in the Australian flying movement, is now engaged in flying round the world, though one might have expected him to be waiting in Australia for the publication of the terms of the tender for the new service or services. It is not yet certain whether the contract will be for one through service from Singapore to a terminus somewhere in Australia, Canberra or Melbourne or elsewhere, or whether there will be one contract for the Singapore-Darwin section and another for the internal section. It is known that a new company is being registered in Australia in which the shares will be held jointly by Imperial Airways and Qantas, and that this company intends to tender for the contract or contracts. Now we hear that Sir Charles Kingsford Smith also intends to enter the field. It is not in the least surprising that Sir Charles should wish to secure the contracts if he can. In its early days Australian National Airways put up a very good show, and for some time made profits out of an unsubsidised service between Brisbane and Sydney. It is generally understood, however, that this success was mainly due to the management oi Mr. Ulm. Sir Charles is one of the finest long distance pilots in the world, in fact Mr. Fokker in his book " Flying Dutchman " gives him first place among long-distance pilots. Presumably also he can raise sufficient financial backing to be able to earn out his contract if he secures it, though this is only a presumption on our part. We may also presume that he is not likely to tender on the basis of a certain type unless he is convinced that the type J a good one. He certainly ought to be a good judge. Still, Wing Commander Wackett has not always been a completely successful designer, and the Australia'1 authorities know all about the history of his variou designs. In any case a new type is always an unknown quantity, and a tender by Sir Charles on the basis of a new design by Wing Command^ Wackett would surely look problematical to the Australian Government. It certainly could not earn the heavy guns, so to speak, of the " Atalantas backed by Qantas and Imperial Airways. ^a^« «SK *SI< >JW yxt 58K JSK W!K 58K H!R 906
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