FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0210.PDF
FLIGHT, MARCH 8, 1984 to mislead, and hence it has been said that there are three classes of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Sta- tistics. Provision has been made in the Estimates for the equivalent of four new squadrons. That is the impression which the ordinary reader of d.iily popular newspapers has doubtless received. He has also probably grasped the additional fact that only two of those four squadrons are for the Home Defence Force, and the average citizen has probably felt accordingly depressed. He hoped for four, and he has only got two. He has probably felt only confused by the additional statement that two squad- rons at present incorporated in one of the experi- mental establishments will be reorganised and re- constituted on an effective basis. In reality this is the outstandingly clever feature of the Air Estimates. To understand the point one must examine rather carefully the composition of the so-called Home Defence Force. This is a term which is constantly used in Parliament, but it does not appear in the Air Force List. In that publication it is shown that in the British Isles there are three Commands, namely, Air Defence of Great Britain, the Coastal Area, and the Inland Area—not counting Cranwell and Halton. Now in Parliament it is always said that the Home Defence Force consists of 42 squad- rons. These are made up as follows. A.D.G.B. has 27 squadrons of regulars, five Cadre squadrons, and eight Auxiliary squadrons, making a total of 40. One of these, No. 24 is a Communications Squadron, and in its present form cannot be reckoned as a fighting unit. It is as necessary for an Air Force to have a Communications Squadron as it is for an army to have militaty railways and motor trans- port, but none of these take part in the actual battles. The number 42 is made up by including Nos. 15 and 22 (Bomber) Squadrons, which are not under A.D.G.B. but under the Inland Area. These two squadrons in their present form are only paper strength. They are composed of the Martlesham test pilots, who have to be posted to some nominal squad- ron for discipline, etc. Of course, if the pilots of these two squadrons were equipped with suitable aeroplanes, they would make the two finest squad- rons in the country, if not in the world, so far as skill in piloting goes, though it does not follow that they would become immediately perfectly organised and trained bombing units. No. 15 B.S. possesses only eight officers and two airmen pilots. No. 22 B.S. has 13 officers and no airmen pilots, so it is obvious that they are in no case to take the field at a moment's notice. Therefore the effective strength with which the Home Defence force could engage the enemy is not 42 squadrons but 39. By reconstituting Nos. 15 and 22 B.S. on an effec- tive basis, the Air Estimates add nothing to our paper strength, but will in practice provide two quite new bombing squadrons. Presumably they will then be transferred from the Inland Area to A.D.G.B., and certainly their personnel will be very different from what it now is. Martlesham will have to keep its staff of highly skilled experts for test purposes, for in time of war there will be more need than ever for putting new types of aeroplanes through their flying tests with the greatest possible promptitude. Whether the test pilots will be placed directly under the Headquarters of the Experimental Establishment cannot yet be said. The point is that A.D.G.B. will gain two more squadrons, and yet the paper strength 210 of our Home Defence Force will remain as before. There will also be added to A.D.G.B. two entirety new squadrons, the raising of which is authorised under the Air Estimates, and so the result is that our hopes of four new squadrons for A.D.G.B. are realised. That is quite satisfactory so far as the present year is concerned. Next year we hope that the country, less heavily taxed, will be more prosperous, and will be able to afford a more substantial increase in our fighter and bomber squadrons. At the same time, we must not forget that No. 24 (Communica- tions) Squadron, necessary and useful as it is, is not a unit which is equipped and trained either to attack a raiding enemy or to carry the war into that enemy's country. At the end of this financial year the nominal strength of the Home Defence Force will be 46 squadrons, but its fighting strength will be only 45. While we are gratified by the increase in the strength of A.D.G.B., we are not at all satisfied to note that the strength of the Coastal Area is to be less by one squadron than it was last year. No. 100 (Bomber) Squadron, which is equipped with " Vilde- beestes," was last year transferred from the Coastal Area to the Far East Command. It moved from Donibristle to Singapore. To have replaced it could not have offended susceptibilities, for we threaten no Geneva interests in maintaining our strength in the British Isles at its last year's level. No. 100 B.S., with its torpedo-carrying machines, was not a unit of the Home Defence Force, but was what is called a coast defence squadron. It would not have engaged hostile air raiders, but it might have at least incommoded hostile naval raiders, and it was cer- tainly an element in the general defence of these islands. When No. 100 B.S. disappeared from our Home establishment, it was only reasonable to expect that another squadron should be raised to take its place. This step has not been taken. We have now no torpedo squadron in the British Isles. Thus, while the strength of A.D.G.B. goes up by four squadrons, the strength of the Coastal Area goes down by one, and the net increase of our air strength at Home is only three squadrons. This fact should be noted by all who study our air strength. The Fleet Air Arm is to be increased by two flights of catapult seaplanes for use on cruisers and capital ships. They will be used for naval duties only, and we are glad to see the strength of the fleet thus increased. The pilots who fly them will all be naval officers (with temporary commissions in the R.A.F.), and if the machines are multi-seaters the observers and air gunners will all be provided directly by the Royal Navy. The cost of the two flights is being borne by the Admiralty by an appropriation in aid. We must regard these flights as affording a welcome addition to naval strength. The overseas strength of the Royal Air Force is to b'1 increased by the addition of one flying-boat squadron. We may hazard a guess that it will be stationed at Singapore. Wherever it goes, we are very glad to see this increase in the number of flying- boat units. The Royal Air Force is still the chief agency for stimulating the development and improve- ment of the flying-boat class of aircraft. We hope that the new squadron will be given one of the more modern types of boat, and will not be told to carry on as best it can with the " Southamptons," dis- carded by somebody else. J
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
