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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0452.PDF
FLIGHT. MAY 10, 1934 ment for the " Bulldog." Standard day-and-night fighters are required to have rather more air endur- ance than is allowed to the interceptors. They cannot climb so fast, but they can go up earlier and patrol for a longer time, and this ability may sometimes be essential, especially at night. The night fighter cannot wait until the searchlight points out the raider before he takes off. He must be up in the air already, patrolling his zone, before ever the raid is at hand, and for that he needs a fair supply of fuel. Were the Fighting Area equipped with nothing but interceptors, we might fall victims to something which a machine with less spectacular performance might have averted. It is always rash for politicians to wax hot on a subject which they have only partially studied. Defi J Attackence an D EFENCE is the best form of attack, saidthe time-honoured maxim of war, and theflippantly-minded expressed the same sentiment in the doggerel line " Thrice is he blessed who hath his quarrel just, " But jour times he who gets his shell in just." Now, it appears that General Weygand and the French military staff are discarding that old principle and are placing their trust in defence. In the early days of the war the collapse of Liege and Namur before the heavy siege artillery of the Germans seemed to confirm the wisdom of reliance upon the attack, but later on Ypres and Verdun showed the possibility of successful defence, and for the next three years attacks by infantry and artillery against barbed wire and machine guns always proved immensely costly to the attackers. But for the tanks and the con- stant pressure of the British Navy, the war might not have ended victoriously for the Allies even in 1918. Accordingly the French military experts now have decided to place their reliance on ground defences, and feel confident that these are sufficient to ward off any German menace in the immediate future. They claim, as part of their plan, perfect freedom to maintain such forces as they deem adequate to secure the safety of their own frontier, and this decision of theirs has to all appearance driven the last nail into the coffin of the Disarmament Con- ference. The impression is even getting abroad that it will now not be much use to pursue Mr. Baldwin's plan for calling a special conference for the regula- tion of air armaments. On the other hand, the idea is gaining ground that the Disarmament Conference may before it dissolves draw up some international rules to forbid inhumanities in warfare. We have always held and preached that this would be the most useful line for the Conference to follow; and if deliberate attempts to slaughter civilian popula- tions from the air are now to be forbidden by inter- national agreement, the Conference will have done some really useful work. We have repeatedly given reasons, based on military history, on human psycho- logy, and on ordinary eommonsense, why such humanitarian rules of warfare are likely to be gener- ally observed by all belligerents who retain a modi- cum of sanity. In the air, however, no lines of barbed wire and machine gun " pill boxes " are possible. We are not suggesting that the aerial bomb will be able to demolish ground works which defy the artillery, for such a result hardly seems likely. The question which interests us is whether the old maxim of re- lying mainly on the attack will persist in air warfare after it has been abandoned in ground warfare. Though the bombers may not be able to break down the defence line they may seriously hamper the defence by destroying their sources of supply and their lines of communication. For Great Britain the more particular problem is the extent to which our air defence by fighters, searchlights, A.A. guns, and very excellent communications between them all, will be able to defeat the attacks of enemy bombers. We believe that such attacks can be made so costly to the enemy that he will not persist in them for long; but that means a very strong force of fighters. We should like to see our force of fighters largely in- creased, and at the same time all the guns and searchlights handed over to the direct care of the Air Ministry. Then perhaps we shall find that in the air, too, defence may be stronger than attack. Amateur Effid,iciency THE standard of efficiency in club-trainedpilots has been the subject of both praiseand criticism in equal proportions since the days when the light aeroplane clubs first saw the light. Those who praise forget, perhaps, that the results have been in some measure due to the excellent characteristics of the present-day light training machine. Those who criticise forget the difficulties under which the club instructor must work. Only the most perfect tutor can remember the weaknesses of each pupil in a class of several hun- dred, and a club-trained pilot may very easily and unknowingly develop the most glaring faults after he has left the " nursery." All clubs encourage " refresher dual " at regular intervals, and one of the oldest has been working for some time with a most thorough system of categories with special tests for entry into each. There the keen member pro- gresses from solo work to passenger carrying, short cross-country flights, and finally into the " go any- where " category. Another means of improving efficiency lies in the* organisation of really interesting and thorough com- petitions covering general air pilotage. Provided that enthusiasm can be raised and sustained, this is perhaps the better method, and in the club notes this week a particularly good example is men- tioned. Not only are the tests designed to produce a pilot who will never find himself in an impossible position and whose general flying technique will be of the best, but they include operations that are often ignored by the club pilot having a ground staff at his beck and call. Engine starting, inspection after a heavy landing, opening and folding wings, picketing after a forced landing—all these are included. Any competition or series of tests likely to improve still further his standard of flying should be supported by every amateur pilot. 452
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