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Aviation History
1934
1934 - 0754.PDF
FLIGHT. JULY 26, 1934. was that we were taking endless trouble to legislate for risks which were considerably below one-half of the total. Had this simple truth been generally realised and acted upon after the war, we should never have had the maze of detail technical regulations which now hedge us in on all sides. An Iincrease at st AT long last the Government has announced itsintention of making a definite increase in the. strength of the Royal Air Force. Mr. Baldwin,the acting Prime Minister, made no allusion to the uncompleted programme of 1923, which laid down fifty-two squadrons as the minimum then considered desirable for the Home Defence Force. This is a totally new programme, and provides for thirty-one new squadrons for the Home Defence Force over and above the two which were provided for in the last Air Esti- mates, as well as eight new squadrons which will be divided between the Overseas Commands and the Fleet Air Arm. This figure eight includes one flying boat squadron and one Fleet Air Arm squadron already sanc- tioned. The spreading of this programme over five years is reasonable. It should prevent any unpleasant additions to the income-tax. It should obviate expensive panic measures in buying land for aerodromes and in placing building contracts for barracks and hangars. It also should prevent too much standardisation of aircraft types. There seems no inclination to quibble with Mr. Bald- win on the exact interpretation of the word "parity," which was used in his earlier promise. Many things may be understood by such a word, for parity in total machine strength of the R.A.F. wherever stationed is one thing, and parity in the Home Defence strength is another. Probably what most voters in this country have in mind when they speak of parity with other Powers which are within striking distance is the Home Defence Force. That is natural, for the expression so often used, "within striking distance," obviously implies it. Parity with such Powers is not to be affected by, say, increasing the number of flying boat squadrons in the Middle and Far East Commands, the number of cata- pult seaplanes on the China station, or even the number of army co-operation squadrons in Great Britain. The important figures in the programme, so far as Home Defence is concerned, are thirty-one new squadrons to be added to the existing forty-four (one of which is temporarily at Singapore), which will give us a total of seventy-five squadrons in 1938. Some of these squad- rons will have twelve first-line machines and others will have ten. The increase of six squadrons additional . to those already sanctioned, to be divided between the Oversea Commands and the Fleet Air Arm, is extremely welcome, though we cannot regard it as affecting our parity with Powers within striking distance. The Fleet Air Arm has always been just as strong as the Admiralty (subject to Treasury sanction) desired it to be, for the Admiralty pays for all that it orders. It is only a system of book- keeping which shows the cost of the Fleet Air Arm as part of the Air Estimates. It would hardly seem to call for a pronouncement by the acting Prime Minister if more squadrons were to be added to that Arm. Addi- tions to overseas squadrons are another matter, though they, too, are partially paid for by appropriations-in-aid from India and other Governments. We may venture a prophecy that the air garrison of Singapore will be substantially increased, and we should like to see the situation clarified by the formal handing over of No. 100 (Bomber) Squadron to the Far East Command and its replacement by another unit at home. We may also hope that more flying boat squadrons will be raised, for they are of the utmost importance in any scheme of Empire Defence. Apparently, no addition is to be made to the small body of five army co-operation squadrons in this country ; and we understand that the War Office has not yet asked for any more. The Army in India may, on the other hand, wish for an increase; and it would not be surprising if the Middle East Command wanted more troop-carriers. We must not be dazzled by the promise of forty-one new squadrons. We must fix our attention on the prospect of having seventy-five squad- rons for Home Defence by 1938. That is twenty-three more than the 1923 programme, and it cannot be called an excessive increase. The Air Exercises ONCE more the squadrons of the Command, AirDefence of Great Britain, are engaged in exer-cises to practise them and their commanders in the defence of London. For the past two years London has been kept out of the area of the exercises, and it has been generally understood that one reason for this was to create a suitable " Geneva " atmosphere. Now there is no longer any need to worry about what Geneva may think. We have piped the pipe of peace (if the mixed metaphor may be excused) to the nations and they have not danced. The time has come to increase the strength of our Air Force, and perhaps it is just as well to give the people of London a reminder of what is the chief task of that Air Force. Pacifists may be shocked at the idea that Great Britain should be such an evil beast as to defend herself when attacked ; and others may be so worried by the noise of engines overhead as to think that our Air Force is a great deal too big already. Exponents of air '' frightfulness '' will say '' Ah! You see that cannot prevent the enemy bombers from getting through. You ought first to have exterminated the whole of their population with poison gas. It is the only thing to do." Sensible folk will reflect that, of course, the bomber will always get through when there are no real bullets in the guns of the fighters. Moreover, we like to think that British bombers will always get through when attacked by enemy fighters, and the best way to rehearse that is to try to get through the British defence cordons. Those who are privileged to see a little behind the scenes will be able to judge the physical weariness which afflicts both sides after a few days of sham fighting, even though there is an armistice each day from 09.00 to 18.00 hours. That alone is sufficient reason for an in- crease in the number of our squadrons. The greatest mistake which anyone can make is to imagine that one side will win this sham war and that the other side will lose it. It is not a competition, but an exercise. It exercises not only the officers and men of the squadrons, but also the staffs of the various Com- mands. That the people of London should have their attention drawn to some of these matters is very desirable.
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