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Aviation History
1935
1935 - 0513.PDF
JIARCH 7, !935- FLIGHT. 251 The Air k*^1 UJ^J- from India to Singapore and back—a Th€ "of 6 000 mi.es— was. carried out by a complete squad- JlSta!fCttwelve aircraft. Later in the year it is intended to 1011 out further exercises by squadrons moving from Egypt fr?nnh Iraq to Singapore, and Singapore to India. It is bohoped to arrange for a flight of iandplanes to visit the Union of South Africa. In the early summer a cruise was made by three flying Its of No 205 (Flying Boat) Squadron from Singapore to Hon" Kong with the object of exercising the squadron in "rations at a distance from its main base. A distance ot >UJ miles was flown in the course of the cruise, during which the South China Sea was circumnavigated and visits were paid to the Philippines and French lndo-China. Tht Royal Air Force was represented at the Centenary Celebrations at Melbourne and Toronto. No. 203 (Flying Boat) Squadron flew from Basra to Melbourne and back to •-a." nnrt in the former, covering in their flight a distance of take part 111 approximately 19,000 miles In connection with the Toronto celebrations" aircraft from No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron made a tour of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. These air craft were transported by sea from England to Canada and erected at St. Hubert, the airport of Montreal. Sites for emergency landing grounds were selected on the west coast of Burma during the year, and are now being developed so that the section of the air route between Calcutta and Singapore may be used uninterruptedly during the South West monsoon, which is marked by torrential rainstorms. A successful survey has also been made for a trans-India flying boat route between Karachi and Calcutta in order to shorten the previous route, which was via Ceylon. This route was used by the squadron which visited Melbourne, and resulted in a total saving of approximately 2,400 miles on the outward and return journeys. Tiie linking up of Aden and Basra, via the Hadhramaut coast, by a chain of lauding grounds has been completed. For the first time since 1931, full-scale air manoeuvres were held over the London area, between the 23rd and the 26th July. In all, 32 squadrons participated. The Observer Corps ami six Searchlight Companies of the Territorial and one of the Regular Army afforded valuable co-operation. A total of 2,792 hours' flying was carried out during these exercises without accident. Personnel and Training Vote 1 (Pay, etc. of the Royal Air Force) stands at a net total of £4,547,000, thus showing a rise of £337,000 on the current year's figure. Special measures were taken during the year to meet the personnel requirements of the expansion scheme. These include largely augmented entries from civil life and extensions of service of selected officers and airmen. The entry into permanent commissions through the Royal Air Force College and the Universities has been increased, whilst the number of short-service officers to be entered from civil life and of airmen pilots from within the service will rise from a pre-expansion figure of 250 to 540. A fourth Flying Training School was opened in October last to cope with these additional entries, and a fifth will be opened in April. The yearly entry of boys for training as aircraft apprentices is being brought up from a pre-expansion figure °f .i.io to over 1,000. The number of officers and airmen whose service is to be extended must, of course, be regulated with a view to ultimate lo %'-term requirements; a substantial number of extensions 1 however, been authorised. The reorganisation of the fitter-rigger group of trades, referred to in the memorandum accompanying 1934 Estimates, is now being carried into effect and, bv reducing the relative number of skilled men necessary, will' be of material assist- in meeting the, increased requirements of expansion. of th"eW .scheme has been drawn up to broaden the basis . existing flying training organisation, whilst at the a ae time raising the standard of efficiency of the pilot on in the T^ a s1uadron- xt is proposed that the first stage <sh-.li f !raimng of short-service officers and airmen pilot; sn all 111 future consist of the course of 50 hours' flying at civil g schools at present undergone bv direct entrants into oceeri 1 A'r ForCe Reserve- From this course pupils will thev win U K°y;il Air Force Flying Training School, where tan-y 0' trained on service types of aircraft and will also tovigatio m°rC advanced work in instrument and night flying, 'l will n- gunnery and bombing. As the scheme develops, to co-ope'm > .increased opportunities to the civil industry for the el Wltn the Air Ministry by maintaining schools ementary flying training of service personnel. The review of the requirements of the service in airmen oi the different trades, referred to in last year's memorandum, is now virtually complete. As in the case of the review of the fitter-rigger trades, the governing principles have been to pro vide for the efficient and economical performance of the duties of the various trades, whilst at the same time ensuring a career which offers adequate prospects to the competent airman. Steps have also been taken to ensure that the highly- skilled tradesmen recruited through the apprentice system shall throughout their service be employed only on duties which demand their special training, and that other gra.les of airmen shall be given the maximum opportunity to qualify for skilled duties. As a result, a substantial majority of air men enlisted as unskilled aircraft hands will have a prospect during their .service of receiving some form of trade-training. A new class of " Boy Entrant " has been introduced to meet the requirements of the trades of Armourer, Wireless Operator and Photographer, which need a good standard of education, but not the high degree of mechanical knowledge and skill possessed by boys trained as aircraft apprentices. Competition for aircraft apprenticeships is always so keen that there is a surplus of unsuccessful candidates of good quality, and boys selected from among these by interview are now given an opportunity of receiving as " Boy Entrants " the shorter train ing which is all that the trades above specified require. The system of providing for observer duties in the Roval Air Force by the employment of airmen as air gunners, mainly on a part-time basis, has become inadequate to the require ments of the service, as the work of squadrons has increased in complexity and the organisation of the crews of aircraft has developed. It has accordingly been decided to introduce a new type of air observer who will replace in large part the present air gunner. These observers will be drawn from airmen of the trades recruited through the aircraft apprentice and boy entrant schemes—mainly from the armament, signal and photo grapher trades, the duties of which are most closely connected with the work of squadrons in the air. By ensuring a well- educated type of observer and employment on this duty for a substantial period of years, this scheme should considerably enhance efficiency. Auxiliary and Reserve Forces The net total of Vote 7 (Auxiliary and Reserve Forces) is £470,000, an increase of £76,000 on the figure for 1934. Concurrently with the expansion of the regular Air Force, steps have been taken to effect a substantial increase in the pilot reserve. It has further been decided to place the system of entry on a new and broader basis. Entrants for flying duties will in future be accepted only as airman pilots, but will become eligible at a later date to compete for a limited number of reserve commissions. This system has been successfully in augurated, and numerous candidates of excellent quality are coming forward. The strengths of Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force personnel for 1935 show slight increases over the numbers for 1934. Certain of the Cadre and Auxiliary Air Force squadrons again played a successful part in the Air Exercises. Measures are being taken to widen the field of recruitment into permanent commissions from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, and it has been decided to make a more extended use. of the University Air Squadrons in this con nection. The ordinary membership of each of these squadrons is seventy-five, and at present many candidates for commis sions have no opportunity of joining the squadrons owing to this limitation on numbers. In order to give such candidates experience of flying, it has been arranged that those whom the University authorities contemplate recommending for commis sions shall be accepted in their last academic year as additional members of the squadrons. It has now been decided, in consultation with the University authorities, to form an Air Squadron at London University. Technical Equipment The net total of Vote 3 (Technical and Warlike Stores) is £8,002,000, a rise of £782,000 on the corresponding figure for 1934. The increase in gross expenditure, however, at a total of £10,051,000, is £1,302,000, the difference being accounted for by the anticipated receipt of substantially larger Appro- priations-in-aid. The principal item under the latter head is the Grant in respect of equipment for the Fleet Air Arm, which shows an increase of £520,000 as compared with 1934- The 1935 programme provides for the initial equipment of eleven new squadrons and for the re-equipment of nineteen existing squadrons and a number of training units. Owing to the severe financial limitations prevailing in recent years, it has only been possible to maintain stocks of equip ment in the Depots at a low level. A measure of repienishmcat
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