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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0607.PDF
266 FLIGHT. MARCH 5, 1936. STRENGTHENING OUR DEFENCES Home Aircraft to be Brought Up to Total of 1,750 ; Twelve More Squadrons for Overseas : A New Aircraft Carrier : More Army Squadrons CONSIDERABLE increases in the number of Royal Air Force Squadrons, over and above those laid down in the existing Expansion Scheme, together with re- equipment of the Territorial anti-aircraft defence forces, are specified in the long-awaited White Paper issued by the Government last Tuesday. After surveying the situation and the growth of foreign armaments, the paper (which is entitled "Statement Re lating to Defence") outlines the Government's plans for strengthening British defences. The paragraphs which concern the Royal Air Force and Air Defence are given below. Paragraph 28 runs as follows : — A new aircraft carrier, of a smaller type, will be laid down at an early date. The growing naval importance of the Fleet Air Arm will necessitate a considerable expansion of its present strength. Compared with other Navies, such as those of Japan or the United States of America, the number of first-line Fleet Air Arm aircraft is considerably lower than it should be, and it is intended to bring it up to substantially higher figures m the course of the next few years. This increase will, of course, necessitate a corresponding increase in personnel. In Paragraph 33 it is stated that " The Territorial Army, though generally regarded as the second line in our mili tary forces, actually provides the first line in anti-aircraft and coast defence at home." A beginning is to be made at once in improving this Army's present inadequate equip ment and training. In the next paragraph an undertaking is given that the reorganisation of anti-aircraft defences will be extended to cover the important industrial districts in the centre and north of the country. Royal Air Force Increases Paragraphs 36 to 43 deal with the Royal Air Force, and we therefore quote them in full: — The prime function of the Royal Air Force is to provide an efiective deterrent to any attack upon the vital interests of this country whether situated at home or overseas. In the present situation this is the most urgent and important of our defence requirements, and it has rightly received the special attention of Parliament The programme of the Royal Air Force approved by the House of Commons last year was designed to bring up the strength of the Force at home to a total of 123 squadrons with aoproximately r,5oo first-line aircraft. That programme is proceeding according to plan, but new developments in design will render it possible to make great additions to the striking power of the Force. The latest types of machine which will shortly come into production show such improvements in speed, range and carrying capacity as greatly to increase the operational effectiveness of the squadrons to be equipped with them. Accordingly, the programme already approved will be varied by effecting certain changes in composition and at the same time some addition will be made to the numbers of air craft. Including four new Auxiliary squadrons to be formed for co-operation with the Territorial Army, the new programme will increase the first-line strength of the Royal Air Force in this country bringing up the total to approximately 1,750 air craft, exclusive of the Fleet Air Arm. First-line figures taken bv themselvci are, however, a misleading criterion of compara tive ail strengths, as has been explained on many occasions, and in the present case the augmentation of offensive and defensive power which will result from the revised plans of greatly in excess of the numerical increase just mentioned. The problem of co-ordinated air defence is occupying the constant attention of the Committee of Imperial Defence, with the co-operation of all the Departments concerned. Modern methods of defence and the correlation of offensive and defen sive weapons are continually under review, and the scheme has been so drawn up as to ensure the necessary degree of flexibility and the full utilisation of the results obtained from continuous scientific research and experiment. The Royal Air Force also has responsibilities in the general scheme of Imperial defence. With our wide Imperial respon sibilities, the ability to reinforce a threatened area in sufricient time and in sufficient strength demands the location of air units at convenient places on the strategic air routes. The Government propose an increase amounting to approximately twelve squadrons for this purpose. Mention has already been made of the four new auxiliarv squadrons which will form a nucleus for co-operation with the Territorial Army. The five regular squadrons at present allotted for co-operation with the Regular Army will be re organised to provide seven squadrons, each of twelve aircraft. Large numbers of young men will be needed as pilots in the Regular Ail Force, the Auxiliarv' Squadrons and the Reserve. Many airmen will be required for enlistment to meet the varied requirements of the Service ; and many boys will be needed for apprenticeship in the skilled trades. The available sources of supply will all have to be brought into action, and the full co-operation of the public will be needed for success. Men and Materials It is, of course, self-evident that the provision of air forces will not avail in war unless they are given the means not only to fight but to continue fighting. Skilled pilots require time to train, and aircraft production is a lengthy and complicated undertaking. The provision of adequate reserves in both men and material is an essential and urgent need, for without them the war effort of an Air Force could not be sustained. Particular attention has therefore been given to the pro vision ot these reserves in the shortest possible time, and it can now be said that adequate arrangements for this purpose are in train. Paragraph 53 runs:—- In connection with the approved programme for the Roval Air Force, steps are already being taken to extend the field of productior by placing orders with firms who do not ordinarily manufacture for the Force or for civil aviation. Dealing further with the organisation of industry, Paragraph 58 runs : — His Majesty's Government have given much time and thought to this matter and they have been materially aided by the experience gained during the last few months by the Air Ministry working under conditions of exceptional pressure. On the one hand, it is important to retain the goodwill of industry, for in peace time firms cannot be compelled to under take contracts on terms which they consider unreasonable. On the other hand, difficulties are bound to arise in dealing with so many and such various sources of supply, where there are not only -contractors, but also sub-contractors and sub- sub-contractors concerned. There will be new problems where firms require financial assistance in order to lay down new plant and held it at the Government's disposal, and these cases will be particularly urgent, since until they are met it will not be possible to make a start. It will be necessary also to co-ordinate the demands of the three Services so that proper priority shall b; observed and competition between them, which might lead to higher prices, avoided. Soviet Plans for 1936 THE provisional plans in the U.S.S.R. for 1936 include the opening of 4,400 miles of new air lines, the installation 01 radio beacons along main routes and the introduction of last new types. The new routes to be operated this year are between Moscow and Prague, from Moscow through Magnitogorsk to Karaganda (Kazakstan) and a seaplane service from Odessa to Batum. New machines include the KHAI-I, which, it is reported, has a cruising speed of about 190 m.p.h. Two all-steel machines, the STAL-3 and STAL-n, are also to be put into service. The latter has a top speed of 280 m.p.h. Radio beacon-, already in use on the Moscow-Leningrad route and the se^t!" across the Caucasus range of the Moscow-Tiflis line, are oei g installed on the Moscow-Tashkent and Moscow-Vladivost< lines,
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