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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 0690.PDF
AIRCRAF AND ENGINEER AIRSHIPS FIRST AERONAUT/CAL^WEEKLV IN THE^WORLD .• FOUNDED WOO Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Truduur. Sedist. London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines;. HERTFORD ST., COVENTRY. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST.. BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone : Miilland 2971. 260, DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams: Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. 2SB, EENFIELD ST., GLASGOW C.2. Telegrams: UiBe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Canada: Other Countries: Year, «1 13 0. Year, £1 15 0. 6 months, 16s. 6-1. 0 months, 17s. Od. 3 months, 8s. 6d. o months, 6s. 9d. No. 1421. Vol. XXIX. MARCH 19, 1936. Thursdays, Price 6d. M1 Impartiality R. BALDWIN has sprung a surprise upon the country by selecting Sir Thomas Inskip as Minister of the Crown for the Co-ordination of Defence—that is to say, as Deputy Chairman of the Committee of Imperial Defence and of the Defence Policy and Requirements Committee. The chief quali fication of the new Minister for this new post seems to be that he is completely without knowledge or experience of an)' of the three fighting Services, and, therefore, must of necessity be impartial in dealing with the prob lems of co-ordinating their needs and their contributions to the common object of defence. The experience of Sir Thomas in the Naval Intelligence Division and as head of the Naval Law Branch of the Admiralty during the war is not likely to have given him any preconceived ideas on the subject of naval defence, still less to have prejudiced him in favour of the Admiralty. Of defence in general he would seem to be as ignorant as he is of any one of the Services. For all that, he is an eminent King's Counsel, and barristers can only attain to silk through a power of assimilating a brief at great speed and mastering the details of a subject of which they had no previous knowledge. Only by means of that ability are they able to meet expert witnesses and question them on equal terms. Defence is a subject no more intricate than many others on which barristers have to address juries. We may recall the brilliant success of Lord Haldane at the War Office, and the equally brilliant reports which Sir John Simon wrote on India and on the disaster to R.ioi. It is, perhaps, somewhat cynical to lay much stress on Sir Thomas' ignorance of the subjects with which fie will have to deal. The present critical situation doubtless impelled the Prime Minister to select a man who was capable of learning his subject rather than one like Mr. Churchill or Sir Samuel Hoare who had Ttf xearnt •*" Both of those politicians are eminently >mta.hle for the post which has been given to Sir Thomas inskip_though Sir Samuel might be considered under suspicion by the two older Services, because he has been said to have been bitten by a mad aeroplane. But political reasons of the moment have ruled both of them out. Sir Samuel has recently resigned a Cabinet post, and it might be thought an affront to certain foreign interests if he were to be received back into the fold so soon. Mr. Churchill is, by experience at all three Ministries and by natural ability as an organiser and administrator, the man obviously marked out for this new post. Had the times been normal and peaceful he would almost certainly have been chosen for it. But in such ticklish times—there is no less slangy word which so accurately describes the present situation—the appointment of Mr. Churchill might have been taken as a bellicose gesture on the part of Britain, and Mr. Baldwin has obviously decided that the present is not the moment for running such a risk. He has therefore played for safety and chosen a safe man. Not a Superman Sir Thomas himself has shown wisdom and sobriety in his own remarks about his appointment. " 1 do not claim to be a superman," said he; "I am not a Minister of Defence. ... I shall be the link between the different departments of this country connected with defence. I shall make it my particular care that the matters concerning different departments in connection with the provision of fresh equipment for the defence forces shall be considered in the right way." On those lines Sir Thomas may well do very useful work. He may, in fact, he certainly must, put an end to manoeu vring by departments to get the most out of the Treasury at the expense of others. He may not decide that the War Office must hand the anti-aircraft guns and searchlights over to the R.A.F., but at least he should be able to see that the War Office does not cancel Territorial camps at the time of the Air Exercises, and also that there is no delay in serving out the latest patterns of guns, lights, and sound locators needed for air defence.
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