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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 2449.PDF
262 FLIC. 111". SEPTEMBER 10, 1936 In any European war there will be aircraft on both sides, and what is bad for one side is also bad for the other, with certain reservations. It must be recognised, however, that the development of flying has been bad for Great Britain, as apart from the British Empire. When there were no aeroplanes, Great Britain relied for safety on sea power, and now she cannot do so. Great Britain, by herself, is more interested in air defence than in air attack, and so must count as an advantage any thing which hampers the operations of all bombers. Even if the British Bomber Command were infinitely more efficient than that of the opponent, there would be poor consolation in that thought if the inferior enemy were able to do more serious harm to our Channel ports than our bombers were able to inflict on the enemy. A beginning has now been made in locating certain important factories in the Midlands and the north-west. The mileage from the south coast would seem negligible for a fast modern bomber, but every extra minute which raiders spend inside the English coasts greatly increases the chances of the defence to intercept them. Moreover, it is comforting to read of the number of occasions during the Great War on which German raiders lost themselves badly when they came inland. On nights and days such as bombers would choose for their own protection, there will still be plenty of chances of missing the way over England, and the enemy win certainly be in complete ignorance of the progress of depressions from the West. On occasions when all air operations fail Britain will have the advantage. It is pleasant to turn one's thoughts to other parts of the world where the coming of air power has added to the safety of the British Empire. Australia, for in stance, can certainly be made safer by air power. Th* landing of a hostile force in the face of determined bombing attacks may now be considered impossible. Ought we not even to seek comfort, instead of doubt and some discouragement, from the effect of the air arm on sea power? Naval writers maintain, and argue in convincing fashion, that the gun is, and always must be, the Navy's best weapon. We hope and believe that British naval gunnery will always be better than the gunnery of any future enemy. It follows that anything which makes gunnery more efficient will increase the power of our Navy in a fleet action. Spotter aircraft will certainly have this effect whenever the visibility permits them to work. Carriers may easily cancel each other out in a fleet action, and that would curtail the work of the fleet bombers and torpedo-planes on both sides; but so long as the spotters catapulted off the war ships could direct the guns, the chances of turning a Jutland into a Trafalgar would be increased. ON THE BRIDGE : The control cabin of the Short Campus. In addition to the normal controls and instruments the Sperry automatic pilot switch-over and the airscrew pitch controls can be seen below the throttle bank, while the trimming conttos are above the screen in the centre. An extraordinarily good all-round view is obtainable from the cabin. Other Fug photographs appear on pages 264-265.
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