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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0143.PDF
JANUARY 21, 1937. FLIGHT. 49 The Outlooks A A Bas Les Chemins de Fer ! /GRADUALLY the railway link is being eliminated IT from the air journey between Great Britain and Egypt. Imperial Airways have doubtless been .wise to advance by gradual steps since putting Canopus, Cen- taurus and Castor into service. The completed plan will be for all passengers and mails to embark at some South Coast port—at present Hythe in Southampton Water is being used, but ultimately the base will be at Portsmouth —and to fly straight to Marseilles and thence to Brindisi before setting out for Rome, Athens and Alexandria. There the two services to Durban and Sydney will diverge, but boats of the Empire class will fly right through to both termini. On receipt of the first boats of the batch, Imperial Airways first sent' mails through by them to Marseilles, and later, also, Castor picked up the passengers who had reached that port by train. The passengers now score by having to spend only one night in the train instead of the two nights necessary when they could only embark on flying boats at Brindisi. Castor used this " mail only " flight to Marseilles as an opportunity to prove her capa bilities by flying right through non-stop, not using either of the refuelling places which have been provided on the Seine and the Saone. Last week Centaurus took a further step forward, for she carried nine passengers through from Hythe to Mar seilles (as well as a ton of mails) and on to Alexandria. These passengers had not to use a train at all except to get to Hythe. This was only a trial flight, and until several more boats have beeu delivered the regular plan will be to go by train to Marseilles ; but this is much less wearisome than the rail journey to Brindisi. Centaurus and her sisters are far more comfortable than any train. Encore Batavia-Darwin ? O NCE again the Dutch have asked for permission to extend their air line from Batavia to Australia, and the Australian Government has consulted the Air Ministry before giving an answer. Every party to the [international Air Convention has the right to refuse leave 'or a regular service by a foreign company, to or over its territories. Dutch machines arriving at Darwin would, Jresumably, link up with some Australian landplaac service, and so would short-circuit the route of the Empire lass flying boats to Sydney. Conceivably the Common wealth might use this possibility as a card in its bar- jarmrig game with the Home Government, in which it s holding out for a sixpenny surcharge on air letters r°m Australia to England. It seems, however, that ustrahan business opinion is not behind the Common wealth Government in this matter, and a leading Austra- ^n paper has said that it would be unconscionably bad aith for Australia to admit the Dutch while itself holding p the agreement with Imperial Airways. Two Interesting Flights r WO interesting R.A.F. flights started from England last week. Four London flying boats of No. 201 (F.B.) Squadron, under Sqn. Ldr. J. D. Breakey, D.F.C., left Calshot for the Mediterranean, where they will take part in the spring cruise of the Mediterranean Fleet. Inci dentally, it is gratifying to learn that No. 201 Squadron is in possession of London flying boats. The itinerary chosen was via Hourtin, Berre, Malta, Algiers, to Gibral tar. The squadron will, however, return via Lisbon. It is some time since a number of flying boats went to sea with a fleet, and probably this cruise will throw some light on the possibilities of useful co-operation between this type of aircraft and the ships. From certain naval quarters complaints have been uttered of late that the Navy ought to have flying boats at its disposal in addition to carrier-borne landplanes and catapult seaplanes. If that is the official view of the Admiralty, the natural course is to indent on the Air Ministry for so many flying boats and to pay for them by an appropriation-in-aid. There are, however, problems to be solved when a flying boat formation goes to sea with a fleet, not the least of which is refuelling in a sea which may not be calm. There were rumours of the Admiralty building " mother ships " for flying boats, but nothing more has been heard. It is probably with the purpose of examining these and other problems at first hand that the A.O.C.-in-C. Coastal Area, Air Marshal Joubert de la Ferte, is accompanying the Londons on this cruise. Practising Mobility r HE interest of the second flight is quite different. Twelve Vincents of No. 45 (Bomber) Squadron, which is permanently stationed at Helwan, started from Heliopolis on an inter-Command flight to the North- West Frontier of India, under Wing Commander A. R. Churchman, D.F.C. The route chosen was Amman, Rutbah, Hinaidi, Shaibah, Bahrein, Gwadar, Karachi, Khanpur, Lahore, Risalpur. The interest of the flight lies in the transport of a num ber of non-flying personnel and stores of the squadron in bomber-transport machines which accompany the flight. For the first stage from Heliopolis to Hinaidi (or, in other words, from Cairo to Baghdad) the transport was provided by three machines provided by No. 216 (B.T.) Squadron. At Hinaidi No. 70 (B.T.) Squadron took up the running and sent five Valentias on with the bombers to Risalpur. There has been discussion of late in Service circles, and especially in the columns of the Royal Air Force Quarterly, as to the degree of mobility which the R.A.F. can justly claim. Naturally, if a squadron can only move its air craft and its flying personnel with a few spares tucked away in the cockpits, its utility on arriving at its destina tion is limited. When aircraftsmen and spares in sufficient quantities are taken along in transport machines, the squadron is likely "to arrive fit for any job. IN THIS ISSUE Lading Article, ... A.™ Outlook... £*"> Air Naviga,ion:: tomme, I Aviation... *«*»« m Airport Lighting ... Page 47-48 49 49-52 53 54-56 57-58 59-61 Club News ... Fleet Air Arms of the World ... Progress (Air Services and Airport*) Commercial Aircraft Reviewed Guide to the Airports Exhibitim The Royal Air Force... - Commercial Aircraft Engines Reviewed Page 62 62a-62c 62c-62f 63-70 71-78 79 80-82
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