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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 0610.PDF
234 FLIGHT. MARCH II, i 937- two new Armament Training Camps, two new Equipment Depots, a new Aircraft Repair Depot, a new Hospital, and a number of storage units, including reserve storage for petrol and ammunition. Financial provision has been made for the works and lands services necessitated by the scheme for a Balloon Barrage and the Volunteer .Reserve Training Scheme. The new Royal Air Force station at Dhibban in Iraq is nearing completion, and a portion of the station has already been occupied by units transferred from Mosul. Provision lias been made for the receipt of the sum which the Iraq Govern ment has undertaken to pay for the cantonments at Hinaidi and Mosul, which are to be vacated by the Royal Air Force, in accordance with the terms of the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930. In view of the conclusion of the Treaty with Egypt, sites . are being selected for the new R.A.F. stations which are to be constructed by the Egyptian Government in the Canal zone. Civil Aviation The net total of Vote 8 (Civil Aviation) stands at ,£2,315,000. : This represents an increase of £1,555,000 over the correspond ing figure for 1936. This large increase arises directly from the major developments of policy with which Parliament is already familiar—the inauguration of the Empire Air Mail scheme ; the ' extended organisation of Empire air routes ; experimental over- : sea flights, including flights across the North Atlantic Ocean ; : the purchase of Heston Airport;, and the creation of the air . traffic control organisation in the United Kingdom' to cam-, out the recommendations of the committee under the chairman- . ship of Sir Henry Maybury. •..'-.. According to the present programme, the complete Empire : Air Mail scheme for the carriage of first-class mail on Empire air routes, for the most-part without surcharge, wiH begin in 1938. In 1937, however, there will be an •'".introductory' " period during which the scheme will be brought into operation gradually over the different routes, as aircraft and the neces sary ground equipment become available. . . It is hoped that the projected air service between Bermuda and New York, to be operated by Imperial Airways, Ltd., in co-operation with Pan-American Airways Incorporated, will be inaugurated in April next. Money provision has accordingly been made for the agreed annual subsidy of £18,000 payable to Imperial Airways, Ltd., for this service, and the Appropri- ations-in-aid subhead includes an amount of £3,000 on account of the annual .contribution by the Government of Bermuda. For their European services, the provision of £30,000 as sub sidy payment to Imperial Airways, Ltd., represents a fall of £15,000 on the figure for 1936, under the terms of the agree ment with the Company. Following upon the preliminary service operated by Britisli Airways, Ltd., over the route London-Amsterdam-Hamburg- Copenhagen-Malmo, an agreement was concluded with the Company, on July .16 last, for a regular daily service in each direction for passengers, mails and freight between London and Stockholm, and for a night mail service between these capitals via Cologne and Hanover under a "pooling" agree ment between the Company and the Swedish air transport company, A.B. Aerotransport (see Cmd. 5203). So far as the night service is concerned, as a temporary arrangement British Airways, Ltd.. are operating five nights a week (Monday-- Friday) in each direction between London and Hanover, con necting with an existing night service operated by the Swedish Company between Stockholm and Hanover. A subsidv pav- ment of £25,000 to British Airways, Ltd., under the terms of the agreement is allowed for these services. A sum of approximately £700,000 has been included for the work of improving the ground facilities on Empire air routes. This includes a further grant of £125,000 to the Government of Newfoundland towards the cost of the air base at Botwood. Provision lias also been made for a contribution to the pro posed base at Portsmouth in accordance with arrangements provisionally negotiated with the Municipal Authoritv. As a result of a Governmental conference in Wellington, New Zealand, in the autumn, proposals have been formulated for the establishment of a Trans-Tasman air service, as an exten sion of the England-Australia service, by. a joint companv representative of the interests of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand These proposals are now under consideration. For some years increasing attention had had to be given to the question of providing for the development of civil aviation within the United Kingdom in the manner most advantageous to the requirements of the various aviation interests concerned, and at the same time most desirable from the public point of view; and provision has been made in recent Air Estimates for a measure of assistance to be provided from public funds, in the form of the establishment of a number of State radio instal lations for the benefit of aviation, at certain selected centres. In order, however, to secure that more adequate consideraf should be given to the question in all its aspects, an int°n departmental committee was appointed, as indicated in fh Memorandum accompanying Air Estimates, 1936, under tite chairmanship of Sir Henry Maybury. The recommendations made have now been fully considerel by His Majesty's Government, and those which involve actio 1 by the Air Ministry have been approved in principle. Following on the approval of the recommendations of the committee, a sum of approximately £100,000 has been include! in these Estimates under the appropriate subheads, mainly a« a first instalment of the cost of giving effect to the recom mendation that the radio and control organisations which are necessary, should be provided at State expense. Since its opening in 1928 the aerodrome at Heston has played an important part in the service of Civil Aviation, and it is clear that this aerodrome to-day provides essential facilities noth for internal and for international purposes. Inform ation was received that the owners of the aerodrome had de cided to restrict their activities and to dispose of part of the airport. After endeavours had been made to induce the local authorities concerned to acquire the aerodrome as a municipal airport a decision was reached and announced to Parliament that the Air Ministry, subject to the requisite Parliamentary sanction being obtained, should purchase the site, together with a sufficient area of adjoining land, for an enlarged airport, in order to preserve the site from being built over. Provision has accordingly been made for expenditure on this service, among other purchases, during 1937. The Bill, referred to in the Memorandum accompanying the- Air Estimates of last year, for amending the Air Navi gation Act of 1920 and giving effect to certain recommenda tions of Lord Gorell's Committee, was duly passed and re ceived the Royal Assent on July 31st, 1936, as the Air Navi- gation Act, 1936. In accordance with Section 2 of this Act a new body has been set up, to which certain functions now- exercised by the Secretary of State for Air will be devolved. The body will be known as the Air Registration Board. It has been agreed between the Air Ministry and the interests concerned, with the approval of the Treasury, that four-fifths of the deficit incurred by the Board in connection with this work during the first five years of operation, shall, subject to a maximum total payment of £60,000 over this period of years, be met from Air \ otes. A sum of £35,000 has been allowed in respect of subsidies to light aeroplane clubs in 1937. This should allow mrther clubs in addition to the 48 clubs approved at present to be admitted to the new subsidy scheme, which will replace the present scheme at the end of March, 1937. £5,000 has again been included as subsidy for the development of gliding. Meteorology The net provision made for the Meteorological Sendee is £248,000, representing an increase of £67,000 over the figure for 1936. The increase is directly due to the expansion of the Royal Air Force and to the development of British civil air transport at home and abroad. The use of civil air transport as a rapid means of world communication is demanding increased international co-oper ation in the meteorological field, and Regional Commissions, on which the Empire is actively represented, have been formed within the existing International Organisation to deal with local aspects of the application of meteorology to aviation. 1» close association with these international arrangements an extended meteorological organisation is being created for Empire air routes by co-operation between the meteorological depart ments of the Empire. While this organisation as a whole is being provided on a co-operative basis, payments will be made to certain Governments (mainly Empire Governments) for cer tain special services. Provision for these payments to the amount of £19,000 is made in a new subhead. Air Ministry \ ote 10 (Air Ministry), at a net total of £1,250,000 shews an increase of £210,000 over the provision for 1936. . The conditions of work at Headquarters have increased intensitv. There is not only the growth in the volume 01 _ work iri all departments of the Ministry, but the expan^ programme is producing new problems as it proceeds, DO' the Air Staff and for the administrative services. These »c have necessitated the addition of staff in all grades. ^ A new directorate for assisting the supply wort: OT Ministry—the Directorate of Aeronautical Production ^ created in April last, and has proved of great value handling of production problems.
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