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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1083.PDF
APRIL 29, 1937. FLIGHT. 407 The Outlooks A Running Commentary on Air Topics Australia and Singapore 5 IR ARCHDALE PARKHILL, Australian Minister of Defence, who has come to England for the Corona tion, is reported to have said that the Royal Austra lian Air Force might quite possibly be able to supple ment the defence of Singapore or the East Indies in the event of war breaking out. The sentiment is admirable, and expresses the spirit which the Empire has come to expect of Australia. At the same time, it is as well to bear in mind that the huge sums of mone)^ now being spent on the base at Singapore are not intended just to defend that port and colony. If Australia and New Zealand were not part of the British Empire it is inconceivable that the Home Government should have spent all that money on the Singapore base. In other words, Singa pore, as a base, exists rather to defend Australia than as a place which Australia must help to defend. If Singapore were to be crippled by enemy action, then Australia would lie almost defenceless at the mercy of that enemy. For that reason, if Singapore were in danger, the mere instinct of self-defence would impel Australia to send every ship, aeroplane and man which she possessed to its help. But if enemy action took the form of a direct attack on Australia (or, for that matter, on any other part of the British Empire in the Pacific) the strong forces based on Singapore would most certainly make all speed to the rescue. The R.A.A.F. is one section, and at present not a large section, of the British Empire defence forces in the Pacific. In view of its certain co-operation with the R.A.F. in time of war, it is most desirable that the equipment of both Forces should be homogeneous. It is, therefore, much to be hoped that Sir Archdale will soon discover British types of aircraft which he will consider suitable. Commercial Airships D ESPITE the great interest aroused by the coming Atlantic experiments with flying boats, it was in evitable that the wonderful records of the German airships Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg should turn the thoughts of other nations to the chances of profit offered by commercial airship services. There are rumours afloat of such activity in both the United States and the United Kingdom, but what the outcome will be remains to be seen. There is one significant statement about both sets of rumours, namely, that any such enterprises must be based on German experience. All the disasters to British and American airships have been traced to lack of experience in design or in handling, or both. Only the Germans have kept up continuity of experience in all forms of airship work, and they have certainly shown that these craft can be flown to schedule with safety. If airships are ever to become a matter for world interest, the blossom will have to spring from German roots. The commercial airship will certainly be a compromise between the greater comfort offered by modern large steamers and the greater speed offered by modern flying boats. How the public will respond to the offer of such a compromise is unknown. Another unknown factor is the arship's chances of earning a profit. Theoretically, as the cost of production goes down, they ought to be able to pay their way, and it is still equally doubtful whether flying boats will be able to do that. Certainly the interests of transport will best be served by trying out both forms of aircraft on Atlantic services. Marine Flying r HREE of the senior pilots of Qantas Empire Airways, headed by that trusty veteran Capt. Lester Brain, are coming over from Australia to Hamble, there to undergo the A.S.T. course in the handling of flying boats. Soon, of course, Qantas Empire Airways will have to take charge of the service at Singapore, although Short boats will continue on to Darwin and Sydney. Perhaps it will not be very long before the service is extended across the Tasman Sea to Auckland. This recalls the very fortunate, but all the same remark able, fact that in all the many landplane flights from England to Australia, starting with the Vimy flight by Ross and Keith soon after the Armistice, there has been no case of an aircraft being lost in the Timor Sea. One would not expect that a four-engined machine would be forced down there or anywhere else, but since Bert Hinkler's Avian flight there have been innumerable cross ings by small machines with single engines. But the use of a boat does add to the safety of all on board. With the prospect of extending the use of boats to circle the world on a British Empire route it begins to seem strange that pilots should have to come all the way from Australia to England to learn the mysteries of handling marine aircraft. At Singapore there is a seaplane club, and it is really rather strange that there are not more of the same sort in the Empire. With a small float seaplane the rudiments of landing, taxying, mooring and taking off in all conditions of wind and tide can be learnt, and that knowledge would apply when the time came to learn to handle large flying boats. The Governments of the various Empire countries would do well to consider the wisdom of giving subsidies to seaplane flying clubs. A Fashion for Fighters r HE most notable machines at the last Paris Show were twin-engined fighter-bomber-attack-reconnais sance types by Potez, Hanriot and Fokker. The Potez and Hanriot, like other models under construction by various concerns, including Breguet and Romano, were, one gathered, regarded primarily as fighters (although their layout made for great versatility), and as such marked a new trend which will undoubtedly be followed by other nations. Italy, with the Breda 88 fighter-bomber, has shown what excellent performances are offered by well-designed twin- engined machines (the Breda covered ioo km. at an aver age of 321 m.p.h. and 1,000 km. at 295 m.p.h.), and in the light of our experience with such machines as the Blenheim we should be able to build ourselves something quite outstanding. It remains to be seen if the new twin-engined machines will continue to function purely as fighters after entering service or whether they will assume other roles, like the famous multiplaces de combat, which now appear to be considered as straightforward bombers. Fait Accompli r HE following is a direct quotation from the lecture delivered by Mr. George J. Mead, A.F.R.Ae.S., last week and summarised on pages 414-418: "... the best alternative to submerging the engine in the wing would be to reduce its cross section to the mini mum and utilise it as the propeller support." Those desirous of seeing such a scheme in practice are recommended to study the photograph opposite.
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