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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 1793.PDF
JULY I, 1937. FLIGHT. 3 The Outlooks Aircraft at Bilbao r HE so-called Iron Ring of fortifications round Bilbao did not keep that gallant city safe from the besieging forces of General Franco. One wonders whether that ring really deserved the epithet bestowed upon it by the defenders. There is no means of saying whether it would have been approved by acknowledged authorities on modern fortification. At any rate, according to the pub lished reports, it was broken by combined shelling by artillery and bombing by aircraft. It is generally recog nised that gunfire is more accurate and destructive than aerial bombing, and when the guns are within range of a position they ought to be able to deal with it without requiring help of that sort from the air. For directing guns on to a target, aircraft are, of course, invaluable and well-nigh indispensable. Bombers, however, can deal with the back areas and hamper the movement of reinforce ments up to the front.. That is a very proper function of bomber aircraft, and Franco's bombers certainly seem to have played their part in breaking down the resistance of the Basque army. As against that, the bombers are also alleged to have done much destruction in the city itself, and to have killed numbers of the civil population. There is no indication whatever in the reports that this slaughter of civilians contributed in any way to the surrender of the city, any more than similar action had any effect in causing Madrid to fall. In fact, the Spanish civil war seems to have given repeated proofs that air bombing of civilians is futile and contributes nothing to victory, whereas the proper use f aircraft against armed forces has been distinctly effective. The moral is. plain. Understanding PART from the excellent work which the Federation Aeronautique Internationale is doing in furthering the interests of flying people throughout the world, the ppcrtunities given to members of the different aero clubs represented to come to know one another is of inestimable benefit in bringing about a better appreciation of the varied problems and points of view. This year it is the good for tune of Great Britain to be the meeting place of the F.A.I. Conference, and amidst the hard work of conferences and discussions the social side is not being overlooked. The spirit in which the delegates and their hosts meet "an be illustrated by a single example, the luncheon given by the Royal Aero Club to delegates and their ladies at the Savoy last Thursday. There were no speeches, but the luncheon was a thoroughly enjoyable affair and did much to cement old friendships and make new ones. Inevitably the language difficulty must arise on these occasions, but it was heartening to hear how it was over come and, in the end, proved to bring people together rather than keep them apart. An excellent example of this was provided by two married couples, one English and the other French. The Englishwoman spoke little or no French and the Frenchwoman no English. Monsieur the Frenchman did his level best in English, and a very good best it was. Madame listened for a little while, and then, with typical French wit, asked a friend to tell the English woman that if she listened carefully to Monsieur's English she would learn quite a bit of French! Monsieur took it all in good part, although his wife's remark was a little unkind to his English, which was actually far better than the average Englishman's attempts at speaking French. While the suggestion to introduce English as the second official language of the F.A.I, must be welcomed, it is to be hoped that no attempt will be made to use this as an excuse for Great Britain's representatives at social affairs to drop all efforts at mastering other languages. Camouflage r HE ARMY, we read, is commendably busy in study ing the art of camouflaging its guns, tanks, and other impedimenta. Some traces of the camouflage used so extensively during the Great War have survived nineteen years of neglect, and still, adorn Government buildings, notably those of the R.A.F.. Equipment Depot at Kidbrooke, near Blackheath, which are familiar to pas sengers by the North Kent line of the Southern Railway. One wonders idly as one passes how they would look from the air even if the paint were freshened up. Would \he curving lines of green and brown really merge into the surrounding landscape? During the Great War the camouflage artists did the best they could, but there was not always time and opportunity for the effect to be studied and criticised from the air. Now, in the more leisurely times of peace great attention is given to this matter of effect from the air, and the result will probably be much better. . . . Still, it must be remembered that the aircraft has still one effective answer to even the most cunning and realistic scheme of camouflage, though it may not be always pos sible to use it in time of haste, or for mobile subjects such as a tank. Stereoscopic photography, though not so simple as the straightforward, variety, will refuse to be misled by the arts of the painter. It draws the subject up out of the flat plane in which the artist has tried to hide it, and exposes its shape, as it were naked, to the eye of the hostile bomber or gunner. Pursuing the subject even further, it may be that the photographic chemist will be able to speed up infra-red emulsion to such a point that it can be used for everyday military photography. Then, in addition to stereoscopic relief, the natural and artificial greens will be separated ; for while all living matter reflects infra-red rays strongly, artificial colours do not do so. In the photograph the real grass will appear whitish, while the green paint will be seen as a dark grey. IN THIS ISSUE Leading Articles The Outlook The R.A.F. Display The Four Winds Correspondence Diary of Forthcoming Events PAGE 1 3 4 .. 12 .. 13 .. 13 The S.B.A.C. Display Intercepted Debutante Quartet . . Three for Export Here and There R.A.F.'s New Trainer PAGE .. 14 .. 16 .. 18A .. 18o 23 .. 26 Royal Air Force Notes Commercial Aviation Goin? Places Private Flyinj Models The Industry PAGE .. 28 ... 31 .. 34 .. 36 39 .. 40 AAI
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