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Aviation History
1937
1937 - 2048.PDF
96 FLIGHT. JULY 22, 1937. the N.N.E., and the pilot easily recognised them as H.M.S. Rodney, the enemy flagship with a screen of two destroyers. This was indeed a find, and the news was wirelessed—through one aerial wire, the other having broken some time previously and now trailing uselessly over the tail plane. While we turned to shadow Rodney from up sun, we spotted an enemy cruiser at full speed in a north-westerly direction, making a tremendous wash. She was too busy to worry about us, as no searchlight was turned on—maybe she never even saw us. It was the same with Rodney. It seems almost impos sible that she did not spot us, for she appeared to be so close and clear. But, of course, we were in the eye of the sun and were doubtless very difficult to see. Activity ceased as abruptly as it had started, for that was the end of the war so far as we were concerned, though we did see a formation of our striking force on its way out to bomb the targets we had reported. And so back to breakfast after a very interesting trip. One must pay a tribute to the boat's crew. Everything had been carried out with a quiet efficiency. To have had a Pressman on board during serious work must have been a nuisance, but I was given a grandstand seat and had been made to feel almost like one of the regular crew by the time Titania's boat came alongside to take us on shore. THE GREAT BLACK-OUT By F.A. de V.R. O N the night of Thursday-Friday, July 15-16, the Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office held its first large-scale practice. One ward in Portsmouth and two in Southampton were chosen for full-dress re hearsals, but the whole of the Hampshire coast and the Isle of Wight were voluntarily darkened between midnight and 3 p.m. Trinity House co-operated by extinguishing all except five of its lights round the entrance to these ports, and warnings were sent out to shipping that this would be done. The time for the practice was fixed, irre spective of what the Blue forces were doing at the time, but to give an air of reality to the proceedings No. 810 (T.S.R.) Squadron, flying Sharks, had been landed from its carrier so as to make night raids on the two towns without having to risk night landings on the deck. No. 74 (F)- Squadron (Gauntlets) from Tangmere was the Red night-flying squadron, day defence work having been undertaken by No. I (F) Squadron (Furies). The Home Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare, came down to watch. I elected to visit Portsmouth, and at midnight officials of the A.R.P. Department conducted a party of privi leged spectators, including many Chief Constables, from the Guildhall to the scenes of damage and tragedy. Actually six exercises, or tableaux as they were called, were carried through in Portsmouth that night, and others in Southampton, but in the time it was only possible to visit two. The heavy rain of Thursday afternoon stopped about 10 p.m., and the low clouds gradually broke up and passed away, leaving a fine starlit night with a distinctly cool wind blowing. The drive through the streets of Portsmouth was extremely impressive. Having been severely raided and shelled that morning, the good people of the city were very air-raid-conscious, and practically all householders had darkened their houses completely. Only one shop, where there was a sale of ladies' underclothing on, had its electric lights in full blast. There was no traffic in the streets except our two omnibuses and a few cars of people connected with the exercises, and they were feeling their way along with only side-lights showing. We came to Durban Road, a very quiet residential part with middle-class two-storey houses in rows on both sides. There a bomb was supposed to have fallen, and a section of wall and a lorry had been splashed with mustard gas. Actually, they were doped with Mixture Z, a very evil- smelling compound, which I was told would make me sick if I stayed near it very long. Three men were also casual ties. At zero hour a "cannon cracker" was lighted on the pavement and went off with a loud bang. The bomb had fallen. Then there were calls for the Air Raid Warden and someone was sent off to telephone. Presently an ambulance appeared, and then another, and yet a third. Those three casualties must have been very well looked after. How the first-aid party could do it in the darkness, showing only now and again flashes from blue electric torches, I could not make out. All wore gas-proof clothing and masks, and evidently it is hard to hear spoken words when wearing a mask. The end of the street was roped off and marked as contaminated by gas. Presently the decontamination squad arrived in a municipal refuse van, which had been converted (as I understand that they can speedily be converted) for decontamination work. The masked robots unwound their hoses and played them on the wall and the lorry. Then we went on to a piece of waste land near the Central Depot where the city engineer had built up an already bombed house with a crater in the '' road '' and a burst water main and sewage main. There were eleven dummies, representing casualties, in the upper storey of the house. This exercise required first-aid party, rescue party, road repair squad, sewage repair squad, and water repair squad. It was the most elaborate tableau. In the pitchy darkness which prevailed I do not see how they could all have carried out their tasks. Certainly the Home Secretary would have • seen nothing. So a spot light from a lorry was played on the house and the squads did their work. I was very impressed by the number of volunteers which Portsmouth could turn out for this exercise. It does the city great credit. My second reflection was that they all needed a great deal more practice, and no doubt they will get it. Obviously there was confusion and delay and the men were not smart in handling their ladders and stretchers. I think most of the casualties would have bled to death. Thirdly, it must be quite impossible to hide Portsmouth from enemy aircraft by turning out the lights. The coast line will always tell them where they are. The Sharks were all over us all the time, and battles went on overhead while the rescuers worked down below. Fourthly, incendiary bombs are sure to be dropped in a raid, and once fires are started would any harm be done by allowing the salvage people and first-aid parties some light to work by ? This exercise taught the valuable lesson that a great deal of practice is necessary before all these squads can work with efficiency in very difficult conditions Lord Kendworth Looks Back QUITE soon after the war Sir John Siddeley (now Lord Kenilworth) offered to build the Air Ministry an aeroplane with a supercharged fourteen-cylinder radial engine, variable- pitch airscrew and steel fuselage construction. This was revealed at a London banquet given in his honour by the S.M.M.T. last Thursday. Telling his audience of this proposal, • Lord Kenilworth said that the Air Ministry were pleased, but thought that the price was too high, whereupon he was able to point out to them that the figure he mentioned represented not one machine, but five. Lord Kenilworth, recalling incidents in his fifty-six years of engineering, claimed that the " wet liner " forengine cylinders was among his innovations. A Marconi Appointment I N consequence of the appointment of Mr. L. A. Sweney as manager of the Aircraft Department of Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Co., Ltd. (in addition to his position as manager of the Marconi Aircraft Wireless Establishment at Hackbridge), the administration of the department will be at Hackbridge. Joining Marconi's in January, 1936, Mr. Sweney has been manager of the Hackbridge establishment for the past six months. His experience with civil aviation dates from the days of Aircraft Transport and Travel, Ltd. For many Vears he figured as an able organiser in the Directorate of Signals (Civil Aviation) Air Ministry. As manager of the Aircraft Department Mr. Sweney succeeds Mr. F. S. Mockford, now Marconi's deputy general manager.
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