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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 1475.PDF
MAY 26, 1938. O 01 ' Flight " photograph. A flight of Battles of No. 142 (B.) Squadron about to release their bombs (practice variety) over an aerodrome target. cramped. The balloon cables will not be interconnected, but each cable will, by some secret process, be made lethal, so that any aeroplane which touches a cable will be de- stroyed. No raiding pilot would ever venture, it may safely be said, to fly knowingly among the cables. His chance of coming out again unharmed would be too small to be worth considering. Therefore, if the balloons are known to be up, the raiders will have to fly above them. That means in the first place that there will be less air space for the fighters to search. In the second place it means that the bombs will have to be dropped from high up, and that makes it less likely that they will score bullseyes on their targets. The civilian may very well exclaim in horror that a bomb which misses a munition factory will probably kill some civilians nearby. The killing of civilians is very de- plorable, but it will not go any distance towards helping the enemy to win the war. The destruction of the fac- tory might have been a serious handicap to our own forces ; and if the bombs miss that factory the raid has failed of its purpose. In fact, a bomb which only kills civilians is a bomb wasted. - : Divided Responsibility The guns and searchlights of the Territorial Army come under the Fighter Command for operations, just as No. 22 (Army Co-operation) Group is operationally under the Army. The War Office and the Territorial Associations raise the battalions and brigades, clothe them, feed them, pay them, and equip them. But for fighting or manoeuvres they take their orders from the A.O.C.-in-C, Fighter Command. It is for him to lay down where the guns ami searchlights are to be placed. If the expeditionary force of the Army goes overseas and some Territorial divisions go with it, these guns and searchlights will stay at home to play their part in the air defence of the country. It cannot be called a satisfactory or logical arrangement that these batteries and battalions should have to serve two masters. At present it is considered to be working well, and the War Office, under the present War Minister, is giving precedence over everything else to the task of making these Territorial units absolutely fit for tlie very important part which tliey have to play in air defence.: But it was not always so. Before the expansion began, the War Office neglected the Anti-Aircraft Territorials in a way which can only be described as dangerous They were left with old patterns of guns, searchlights, sound- locators, and transport vehicles. Now that expansion and re-equipment are the order of the day every effort is being made to provide the latest equipment; but it has not always been easy to get the new weapons and instruments in a hurry. . • • /.•..•;•:. •• Future A. A. Defence ,*A\" 1 There is also, of course, no guarantee that, once the present excitement is over, the War Office will not again neglect the anti-aircraft units. It is an anomaly that the Air Ministry, which has to command these units in war, should not be made responsible for equipping them in time of peace. Sooner or later the Government will surely come to recognise this, and will transfer these units com- pletely from the War Office to the Air Ministry. "What of the men?" This question from Conan Doyle's famous "Song of the Bow" is specially pertinent when applied to the Fighter Command. The men are (speaking in a military sense) of all sorts and conditions. SECRETARY OF STATE UNDER-SECRET ARY. Chief oi the Air Staff. Director of Operations and Intelligence.Director of Stafi Duties. Director of Signals. Air Member for Personnel. Director of Postings.Director of Personal Services. Director of Training.Director of Educational Services. Director of R.A.F. Medi-cal Services. Air Member for Research and Development. Director of TechnicalDevelopment. Director of Scientific Research.Director of Aeronautical Inspection.Director of Repair and Maintenance. Air Member for Supply and Organisation. Director of Organisation. Director of Equipment. Director of Works. Director of Aeronautical Production. Permanent Under-Secretary. Director of Accounts.Director of Contracts. Director of Meteoro-logical Office. Organisation of the Air Ministry's Operational, Technical and other Departments.
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