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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1266.PDF
JUNE 5TH, 1941 Humphery, who was general manager of Atfero, has resigned that post. It is no secret that neither the Air Ministry nor the Ministry of Aircraft Production has so far shown any appreciation of the value of commercial aviation in war- time. One may expect the ne\V Minister for Aircraft Production, Col. Moore-Brabazon, to show at least a friendly disposition, and certainly a full understanding of the vital importance of civil aviation. But the depart- ment is not under his care, and there appears to be little likelihood of impressing officers of the Air Ministry, harassed as they are by their immediate and desperately urgent military problems. It may be that the urgency of ensuring the frequency and regularity of deliveries of American military aircraft will serve to bring about a realisation of the very close connection between civil and military aviation, in this particular sphere at least. —and Atlantic Air Services A LREADY the existing Atlantic commercial air ser- J~\ vices have proved totally inadequate. As time goes on they will become ever more so, and we might as well face the fact in time. The number of people to whom time is all-important is considerable now, and will grow rapidly as our association with the United States increases in volume and closeness. At the very least there should be a daily service, and the time will probably come when a service every 12 hours will be ensured of a full load on every trip. While a frequent service across the North Altantic could be justified on military grounds alone, there are also many commercial reasons for establishing it. Prestige counts for a good deal, and this is, perhaps, even more true of the Latin American countries than of the United States. At the present time the only ser- vice across the South Atlantic is that operated by L.A.T.I. Recently it was announced that Air France is to resume its service to South America, presumably from Dakar. That is virtually giving Germany an oppor- tunity which Great Britain cannot view with indifference, and which even the United States, after Mr. Roosevelt' speech, must regard as something of a threat. The provision of the flying equipment and personnel could hardly be undertaken by Great Britain alone, but American interests are so closely involved that the United States could hardly do other than lend a friendly ear to any suggestion for close co-operation. Hitherto Pan American Airways have had a monopoly on extra- U.S.A. air services. It would seem that the time has come when that position might be reconsidered. Purely commercial considerations went by the board long ago, and commercial aviation across the Atlantic is now one of the "tools" for which Mr. Churchill pleaded. It is not, of course, for us in Great Britain to "lay down the law" in what our good friends on the other side may well regard as purely family affairs, but the great national interests of the two countries are now so nearly identical that we may, perhaps, be forgiven for making the suggestion that in. the matter of transatlantic commercial-services our friends should come to our aid as they have done so splendidly in connection with armaments. ACHTUNG SCHPITFEUER : A Spitfire of the Fighter Command diving through a formation of Heinkfel itaken from one of the Heinkels, shows that the Luftwaffe are still using the old fashioned ring and beafl , J photograph, for their free guns. \
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