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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0440.PDF
FLIGHT FEBRUARY 26TH, 1942 * That uneasiness is natural if unjust because a Production Minister's job is production and not the settlement of types to be produced. It would, however, be a serious mistake if the lighter types were put aside entirely in favour of the more devastating but less manoeuvrable class of four-engined bomber. The picture of the war changes with such bewildering rapidity that it is never safe to disregard any type, nor do we believe that this is being done. If the twin-engined Hampdens and the Whitleys are to cease production, and the four-engined types such as Stirlings and Halifaxes are to take their place, that is surely no matter for uneasiness, since the policy is dictated by experts of the Air Staff after serious con sideration. The Wellington which is continued is still capable of good work within its own class, and seve^fi American types will supplement it. Not only so, but there are other '' home-grown'' types ready to step into any intermediate gaps which may reveal themselves as the war progresses. There will be general regret in the aircraft industry at the departure of Lt. Col. Mooreferabazon, a man exceptionally well versed in aircraft matters. If he did not infuse this department with the " buzz" of his pre- - decessor, he did at any rate produce steady, methodical progress after the inevitable aftermath of the Beaver brook tonic had worn off. Production methods have undoubtedly been improved, and Col. Moore-Brabazon quoted the case of an unnamed fighter, the man-hours for the production of which have been halved. Col J. J. Llewellin, C.B.E., M.C., T.D., M.A., M.P., the new Minister for Aircraft Production, has had a distinguished political career, and is a barrister. Three weeks previous to his new appointment he was elected President of the Board of Trade, but his knowledge of the Ministry he is now to control is considerable, for he was Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aircraft Production from 1940 and has occupied many important Government posts. We wish him well. is now on the track of the ships, nosing out the lairs to which they have betaken themselves., and it is equally certain that there will be more bombing attacks on them when they have been found. They may have gone to three separate dockyards, all probably farther away from our bases than is Brest, and so may call for even greater efforts by Bomber Command. A INew Production Minister C OLONEL J. J. LLEWELLIN is the third Minister for Aircraft Production since the M.A.P. was started, and has often been named as suited to his new post. While it is true that ultimately the fate of our aircraft output, and that is almost equivalent to say ing the fate of the country, is in the hands of the per manent officials and of the aircraft industry, the political head can exert a very marked influence, as was proved by the first Minister for Aircraft Production, Lord Beaverbrook. A man with drive and energy can electrify a whole industry, but cynics might retort that when the current is switched off, everything comes to a standstill. The great merit of Lord Beaverbrook's regime was that he concentrated on fighters and got us the numbers just in time for the Battle of Britain. That to do so he had to be ruthless, and to relegate for a time to second place the production of other types, is perfectly true. But bombers would not have saved us during that critical period ; the fighters did. It was to Lt. Col. Moore-Brabazon that fell the task of speeding up and planning the long-range production of bigger types to give us the long-range heavy bombers that were to give the Germans our reply to the large- scale raids on London, Portsmouth, Southampton, Plymouth, Liverpool and Coventry. That programme,, as he told a conference as recently as Friday of last week, is now well under way. Col. Moore-Brabazon is held by many to have concentrated too much on the " heavies," and to have neglected the medium bomber.
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