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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0531.PDF
C-J MR. CHURCHILL AT EASTCHURCH IN 1913 ; Capt. Wildman-Lushington, his pilot, is seen turning round to the First Lord, who piloted the machine during part of the flight. Capt. Lushington was killed a few days later. idea that at first these little jaunts were kept secret, or at least they were not advertised from the housetops, for the First Lord of the Admiralty was well aware that objections would be raised in official quarters and else where to his taking such risks. When, however, he not only went up as a passenger but actually took control of the aircraft, the matter became front page news. Early in December, 1913, Mr. Churchill visited Eastchurch, and Flight's account of the event read as follows: "On Saturday the Royal Aero Club flying "grounds at Eastchurch were visited by the First Lord of the Admiralty, who was accompanied by Commodore Lambert, Capt. M. Sueter, D.A.D., and Lt. Col. Sykes (Commandant of the Military Wing, R.F.C.). All the machines of the Naval Wing at Eastchurch were paraded and inspected by the First Lord, who afterwards went for two separate flights as a passenger. He then lunched at the Naval Mess, and in the afternoon made a third flight of nearly an hour's duration, during most of which time, it is understood, Mr. Churchill personally took-con trol of the machine." Taken to Task Such "goings-on" were not, of course, to be tolerated, and the Westminster Gazette took him severely to task for his temerity. The paper said: — "Mr. Churchill on Saturday went for three separate \ aeroplane flights as a, passenger, and in the third flight i/JL (lasting nearly an hour) 'it is understood' that Mr. W^< Churchill personally took control of the machine. Col. Seely is also a Minister who has flown qn more than one occasion, if we remember aright. We feel bound to say we think these Ministerial flights are thoroughly ill-advised and mischievous. They serve no sort of useful object . . \ every branch of the Services ought to run its own risks, and no one can assert that it is part of a Minister's duty to do what is no doubt in itself exciting and adventurous. We hope we shall have no more of these unnecessary risks run for no sort of useful purpose." Needless to say, the youthful First Lord took not the slightest notice, and whenever he had the opportunity he made flights'as a passenger, taking control if the type of machine was one which was not too difficult to handle. A pilot with whom Mr. Churchill did a good deal of flying was Lt. Spenser Grey, and in later years, after the war x#'4-i8 was won, he did not forget his old friend and 'Wtor. In 1922, for example, Mr. Churchill entered for the King's Cup air race a Blackburn Kangaroo piloted by Spenser Grey. However, we are getting rather ahead of °ur story. During the autumn of 1913 and spring of 1914 Mr. Churchill paid several visits to France in order to study "ench aviation at first hand. One result of his visits 23 J placing of an order for a French air- subsequent building of the type in country under licence. By that time the Army had decided that it did not want air ships, but the utility of the class for long-dis tance scouting was evident to the Admiralty, and thus lighter-than-air aviation came to be placed under the Naval Wing of the R.F.C. Early in 1914 Mr. Churchill paid a visit to Portsmouth, and during the day he made flights in a Maurice Farman seaplane, the pilot being Lt. Longmore (now Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, R.A.F.). Flight's re port of the first of these read: "A course was taken over the flotilla of submarines manoeu vring in Spithead, after which a long flight was made round Portsmouth and over Whale Island before the seaplane again alighted alongside the Admiralty yacht Enchantress." It was to be expected that the First Lord of the Admiralty would not escape the risks of forced landings. Engines were very unre liable in those days, and on a seaplane flight which started from the Isle of Grain in April, 1914, Mr. Churchill had his first taste of such a landing. The machine, which was piloted by Commander Seddon, R.N., developed engine trouble and was beached near Clacton. A message to the Isle of Grain brought another seaplane, which took the First Lord to his destination, Harwich. In June of the same year he made what was his longest cross-country flight up till then. In a biplane piloted by Major Gerrard he flew from the Central Flying School, Upavon, to Portsmouth, a dis tance of about 60 miles. That Mr. Churchill did not study the Naval air service superficially seems to be indicated by the statement in Flight of June 5th, 1914, that he had, previous to the Portsmouth flight, been spending several days at Upavon, during which he made many flights. Formation of the R.N.A.S. It was in June, 1914, that the Naval Wing of the R.F.C. was reorganised and given the new title, the Royal Naval Air Service. In commenting on the change in a leader, Fhgh I said : — "Undoubtedly this important departure—experiment it has been called, though we dislike the word as it is applied, for the reason that we can see nothing of the really experi mental about it, but rather the outcome of a well- considered judgment—springs in great part from the keen personal interest which has been manifested in flying by Mr. Churchill ever since he took office as First Lord oi the Admiralty. No Minister of our time has been at so much pains to become thoroughly acquainted with the work of his department as the present head of the Navy, with the result that probably no First Lord has at am period had so deep and thorough a knowledge pi the work and needs of the Navy as Mr Churchill." Resignation from the Admiralty By way of protest, as Flight put it in a leader, "at the snarlings of the few malcontents who are ever on the alert to upset men in power," Mr. Churchill resigned from the post of First Lord of the Admiralty in November, 1915. With his subsequent adventures we are not concerned here, but he re-established contact with air matters again when, in July, 1917, he became Minister of Munitions, taking over the post from Dr. Addison. His name had been asso ciated with certain failures (Antwerp and the Dardanelles), but it is at least debatable whether or not the blame could fairly be laid at his door. His appointment was criticised in many quarters, mainly in those opposed to him politically, but as Flight said in a leading article at the time: "To our way of thinking, it does not matter the proverbial row of pins whether Mr. Churchill sat on the Tory or the Radical side of the House. For all we care at the moment about his politics, he might be ultra-socialist or red repub lican. The only thing that matters is whether or not he is the best man available for the job. On his record we believe he is, and we congratulate the Prime Minister on
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