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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0834.PDF
3g2 FLIGHT ApRIL ie,TH> *«a CORRESPONDENCE to restore it to the original value, thus giving rise to the condition described by "Indicator," i.e., r.p.m a hundred or so low and boost practically normal. W. P. H. HELP THE RED CROSS Penny-a-week Fund for Prisoners OUR Chairman, Lord Southwood, is to make another appeal to employers to grant their workers facilities for con tributing to the Red Cross Penny-a-Week Fund and thereby helping to lighten the hard lot of more than 100,000 British prisoners of war and civilian internees. As you are probably aware, the Red Cross and St. John is spending more than ,(2,000,000 a year on providing these men —and women—with food, comforts, clothing, and medicines. But that is only one branch of Red Cross work. Altogether the organisation is spending at the rate of approximately ^5,000,000 a year on its many essential services. At present 8,000,000 contributors to the Red Cross Penny-a- Week Fund are providing about two-fifths of that sum, while nearly 40,000 employers are helping by affording facilities for the deduction from wages of the weekly penny—the most efficient, the most economical method ot collection. It is hoped, however, that as a result of the new appeal many thousands more employers, large and small, will come into line. Their co-operation is most urgently needed. EDMUND QUARRY, Public Relations Officer. HOME GUARD AIR ARM Suggested Use of Light Planes I AM writing to you to submit the suggestion that immediate and serious consideration be given to the formation of an Air Section of the Home Guard. Such a force could be equipped with the small civil touring type of aircraft such as the De HaviHand Moth, Taylorcraft, etc., such as were owned before the war by the clubs and civilian private owners. I imagine that at least a hundred, if not considerably more, of such air- Viclory from the Air, by " Auspex." Bles., 10s. 6d. ' PHE author pi this book was wise to write under a nom de . -*• plume. He is one of those who believe that victory can be achieved by bombing Germany. He admits the necessity of a Navy, but apart from that he would have Britain put all her energies and resources into building up a huge bombing fleet. He deplores military expeditions, chiefly because, if they are unsuccessful, they use up man-power which might have been put into aircraft production On page 16 he writes: " We had to send one to France in September, 1939, presumably, because otherwise France would not have fought at all. But would it have mattered tremen dously if she had not? Wisdom after the event is not always very impressive. The publishers seems to have overestimated the value of this book. Tally Ho! Yankee in a Spitfire. By Arthur Gerald Donahue. \Macmillan, 10s. 6d. net.) T HIS book is written mainly for Americans by an American, but it is equally interesting to British readers. Pilot Officer Donahue wa^s a civil pilot in America before the war, but when the war broke out "I felt that this was America's war as much as England's and France's, because America was part of the world, which Hitler and his minions were so plainly out to conquer." So he felt it was his duty to .come over to Britain (having tried unsuccessfully to join the American Army Air Forces) and he was commissioned straight away and soon found himself in a Spitfire squadron. He was just in time for the Battle of Britain, and his squadron was one of those which bore the first brunt of Gdring's attempt to beat Britain to her knees. Though he admits that he sometimes felt scared (what fighting man has not?) he evidently enjoyed his air combats, lovted his squadron, and loved his Spitfire. Obviously he was popular with his fellow pilots. He gives a very clear, straightforward description of the craft are laid up out of commission in various parts of the country. An Air Section of the Home Guard would initially be manned by pilots possessing an " A1, licence and who, for various reasons, such as age or being in a reserved occupation, are not already in the R.A.F., A.T.A. or other Services. Whilst I have no figures at my disposal, I would estimate that there are several hundred " A " licence pilots at present engaged in aircraft manufacture or other essential work, a good proportion of whom could undertake Air Home Guard duties in their spare time. Moreover, I believe that quite a number of pilots could be found who have been discharged from the R.A.F. for reasons of health, or minor physical disability, but who would yet be sufficiently fit for the Air Home Guard. Air Home Guard aircraft would not operate from R.A.F. airfields, but would use small fields, grazing ground and other suitable open spaces which are available throughout the country. Apart from not interfering with R.A.F. activities, this would have the advantage that in the event of an invasion, when attack is certain to be concentrated on R.A.F. air dromes with the possibility of some of them falling into enemy hands, the Air Home Guard would be able to continue c\^ ations from their small inconspicuous landing fields, tlie location of which would largely be unknown to the enemy. There would be little or no risk of wrongly identifying their aircraft, which would be biplanes and small monoplane types not used by the enemy. As for the function of the Air Home Guard, this would be one of maintaining dfcmmunications, dropping ammunition and other vital supplies to Home Guard or even Army units which have been cut off, not to mention many other duties which must occur to those with a fuller knowledge of the business of defeating an invasion attempt than I possess. As regards the problem of servicing and maintaining A.H.G. aircraft, since the majority of "A" licence holders were both mech anically and air minded, I suggest this could be undertaken by the pilots themselves, assisted by selected members of the Air Training Corps who would doubtless jump at the cpportunity. " 1926 A LICENCE." • [The suggestion is interesting and we would welcome further opinions and suggestions on the subject.—ED.] work of a fighter squadron during the hectic days of the great ordeal of Fighter Command. Without attempting eloquence in writing, he makes his book so interesting that it is hard to lay it down before one has tead the last page. It is a book that will live as long as history takes an interest in the great days of A.D. 1940. Together We Fly. By S. M.-.U. With a Foreword by the Secretary of State for Air. (files. 55. net.) 'T^HIS little book, part of the profits from which will be J- devoted to the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund, makes a selection of the most remarkable exploits of the R.A.F. during the present war, and of the brave men who performed them, and tells the stories again in words much more rousing than those of the official bulletins or citations in the Gazette. It is a frank attempt to provide the public with fieroes to worship, and as all or most of the men selected have already had their deeds mentioned somewhat baldly in official citations, we have nothing but praise for this attempt to put some flesh on the official dry bones. To one remark, however, we must take exception. The writer quotes a passage from Flight, remarking, " Here is what Flight said of him (i.e., " Cobber " Kain) nearly twelve months after his death, referring to those early days in France when the War Correspondents were trying to build up ' Aces ' for a news-hungry public." The quotation which follows certainly implied no lack of admiration for the very gallant pilot urques- tion, as the author suggests. In fact, it did not refer -to him personally, but merely quoted his case as an instance of the undesirability of War Correspondents "building up Aces" before their names were officially disclosed, for the reason that the men in question must almost inevitably be fighter pilots, and that it is not fair to give all the glory to pilots of one class. However, the author is not guilty of that discrimination in this book. He makes his selection well. 1 fJw1 [i\y^i*r- %Eg?^3it BOOK REVIEWS
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