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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0934.PDF
43° FLIGHT APRIL 30TH, 1942 IN PARLIAMENT Exiracts from Proceedings in the House on Matters of Interest to the Air Forces and the Aircraft Industry A MONG the major activities in Parliament recently was the issu ing of the now celebrated White Paper which sets out, under the title of "the Organisation for Joint Planning," the organisation by which the conduct of the war is controlled, and which in cluded a diagram arranged in the form of a "genealogical tree," showing the constitution of the executive machinery. As will be seen from the diagram, there is at the head of things a Chief of Staffs Committee which is responsible direct to the War Cabinet in the capacity of professional advisors. This is constituted as follows : — Chairman: Gen. Sir Alan Brooke. Members: Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dud ley Pound, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal (Chief of the Air Staff), Maj. Gen. Sir Hastings Ismay (representing the Minister of Defence and directing the Defence Secretariat), Vice-Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten (Chief of Com bined Operations)—present when major strategical issues or specific combined operations are under discussion. But as every member of this commit tee also has the task of directing the activities of his own individual Service, each Chief of Staff has a Vice-Chief of Staff to whom certain matters can be delegated when necessary, and the Vice- Chiefs hold regular committee meetings for this purpose. The personnel of the Vice-Chiefs of Staff Committee, whose chairman varies according to the nature of the business delegated to it, is com posed of Vice-Admiral H. R. Moore (Vice- Chief of the Naval Staff), Lt. Gen. A. E. Nye (Vice-Chief of the Imperial General Staff), Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman (Vice-Chief of the Air Staff). The White Paper makes it clear that the Joint Staff advocated from time to time in Parliament and the Press has in fact existed for many years. It has been progressively reorganised and ex panded in the light of war experience. It consists of specially selected officers of the three Services who live and work to gether in the same offices. Thus they learn to think and act in terms, not of three separate units assisting one an other for a common end, but of a single fighting unit animated by the same spirit and the same conception of a single task. At their service for information and advice are the three Departmental Staffs of the Navy, Army and Air Force. Directors of Plans The Joint Planning Staff is under the direction of the three Directors of Plans of the Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry. These officers divide their time between their own Ministries and the Joint Planning Centre. Each of the Planning Sections shown in the diagram consists of specially selected officers who work as a team in every sense of the word. They share not only the same tasks but the same office. They not only mess together but sleep in the same building. They are available for consul tation at any hour ot the day or night. The duties of the various sections may be broadly defined as follows: (a) The Strategical Planning Section, under the direction of the Chiefs of Staff and Directors of Plans, keeps the general situation under constant review and pre pares appreciations of the situation from time to time, with recommendations as to the action that we should adopt. (b) The Executive Planning Section is charged with concerting ways and means of putting into effect plans which have been approved. CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE and VICE-CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE I I (c) The Future Operational Planning Section is not concerned with current work, but concentrates on the prepara tion of future plans, even though these may not be immediately within the range of practical politics. Thus they are not rigidly bound by limitations of the Forces, transport and other resources immediately available. The Joint Planning Staff is, of course, primarily concerned with military plans, but in " total war " other considerations, political, economic, etc., have to be taken into account. Consequently, the Foreign Office have a permanent reprjjg^ sentative on the Joint Planning Staff, while the Political Warfare Executive and the Ministries of War Transport, Economic Warfare and Home Security each have liaison officers who are called into consultation. The Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee consists of a representative of the Foreign Office (chairman), the Directors of In telligence of the three Service depart ments, and the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Economic Warfare. These officers work on the same lines as the Directors of Plans, i.e., part-time in their own Ministries and part-time as a team. They have under them joint staffs of the three Services, Foreign Office and Ministry of Economic Warfare, as shown in the diagram. These work on exactly the same lines as the various sections of the Joint Planning Staff. Broadly speaking, it is the responsibility of the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee to collate and assess all information about the enemy, and, in particular, to prepare appreciations ot the most likely course of enemy action from time to time. The Joint Planning Staff and the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee work hand in hand, and discuss problems regularly. ^S ST R. - « 1 JOINT PLANNING STAFF (Three Directors of Plans- Captain, R.N. Brigadier Air Commodore) | 1 . . 1 1 1 RATEG1CAL PLANNING EXECUTIVE PLANNING SECTION .v.— 1 Captain 2 Commanders Army— R. F 1 Lt.-Colonel 2 Majors A.F.— 1 Group Captain 2 Wing Commando II!S>M Office— 1 Counsellor 1 SECTION R.N.— I Captain 3 Commanders A rmy— 1 Lt.-Colonel 3 Majors 1 Captajn R.A.F.— rv 1 Wing Commander 1 Sqdr. Leader LIAISON OFFICERS FROM :— Ministry of War Transport 1 1 FUTURE OPERATIONAL PLANNING SECTION Director—Colonel 1 Captain 2 Commanders A nny— 1 Lt.-Colonel 1 Major R.A.F.— 1 Group Captain 1 Wing Commander Ministry of Economic Warfare Political Warfare Executive Ministry of Home Security and from other Governm ent Departments when necessary JOINT INTELLIGENCE SUB-COMMITTEE Foreign Office—Counsellor (Chairman) Three Directors of Intelligence-Rear Admiral Major-General Air Vice-Marshal Ministry of Economic Warfare- Deputy Director-General I JOINT INTELLIGENCE STAFF (Enemy intentions) 7v'..\\— 1 Captain 2 Commanders A rmy— 1 Lt.-Colonel 1 Major R.A.F.— 1 Wing Commander 1 Sqdr. Leader Foreign Office— ] First Secretary Ministry of Economic War/arc— J Assist. Secretary 1 Principal 1 IN-TFK-SERVICLS SECURITY BOARD 1 Representative of grade of Lt.-Colonel from each Service 1 1 INTELLIGENCE SECTION (OPERATIONS) (Provision of Intelligence to Commanders and Planners about areas which may become the scene of operations) 1 Representative of grade of Major from each Service ^|d Ministry of Economic Warfare
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