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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 2046.PDF
35» FLIGHT OCTOBER TST, 1942 Waldorf-Astoria, when an eminent publisher evoked wild applause from 1,500 guests with accounts of American tank and gun production. These were true enough so far as mass-production figures and speed-up technique were con cerned, and, in that respect, " entitled to a big hand from any body of Americans." "But it would have been better if the audience had also heard a word about the shortcomings of those tanks and guns," says the Major. "A few weeks later came the disaster in Libya, in part because our guns were in ferior to Rommel's tank artillery in calibre and muzzle velocity. The same speaker also evoked applause when he talked about our P-40 fighters equipped with the most powerjui liquid-cooled engines in the world. As a layman he was probably unaware of the British Napier Sabre with more than 2,000 h.p., and the new Daimler-Benz engine which powers Hitler's new fighter .... Yet the well- meant American boast referred to an engine until recently of 1,150 h.p., and only now beginning to come off the line in a 1,325 h.p. version ; and the new version, like the old, loses power above the critical level of 16,000ft. Who Are They Fooling ? " That publisher, along with the whole American people, is simply a victim of what looks suspiciously like a de liberate effort to placate American public opinion. We are being given soothing syrups and sales talks instead of hard, cold facts. The master minds responsible for the situation cannot" be naive enough to think they are fooling the Axis, is the great idea, then, to fool the American people ? '' The most alarming part of it is that the biggest ' selling' job is being done precisely on the least combat- worthy equipment. It is as though someone were trying to smooth over defects with fancy ' public relations' ; as if those responsible for backwardness hoped to cover up until they can catch up. " Consciously or unconsciously, the people and the groups which contributed to our aviation backwardness have tolerated, if not actually encouraged, consoling exaggera tion of the quality of our planes. Among them, it is true, there are men who are blameless as individuals, being victims of the conjuncture of events and forces. Their patriotic duty in this national crisis, it seems to me, is to take the American people fully into their confidence, so that together we may face in a candid spirit the gigantic job of assuming world air leadership. "Thus far, however, the spirit has been the opposite of candid. The arrival of the P-40's in Britain, early in the war, was made the occasion for fanfares of publicity. The fact that they could not be used in Britain on account of inferior performance was soft-pedaled. Indeed, ' mock battles' were staged, intended to convey the idea that New S.B.A.C. Member THE Society of British Aircraft Constructors announce that Phillips and Powis Aircraft, Ltd., makers of Miles trainer and target towing aircraft for the Royal Air Force, have been elected to Ordinary (or full) Membership of the Society. They had been Associate Constructor Members since January, 1936. Mr. F. G. Miles, head of the company, joins the Society's Council. This new accession brings the number of Ordinary Member firms to 19, comprising the leading British companies engaged in the design and manufacture of aircraft and aero engines. The Society is the officially recognised representative body of the British Aircraft Industry. , Founded in 1916 at the request of the Government to represent the views of the in dustry as a whole on all matters of general interest, it is largely engaged in the technical development of aircraft, engines and components and in many activities directed to improve aircraft production, including standardisation of parts and materials and the development of plastic substances to replace light alloys in aircraft structure. The President of the Society is Mr. A. F. Sidgreaves, O.B.E., managing director of Rolls-Royce, Ltd., and its permanent Executive Chairman is Sir Charles Bruce-Gardner. The Society's governing body—the Council—is made up of repre sentatives of Ordinary Members, Associate Constructors and these planes were a match for Spitfires in action. There were photographs out of England, featured in the press here, with captions implying that these American planes were in active combat duty in England; in actuality, they were being used for air-ground co-operation training pur poses. "The Bell Airacobra is a magnificent job of designing and construction. But like the P-40, it has been sadly handicapped by its inadequate engine. Curiously, big sums are being spent on advertisements to glorify that very engine! One ad. actually underscores the 1,150 horse power, as if it were a special virtue. . . . Sometimes, of course, the fighting is at lower altitudes, where the handi capped planes give a first-rate account of themselves; but that doesn't alter the fact of deficient horse-power and inferiority at vital upper levels of combat." Proof From Pilots As further proof of the inadequate performance of the American fighter, Major Seversky quotes an American pilot with battle experience against the Japs in their '' Zero pursuits." " When you fly a P-40 against a Zero," said this pilot, "you can make one pass at him. Then, if you miss, you had better get the hell out of there." This judgment, he adds, has been confirmed by "General Chennault, commander of the famous "Flying Tigers" in Burma, who taught his airmen this: " Never attack alone ; one P-40 against one Jap is outnumbered three-to-one." Major Seversky lays the blame for this deficiency on '' the sorry heritage of long years of underestimation of the air weapon, and the illogical subservience of our airmen to infantry and naval leadership. '' If this were advertising to promote washing-machines or other peacetime products," he comments, "the cus tomers would have ample cause for squawking to the proper legal authorities. The fact that in this instance the only customer is Uncle Sam, whose very survival is at stake, is even more reason why the public should look into the matter.'' Fortunately, Major Seversky is by no means a voice crying in the wilderness, for he points out that there is plenty of realistic facing of facts by working newspaper men and active pilots on the fighting fronts, and he quotes the "courageous and justified blast" of Major Al. Wil liams who stated: "If Americans knew as much about our planes as the enemy does, the chances are they'd get something done," the writing of John Lardner in News week, of William Clemmens in Collier's, and Ray Maley's United Press dispatch from the South West Pacific, all of whom tell the same story of U.S. fighters outfiown by those of the enemy. Let us hope America will listen to her own critics. Associate Members—the last member category embraces com panies engaged in the manufacture of materials, components, accessories and equipment. Artist and A/C.2 R OYAL AIR FORCE personnel quietly contribute many things besides their services to King and Country. The cover picture on this week's issue of Flight is a reproduction of a painting by Keith Shackleton, son of Mr. W. S. Shackle- ton, who is an A/C.2 in the R.A.F. Keith Shackleton is only eighteen, but his work as an artist is already gaining recognition, and has been compared by some critics with that of Peter Scott, son of the famous explorer. Young Shackleton was educated at Oundle, where he was for a time captain of shooting. His hobbies are fishing and shoot ing, which pursuits give him the opportunity to study wildfowl subjects for his paintfhgs. It seems a little odd that the R.A.F. cannot make better use of his abilities. Mr. Shackleton's elder son, P/O. Allen E. Shackleton, R.A.F.V.R., has been missing from an operational flight for some weeks. It is to be hoped that he is a prisoner of war, and that news of him will be received in due course. Allen Shackleton was, like his brother, educated at Oundle, and after wards Pembroke College, Cambridge. He learned to fly in America, having been a pupil at the Spartan School of Aero nautics, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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