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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0791.PDF
MARCH 25TH, 1943 FLIGHT CORRESPONDENCE honour of a Diploma given with the special mark of distinction will exempt the holder from the Associate Fellowship examina- tion of the Koyal Aeronautical Society. Blackburn Aircraft apprentices have now discovered that it is far easier for them to continue their evening classes for a further two years after reaching the Ordinary National Certifi- cate standard. If they are then successful in the examination tor the Higher National Certificate they are exempted from the Associate Fellowship examination and also have a qualification which is widely recognised. May I ask whether it is of any value to discuss far-reaching schemes for aircraft engineering education when the people at present in authority, who had a chance to develop good schemes, such as tin- Diploma in Aeronautics, remain dis- interested? "CAMSHAFT O.K." INTERNATIONAL AIR POLICE Vital for the Assurance of Peace THE article by " Ajax" on 'An International Air PoliceForce," which you published on |anuary 28th, 1943, i-s' as clear-minded an exposition of that vital principle for the assurance of perpetuaj peace as one might hope to see. More and more the sheer necessity- of this sole method of abolishing international strife is forcing itselt on the attention of earnest thinkers. For full acceptance at the peace table, however, it is neces- sary that it should become a fixed principle in men's minds even while the conflict rages, for otherwise, presented sud- denly, it runs a risk of being shelved or stripped of its essentials. Such articles as that of-" Ajax," therefore, are of utmost value, particularly at this moment when the tide of war is changing in our favour. Such high-minded policy deserves, in American parlance, to be "plugged." L. E. O. CHARLTON, (Air Commodore (ret.), R.A.F.). EX-R.A.F. PILOTS Difficulty Over Flying TestsR E the letter of T. R. Thomas, Secretary, Air Registration Board, in the March nth issue of Flight, on the subject of ex-R.A.F. pilots and the obtaining of a " B" licence. I have been trying to get a "B" licence myself for some considerable time, and have been given permission to sit for it. After reading Air Navigation Directions 13, jqj6, Para. 99, and seeing that I, after being R.A.F. trained, only had to take the sections (d) and (e), as stated, 1 wrote to Air Ministry at Bristol to see if this was correct. I received a reply to the effect that if I had flown types in the R.A.F. equivalent to commercial types I would only need to take the. technical examination as laid down in the second half of A.N.D. 13, Para. 99. If these types of aircraft had not been flown, I would have to take a flying test as laid down in the first half of Para. 99,. plus the full examination. Owing to the trouble at the present time, the Department could not "suppty an aircraft on which to carry out the tests. If this is the case all around, I consider it only fair that all pilots should know about it before they go buying books and really wasting hours of reading for an examinaiion which they will not be able to pass because of this hitch. A-.N.D. 13, 1936, should be amended to state this fact. "DOUBLE D.F.C." Book Reviews East of Malta, West of Suez. The Admiralty Account of theNaval War in the Eastern Mediterranean, September, igiq, to March, 194/. Prepared by the Ministry of Infor-mation for publication by H.M. Stationery Office, is. net. COMPARISONS are proverbially odious, and it would beungracious to suggest which episode of the war to date makes the most brave and dramatic story. None, however,will deny that the tale of the Mediterranean Fleet is in the trout line, whatever the criterion may be. This official accountof its doings is the second official Admiralty publication of the war, and it yields to none of the other official recitals in matterand in treatment. It is indeed a thriller, and should un- doubtedly become a best seller. The excellent photographsand plans which illustrate it add much to its attraction. Probably every reader has his or her own pet Service, and,of course, Flight is chiefly concerned with the air, whether the actors in that element belong to the R.A.F. or the Fleet AirArm. Still, .no British reader can help a thrill of pride when he reads of that sea fight in July, 1940, when H.M.S. Warspitescored a hit on the Italian battleship Cesare at the enormous range of 26,000 yards—fifteen miles. But we must confineour comments to the air side of the operations. In May, 1940, the carrier H.M.S. Eagle steamed from theFar East to join the Fleet at Alexandria. She was old and slow, and had only two squadrons of Swordfish in her hangars,but later acquired four Gladiators. There were no fighter pilots in her company, but the Commander (Flying) had oncebeen a fighter pilot, so he went up alone to defend the Fleet, and contrived to do it. Later he trained twp Swordfish pilotsto fly Gladiators and to fight in them, and the three shot down eleven enemy aircraft and saved the Fleet from major damage.The Eagle has hardly received all the credit which is her due. She had received damage from neat misses which preventedher from being present at Taranto, but her Swordfish were taken on board the Illustrious for that astonishing feat of arms.Later, one of her Squadrons, No. 815, was divided between Greece and Crete, and when Matapan was being fought eachsection had one serviceable Swordfish and one torpedo left; both flew out to take part in the battle. The new carriers,Illustrious and Formidable, proved of major importance. The brave deeds recounted are almost innumerable, and we adviseall our readers to get the book for themselves. Navigation TEXT books on the all-important subject of how to findone's way about in the limitless sky continue to pour forth in spite of the paper shortage. They vary from elementaryoutlines to complete studies, including the special branch of astro-navigation, but since it is all one science they vary onlyin range and treatment; much overlapping is therefore inevit- able. Here is a summary of a few of the more recent additionsto the ever-growing list. "A First Course in Air Navigation." By F. F. CrossleyMacmillan. 25. Od.; "Navigation for Air Crews." By John E. C. Gliddon and Edward C. Hedges. Univetsily of LondonPress, is.; and "Navigation." By J. C. Kingsland and D.I1". Seaget. Oxford, University Press. 2s. 6d.—These three willsuit the beginner. They start with the form of the earth, explaining longitude and latitude, and pass on via map andchart reading, the magnetic compass, bearings, courses, drift, etc., to a little basic meteorology and dead reckoning. Allcover practically the same ground and are equally useful. "Numerical Examples in Elementary Air Navigation"(Second Edition). By G. K. Clatworthy. Pitman. 35. 6d.— This book provides progressive exercises in elementary air navi-gation to enable students to speed up their computation under flying conditions. "The Complete Air Navigator." By D. C. T. Bennett. Pit-man. 15s.—Nothing the student needs to know, by night or day. has been omitted from this comprehensive treatise. It hassections on summarised mathematics covering logarithms and trigonometry, map and chart projections, aircraft instruments,direction-finding wireless and signals, dead reckoning, astro- navigation and meteorology, the tides, and the chronometerand sextants. For those who already have a grounding in the subject it should prove very helpful. " Astronomical Navigation." By II7. M. Smart. Longmans.5s.—Beginning with a chapter on fundamental geometrical principles, this is intended to give the reader a sufficienlknowledge of the astronomical foundations of the subject anc a detailed discussion of present-day methods.
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