FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1510.PDF
6o8 FLIGHT JUNE IOTH, 1943 DEBATE ON CIVIL AVIATION interpretation of that word, and also say whether the Government were in any way committed on the matter. Later on, when Mr. Attlee intervened in the debate, Mr. Tree pressed for an answer to this question '' in order to give some indication of whether the Government are pur- suing that policy in their negotiations with the Dominions." But the only reply he got from the Deputy Prifne Minis- ter was, "There are various methods by means of which this problem might be dealt with; among other matters some form of internationalisation may be considered." That Hansard should record *' Laughter'' at this point is not altogether surprising! But there was no mincing of matters by Maj. Gen. Sir Frederick Sykes (Nottingham) when he touched upon the international aspect. "After the war," he said, there will inevitably be international rivalry for air transport. We must be realists in this matter. We have all believed for many years that the best that can be done for the world can only be effected by close collaboration between the United States and the British Empire, but we know also that practical and satisfactory collaboration can only be achieved with mutual understanding and the most care- ful thought by experienced men on both sides. After this war, as after the last war, every nation will immediately place its own interests first and international considerations second. We have got to face it. One of the difficulties will be to avoid competition with America." Not Altogether Neglected He did not agree with those who claimed that civil air * transport had been altogether neglected during the war, and he mentioned that in 1942 B.O.A. aircraft had flown about. 10,000,000 miles, but very much more than we had done must be done* in the future. And for this we must have at the earliest possible moment a practical Co-ordin- ated policy, internal, Imperial and international. We could not relv on converted bombers for our internal re- quirements, but we might use them as a stop-gap provided they were not allowed to carry on indefinitely into the peace, as had happened last time, to our undoing. Im- mense developments were in progress now and far greater ones were coming, and this was an aspect he wanted to urge very strongly. We should throw a great deal more weight than we had done into our research and design sections. We should search for some revolutionary prac- tical and fundamental changes which would carry our aircraft construction not five or ten years ahead, but two or three decades ahead of anything in existence, and he stressed that the one or two chairs of aeronautics which we had at present were in no way adequate for the purpose. "You cannot have too many trained brains at work to try and solve these problems and get rapidly improving forms of vehicles available for air transport in the future," added Sir Frederick, and said that one of the greatest mistakes made after the last war was that design and research were divorced from the civil department alto- gether. The Service side used all the available money. The R.A.F. was not interested in the broader aspects vital ARMSTRONG VvHiTWORTH ENSIGN : British ^-eiigaied airliner, maximum accommodation 40 passengers. Span123ft. Cruising speed 180 m.p.h. at 5,000ft. Normal range 1,370 miles. to the progress of civil aviation which, for this and other reasons, accordingly languished. Another point he stressed was that this island could and should be made the hub of a vast network of Imperial and international air traffic in the future. And to. this end we must plan the very best air terminus possible and have it ready for peace. It was not always realised that although we had a vast and increasing number of airfields in this country, not io^per cent, of them would be of the least value to us for peace purposes after the war. Finally, Sir Frederick Sykes wanted to know if the Government favoured an international organisation, national State organisation, an Empire corporation, or what? They should make up their minds and publicly state their policy as soon as possible. Personally, he could not see Great Britain, or the Dominions, or Russia, or any other nation seriously considering the sort of internationali- sation which meant international ownership, operation and control. The idea was quite fantastic, though there must be unrestricted right of flying over foreign countries and the international use of the air under agreed regulations, and the importance of coming to a friendly understanding with America in all these matters was, of course, obvious. What was not quite so obvious, however, was the right method of approach to ensure this friendly understanding. DE HAVILLAND ALBATROSS : British 4-engined airlinerto accommodate up to 30 passengers by day or 12 by night. Span 105ft. Cruising speed 200 m.p.h. at 15,000ft. Range 1,041 miles. BOEING 307 STRATOLINER : American 4-engined com-mercial high-altitude transport. Pressure cabin for operation up to 20,000ft.. Accommodation for ^3 passengers by day or25 by night. Span 107ft. Cruising speed 222 m.p.h. at 19,000ft. Cruising range on 50 per cent, power, 2,340 miles. Mr. Tree, for example, claiming there was a widespread misunderstanding in this country of American psychology. "It appears to be based," he said, "on the belief that the Americans are very sensitive people, and that, there- fore, you must never tell them anything which might hurt their feelings, and as a consequence cause misunderstand- ing. In other words, we have a tendency to wrap up what we want to say in cotton-wool phrases. I assure hon. members that the effect of doing this is just the opposite to what is meant. It merely confuses and annoys and makes them very often think that we are trying to ' pull a fast one.' " The debate was notable for something that drew words of. great appreciation from several members who spoke afterwards, and that was the maiden speech of Grp. Capt. Helmore (Watford). Mr. Attlee, in fact, said he felt the debate would be memorable for this maiden speech, which gave him the impression of coining from a back- ground of wide knowledge and deep thought. "I think that members wished," added the Deputy Prime Minister, "that he had gone on longer, which is not often the case in this House."
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
