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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2453.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD .• FOUNDED WOD Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. War Correspondent JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices, DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Truditur, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). COVENTRY: BIRMINGHAM, 2: MANCHESTER, 3: GLASGOW, C.I : 8-10,' CORPORATION ST. £ ul LyD (H A L^ * ^ 'J- ^ NSGS.' 260 DEANSGATE. 26B, R E N F I E LD ST. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams : Autopress, Birmingham] Telegrams ; lliffe, Manchester. Telegrams : lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone : Coventry 5210. Telephone. Midland 297 1 (5 lines). Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. Telephone: Central 4857. Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. No. 1875. Vol. XLVI. November 30th, 1944 Thursdays One Shilling. C The Outlook New Under-Secretary for Air F OR th^ first time on record the Parliamentary Under- Secretary for Air is to be one connected with the Fleet Air Arm. Cdr. R. A. Brabner, D.S.O., R.N.V.R., has spent most of the war as a fighter pilot in that brave Service. He was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for gallantry during the escorting of a convoy to Malta, when he was serving in H.M.S. Illustrious. He has also served in H.M. carriers Eagle, Victorious and Indomitable. This is a record which proves him to be a determined fighting man. Without doubt he will bring to the Air Ministry a full knowledge of the Fleet Air Arm and what it needs. In view of the imminence of a total effort by the Allies against Japan this experience should be of great im portance, even though it is only in time of peace that the Air Ministry is responsible for providing the aircraft required by the Fleet Air Arm. In time of war the Admiralty places its orders direct with the Ministry of Aircraft Production. None the less, as the Pacific war develops, and carriers play an increasingly important part in it, the Air Ministry cannot but benefit by having as its Under-Secretary an officer who is au fait with carrier operations and carrier needs. The appointment of Cdr. Brabner should also promote the already very close co-operation between the Admiralty and the Air Ministry in this war. A tribute is due to the retiring Under-Secretary, Cap tain H. Balfour, M.C., who was a fighter pilot in the last war, in the R.F.C. and R.A.F. He is an enthusiast for flying clubs, and he gained the respect of R.A.F. pilots by flying Spitfires and other new types of fighter after he had become Under-Secretary. Whether he held any views as to what British policy in commercial flying after the war ought to be remains unknown. Policy of that sort ought to emanate from the Air Minister ; and as Sir Archibald Sinclair has not enunciated any, his Under- Secretary cannot be heavily blamed for keeping his own counsel. He rises in rank by becoming Minister Resident in West Africa—a post held until lately by an ex-Air Minister, Lord Swinton. It is a part of the world which is growing in importance on the air map, and there is a chance there for Captain Balfour to do good work for his country. Performance and Purpose IN his article '' Arctic Patrol'' our war correspondent draws attention to the inconvenient layout of the Consolidated Liberator. This is especially stressed in view of the long-range work on which it is employed. No one must think this is carping criticism of a very fine aircraft, nor that we are looking a Lease-Lend gift horse in the mouth. The point is, however, illustrative of a definite difference in outlook on the part of Ameri can designers as compared with our own. The Americans first build an aircraft—usually a very good one—and then turn it into a fighting machine. British designers, on the other hand, build the best air craft they can around a set of military requirements. The Douglas Boston, for instance, was, for its time, a grand conception of a twin-engined high-performance aircraft, yet it had a serious drawback. If one of the crew were wounded, none of the others could get to him to render first aid. A design fault such as this can- have a far-reaching effect on the morale of air crews. That splendid light bomber the N.A. Mitchell suffers almost as badly in this respect. In the Liberator it is impossible for a big man, even lying full length, to get past the retracted front wheel if he is wear/ing a flotation jacket. Parachute harness
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