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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0209.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEKLY IN THE WORLD .• FOUNDED WO9 Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH, MJ5.E. War Correspondent JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Trudrtur, Sedist, London. COVENTRY: BIRMINGHAM, 2 : B in rnRpnHATlON ST GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, 8-10, CORPORATION ST. NAVIGATIONST. Te/egroms: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone : Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 2971 (5 lines). Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, C.2 : 260, DEANSGATE. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. Telephone : Central 4857. No. 1884. Vol. XLVII. Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. February 1st, 1945 ^Zfe Outlook Thursdays. One Shilling. The Ledo RoadT HERE is a note of justifiable pride in the telegram which Admiral Mountbatten sent from Kandy, in Ceylon, to the Combined Chiefs of Staff, reporting that the first part of the orders he had received at Quebec had been carried out, and that the land route to China was now open. What this event will mean to the ill-equipped Chinese armies one can well imagine. What it has meant to the American troops who con- structed it is less easy to picture. The curves and wind- ings of the road shown on even the smallest sketch maps fiive some idea of what must have been an outstanding feat of military engineering. For years past the only help which China has received from her Allies has gone by transport aircraft across "the Hump." The running of this airway was itself one of the prodigies of modern warfare, and it bodes well for the future of air transport when the guns have ceased to fire. It has been stated that a greater number of tons of goods was regularly sent by air than had been carried by the road from Lashio at its busiest time. But though the aggregate of tons in the aircraft exceeded that of the Burma road, the tonnage had to be made up of comparatively small articles. Artillery, lorries, and other heavy items could not be flown over " the Hump," and the Chinese had to manage as best they could without them. Now these items will be hurried through by road. Incidentally, Ledo is on the railway which connects northern Burma with India. The air route is not to be closed down because the land route is now open. Its work is, in fact, to be expanded; for China still needs the things which have been sent by air, and the road is likely to be very full of traffic for some time.to come. Once again the two elements co-operate, this time in supplying armies, as they have done in the West in fighting the enemy. Widening the BaseF ROM one point of view it might, of course, be argued that last week's debate on civil aviation at the Royal Aeronautical Society was somewhat futile in that the motion debated was whether or not surface transport interests should be permitted to parti- cipate in post-war development, the participation already being almost a fait accompli in that the railways are already operating air services, while many shipping companies have taken powers to include flying in their activities. With that viewpoint we do not agree. The Govern- ment has not yet announced its policy, and it is all to the good that responsible sections of the community should first state their opinions. What may have been slightly surprising to some is that the meeting voted for participation by surface interests, the "division" show- ing 69 votes for and 47 against. It might have been expected that an aviation body such as the R.Ae.S. would have been in favour of retaining air transport for airmen. In this connection it would be well not to lose sight of the fact, pointed out by Dr. Roxbee Cox, that the meeting was far from being composed entirely of members of the society and that, in any case, those present were only a small fraction of the society's membership. Anyway, if participation by surface interests is organised on the right lines, the advantages should out- weigh the disadvantages. What must be prevented is any possibility of surface carriers obtaining control to the extent where they could, were they so minded, use their powers merely to hamper development. Mr. Rice, London representative of Pan American Airways, gave a very lucid explanation of the United States views (which prohibit surface transport operating air services), but while there is little doubt that they are good and
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