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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1120.PDF
614 FLIGHT JUNE 7TH, 1945 Aviation's Place in Civilization Mr. T. P. Wright's Inspiring Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture ; Avoiding War : International Interdependence and Co-operation THE 1945 Wilbur Wright Memorial Lecture to theRoyal Aeronautical Society (the 33rd of the series)was delivered last Thursday by Theodore P. Wright, D.Sc, Hon. F.R.Ae.S., F.I.Ae.S., Administrator of Civil Aeronautics, U.S.A. Mr. Wright had finally chosen as his title " Aviation's Place in Civilization," after having first considered and abandoned titles such as '' Aviation and the Neanderthal Man" and "Aviation—A Benevolent Spiral." Mr. Wright made a totally unnecessary apology for intro- ducing a personal note concerning his career. He felt, and we are sure his audience agreed, that only by so doing could they share his speculations on the need for universal appraisal of the fundamental import of aviation and his emphasis of a desiie to see aviation so used as to make it a positive force in the progress of civilisation. For convenience in visualising the plan of his lecture Mr. Wright dealt with his subject under ten headings: The problem; the scientific approach; historical aspects of transportation; military aviation and war; technical development; government and civil aviation ; fields of use- fulness for aircraft (comprising economic uses, transporta- tion, communications, cultvnal considerations, and the international field) ; the Chicago Conference; collective security ; conclusions. The problem to be solved was summed up by the lecturer as: " Can we so manage aviation that it will contribute to the development of civilisation? " Stated in its simplest form, the problem of the scientific approach was the attain- ment of ability to apply the scientific approach to science itself ; the ability to develop technical improvement towards desirable ends ; to direct our machines to useful purposes. The scientist and the engineer must reflect upon the social import of their findings. Past, experience tended to show that a league of States, unarmed, was powerless to prevent war. Possibly a group of nations united in peaceful pur- pose and collectively possessing a police force of sufficient speed and mobility could prevent wars. On the economic side, attempts at national self-sufficiency, prestige, subsidies and tariff walls had built up depressing influences elsewhere that had led to wars, and possibly over-emphasis of EMPLOYEES (thousands) 1200 WAR EXPANSION, U.S. AIRFRAME INDUSTRY JULY 1940- JUNE 1945 INC. 1000 800 £00 zoo NO. OF EMPLOYEES including subcont 'rsi PER MONTH 1940 1941- • 194?- •1943 • -1944 Fig. 1. American airframe output. nationalism and sovereign rights was inimical to the peace and prosperity of nations. Geographical isolation had t>een effective in keeping certain nations away from wax, but this was now a thing of the past. Possibly an international air police force might work. In reviewing the history of transportation Mr. Wright pointed out that air transport is simply transportation principally characterised by speed and a complete inde- pendence of surface conditions. Giving a four-to-one superiority over long-distance rail traffic and a seven-to-one superiority over water transport, the magnitude of the step was apparent. Air transport was also sharply distinguished from other means by introducing the third dimension. Military aviation and war was dealt with next. In bombers, loads had risen to over 20,000 pounds, and in fighters speeds had reached 500 m.p.h. This growth, coupled with robot and rocket bombs and the likelihood of future use of lethal gas, pointed to the need for sub- ordinating every other consideration to the prevention of future wars. Acres of gas-filled rockets, poised and aimed at distant cities, could only be stopped by preventing their production and installation. It was appropriate to stress the fact that warfare has changed from a conflict between armed forces to total war which encompassed whole popula- tions, both as targets and as producers of weapons. U.S. Production Programme Mr. Wright thought this might best be illustrated by indicating the extent of the U.S. aircraft production pro- gramme Fig. 1 indicates the output from July, 1940, to the present time in airframe weight, airframe employees, and resultant efficiency as pounds per employee per month. On Fig. 2 is shown the climb in output during the same period, repeating the airframe weight curve and adding the story on engine horse-power and number of aircraft. The magnitude of the effort is also depicted in terms of increase in airframe weight. Compared with July, 1940, production, the war period shows a 4,500 per cent, increase! The three-fold increase in the average size of aircraft during the period is of interest. In round numbers, the annual aircraft deliveries in the U.S., starting with 1940, were 6,000; 19,000; 48,000; 86,000, and finally in 1944, 96,000. But because of this increase in average size, the yearly output in terms of air- frame weight increased from 21 million pound in 1940, to 1.1 billion in 1944—over 50-fold. In terms of overall national economy it is found that the manufacture of aircraft com- pletely equipped for waging.war has attained in the U.S.. (when compared with total muni- tions output) 27 per cent. ; with total manu- facturing output of all kinds, of 2,0 per cent.; and with total national income of 10 per cent. Upward trend of costs was illustrated as follows: The per capita cost of killing one German or Jap is now 50,000 dollars. To kill each enemy soldier cost Napoleon but 3,000 dollars, and Caesar 75 cents! Of great significance was the development of air transport during the war. With the ex-, ception of the specifically military charactert of some of its cargoes, all uses developed during the war for the air transport aircraft would have direct application to peacetime functions. On the subject of government and civil avia- tion, Mr. Wright outlined the functions of the American Civil Aeronautics Board and the Civil Aeronautics Administration (of which he LBS. OF AIRFRAME I millions) 120 100 1 eo 20 —1945
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