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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1595.PDF
164 FLIGHT AUGUST I6TH, 1945 D.F.C. It is therefore certain that his knowledge of war flying is not merely that of a distinguished amateur. Having been Secretary of State for India in 1929-31, he is not unfamiliar with Cabinet business, and his most recent appointment as Director of Public Relations at the Air Ministry has brought him up to date with the working of the important department which he has now to control. He was born in 1877. Judging by his record he is well qualified for his new post, and we all hope that he will fulfil expectations. The other Minister who controls part of the British flying future is another member of the House of Lords, Lord Winster. He received his peerage in 1942. His record shows, no practical connection with air matters, but he has studied them, written books about them, and frequently engaged in debates on the subject. Experi- ence of active flying is no guarantee that a man will make a wise director of flying policy; while thoughtful study of the subject may produce the desired effect. A very great deal hangs on the direction of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. It will, if wisely conducted, con- tribute largely to the future prosperity of the British race and Empire. The appointment of Wing Commander John Strachey as Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Air came as a surprise to most people. The whole country has listened to his broadcasts on many occasions, and the sweet reasonableness of his views has won him wide popu- larity. He joined the R.A.F.V.R. in February, 1941, and was adjutant of No. 87 Squadron. He has been Public Relations Officer of a Bomber Group and in North Africa, and he has worked -under Air Marshal Peck, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. He therefore brings a lot of useful experience to his new appointment, and again we repeat that that may be more advantageous than a record of fighting in the air. CONTENTS The Outlook - War in the Air - Here and There - Flying the Spitfire XIV - News in Views - . Atomic Fission ----.- Multi-point Injection - Fifty-fifty Air Force - - - It Must Not Happen Again Belligerent Tails - The Norden Bomb Sight - CERCA Civil Aviation News - - - - Correspondence - Service Ayiatign .... - 163 - - 165 - - 167 169 - 172 - 173 - 174 - 174 a & b - 175 - - 179 180 182 - - 183 - - 184 - - 185 Atomic Energy IT is but natural that scientists should be careful topoint out the potential benefits to mankind whichthe discovery of means to split the atom may confer, apart from its hideous use for destruction. It is, how- ever, well to guard against unjustified optimism. Peaceful benefits may in time accrue from the dis- covery. But it would be well not to jump to conclusions nor to indulge in wishful thinking. To convert the violent explosion into controlled work is a task which may well take several decades. After all, engineers have not yet found it possible to use the relatively feeble explosion of a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen in an internal combustion engine, and cordite so far is only applied to propulsion in the limited sphere of catapulting aircraft. The problems attending the taming of atomic fission must be many times more difficult, and the day when aircraft are sent across the Atlantic driven by a few is J^Kely to be a good way off. FASTEST FLEET FIGHTER : A Seafire XV at the moment of landing-on on the flight deck of the Pretoria Cattle, the sting-type arrester hook- A note on the Seafire XV appears on page 181. Note
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