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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 2125.PDF
FLIGHT OCTOBER 25™, 1945 Boicombe Down Entertains The Aircraft Industry Sees its Products in Action, but Against Targets in Peaceful Wiltshire SALISBURY PLAIN saw most of the early struggles ofBritish military aviation to establish itself as a seriousfighting arm. Upavon, Netheravon, Lark Hill are names which aie for ever linked with the early flying days. Recently Wiltshire was once again the scene of air aggres- siveness, and those old enough to have shared the tribula- tions of the days when it was difficult to get an aircraft to fly, let alone carry any appreciable military load, must have been immensely impressed by the tremendous develop- ment which lies between 1912 and 1945. The Military Trials of 1912, or to give them their official designation, lie Army Aeroplane Competitions, were won by S. F. Cody on a pusher biplane of 430 sq. ft. wing area powered by a 120 h.p. Austro-Daimler six-cylinder water- cooled engine. The weight of the machine. empty was 1,948 lb., and fully loaded 2,680 lb. Wing and power load- ings were 5.55 lb./sq. ft. and 23.8 lb./h.p. respectively. The minimum speed was 48.5 m.p.h., and the maximum 72.4 m.p.h. The modern generation will smile at these figures, but that was the sort of background against which the present-day R.A.F. must be viewed if one would appre- ciate how far we have come since 1912. Cody carried off the first prize of ^4,000 open to all comers (the competition was international) and a further prize of £1,000 open to British subjects and aircraft built entirely (with the excep- tion of the engine) in the United Kingdom. It should be explained that aircraft were, in 1912, re- garded by the authorities as merely of possible and some- what doubtful value for reconnaissance. 'The question of arming them had not arisen except that possibly some of the more far-seeing Army officers, such as Sir Arthur Hen- derson, may have visualised them carrying rifles. The recent two-day demonstrations were given by the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment, at which all new types are given their official tests, and the guests were mainly technicians from the aircraft industry, with a sprinkling of officers from the Services. The idea was to let the industry see all the latest armament for which their aircraft are designed, and much equipment which is still secret was on view and shown in action. The demonstrations were divided into two distinct sections. On the first day the guests inspected armament on the ground and on test in the firing butts. The second day was devoted to a flying display at'which all the various forms of wea- pons were demonstrated in action against different targets. Closer Collaboration We do not know what was the main official object of the demonstration, but the effect on us was that there is need for even closer collaboration between the armament people and the aircraft people. Thus in future, aircraft design may and should be a joint affair between a triumvirate of air- frame, engine and armament specialists. It already is to a considerable extent, but the knitting-together must be even closer in future. '' Show Everything'' appears to have been the motto of the static exhibition, as will be gathered from the fact that it included everything from sectioned bullets to th' An eight-gun Hurricane demonstrates the effect of incendiary bullets fired at aircraft on the ground.
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