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Aviation History
1946
1946 - 1889.PDF
SEPTEMBER IQTH, 1946 FLIGHT NEW EQUIPMENT : Avro Lincoln heavy bombers of No. 57 Squadron present w> blight'sjpxotographer a picture in which massive* power is set against a background olvgapiyr^ SERVICE AVIATION Royal Air Force and Naval Air Arm News and Announcements UA Dangerous Position "'-CAS. Lord Tedder on Prospects For, and In, the R.A.F. ; Some Views on Air R.A.F. fighters, rehearsing lor theBattle of Britain Celebration Fly- Past, swept low over the Air Ministry in Whitehall as the Chief of the Air Staff, Marshal of the Royal Air Force The Lord Tedder, spoke of problems con. fronting the R.A.F., and reiterated some of his views on Air Power. The C. A. S. was characteristically forthright, par- ticularly on the subject of strength; he spoke of the race to fill the R.A.F. with volunteers before the drain-out of our wartime personnel reduced the whole force to impotence. The position, he said was dangerous, and emphasized the word. In Lord Tedder's view we pulled through the last war because we attained unity in our war effort. "But it took us nearly six years," he said, "and don't let us forget that we had nearly two years' grace—the Munich year and the ' phoney war.' Are we ever likely to be given such grace again ? Could we ever again survive such a prolonged strain, such a fantastic expenditure ? " he also added. He knew ihere were thosewho said that, with atomic bombs, rockets and all theother refinements which science was now offering,any future war would be so different that any study o£the late war would be of purely academic interest. Hedid not hold that view. The technique of war keptchanging with modern con- ditions, the rate of changegot more and more rapid, and it was more and moreimportant to ensure that the technique kept pacewith scientific development. But he did not think thatprinciples changed. Neither did he see grounds for com-plaisance over our conduct of the last war. It was loolong and too expensive. Had the balance of ourarmed forces, he asked, their equipment and training, their strategy and their f > Marshal of the RdyalAjr Force Lord Tedder, Chiefof the Air Staff. tactics kept pace with scientific and tech-nical development? It was over three years, after a series of disasters, beforewe even began to recover the initiative. Was that solely due to the unprepared-ness of a peace-loving democracy? If it was, and if that was the price ofdemocracy, then the future of democracy was indeed perilous. The old tag abouttfee English losing every battle except the last wouldin a modern world be merely the epitaph of asuicide. Fortunately, it was not true in the lastwar: we won the Battle of Britain. Lord Tedder doubted ifthe potentialities of air power were even yet fullyrealized, "except possibly by some German leaders—who had the double-edged advantage of being thecustomers, and were there- fore probably right." Forthe present he was sure that recent scientific develop-ments had not superseded but, on the contrary, hadenormously enhanced, air power as we know it. Thismight change, but not yet. and we must live in thepresent, as well as prepare for future possibilities. "It is for the- Government to decide,"
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