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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0656.PDF
FLIGHT MAY 13TH, 194S Future Air Strategy and say that control of the routes in and out of the United Kingdom could never be fully exercised by air until all channels of supply were by air. We did not regard such a stage of development as a practicability in the foreseeable future. The required air contribution to- wards control of the sea would be an important and permanent charge on our air strength, and those responsible for developing our strategy must decide now what pro- portion of our forces were to be trained and equipped for that specialized role. Another important function of air forces was the sup- port of armies in the field. In the wider sense we regarded protection of our vital bases, maintenance of air superiority, and the air offensive as a major contribution to the support of armies in their preparation stage, and in the field. By this it was not inferred that armies would not require close and tactical air action in all its known forms, including air transport and airborne forces, and possibly additional and as yet undeveloped and untried methods of air support. There was no doubt that when- ever armies were offensively deployed in the future they must have an appropriate scale of direct air support, and this would be one of the factors which would influence the strategical problems in despatching armies overseas. Like every other form of war-making weapon, the type of aircraft used in tactical support had developed into a complex piece of mechanism these days. Inevitably this made for additional expense in production, with conse- quent reduction in numbers. We could not meet in full all the air requirements of all the services for specialized aircraft under peace conditions and, therefore, we had a priority. It was manifestly impossible to contemplate our voluntarily sending an army overseas in the next war with- out adequate air support. This affected the navy as well as the air force. There would be no question of our armies engaging in large-scale military operations on the Conti- nent or elsewhere until such time as the air forces had produced a general air situation which would allow the Navy to take them there, and until the air forces required for support could be switched from more urgent tasks. No matter how well our air forces had been developed and how skilfully the strategists had been able to arrange their distribution, we realized that there would never be sufficient, at the beginning of a war, to meet all the pressing demands made on our air forces. Very firm guidance would be required, and there must be centralized direction of the whole air effort. It was expected that in future wars every sea or land operation would be a com- bined affair. Air forces would inevitably be involved iu every naval and military operation. Strategic air forces were also likely to be employed in an independent role, for example, in the attack of enemy industrial centres, but this woxild still be a part of the main strategic aim. It was essential that there should be one airman re- 4 sponsible for the central direction of all air forces. There was little doubt on how we in the British Empire would be mated, internationally, in another war. If and when the time for war action came we must be prepared to accept and act on centralized control of our forces. Concluding with a reference to the Government's decision to place research and development as top priority in Service matters in the United Kingdom and to place the Royal Air Force first in our line of defence Air Vice-Marshal Williams said: "We take pride of place over the Navy and Army for the first time in our history. It is our job to prepare for the next war, not only on the basis of policy or training in peace, but in the light of past experience, and, particu- larly, the latest inventions and developments. Until some- thing new replaced the old, we must work on what we know, and modify our strategy from time to time to fit the new developments. It is only by so doing that we shall be prepared to meet our commitments and, indeed, continue to exist as a nation." Aircraft Complexity The Growing Maze of the Operating Systems AT a meeting of the Society of Automotive Engineers,held in New York, a paper was presented by Mr.•• L. R. Koepnick, chief engineer of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc. (T.W.A.) entitled, " Simplicity as a Goal in the Design .of Aircraft Systems." Editorial comment will be found on page 511 of this issue. Fol- lowing is Mr. Koepnick's suggested programme for the development of aircraft systems on any new aircraft design: — 1. The airlines and other operating agencies interested in' this new model should standardize their requirements for air- craft operating systems. 2. Airlines should review the minimum requirements and specify reasonable operating limitations for systems. Minimum requirements in addition to desired attainment should be specified. 3. During the design of the airplane, the manufacturer should place as much emphasis on each of the systems required in the airplane as is placed on aerodynamics, stability and structure. 4. Develop rigid specifications for. systems, using only the most direct and simple manner of accomplishing the desired results. In the design of each individual system, the following points should be carefully considered: (a) It is necessary for the system to function automatically. or is it conceivably possible to achieve the minimum 01 desired requirements by manual operation of the system '< (b) Analyse the cost, performance, and weight of the item;- specified to give automatic functions and compare with alternate items which would permit manual control. (c) Analyse the system from a maintenance viewpoint, con sidering accessibility and also considering the possibility of grouping all functional items into one package. (d) The systems must be segregated and over-all spac>- requirements for the entire system shall be determined. 5 During the preliminary design definite space should he allocated for each individual complete system in order t> provide segregation of systems. 6. Present proposed systems, including specifications diagrams and parts lists, to the airlines or other customer.- for review and approval prior to completion of detail drawing? of the system. Redesign the system if it is too complicated to work in service. 7. Laboratory test individual items and units of each system Do not install unproveh or undeveloped equipment—it caii only cause trouble. 8. Build up a complete system to scale; first, to .insure thai it will remain within the confines of the space allotted, and second, to permit the complete functional testing of the system.J The test programme should check the system under all con- ceivable conditions of operation and combinations of failure? of individual items of the system. 9. One or more prototype airplanes should be flown for ar. extended service test period before the model is released for production. D.H. ENGINE COMPANY'S REPORT AT the fourth annual general meeting of the de Havillam'Engine Co., Ltd., held recently, Major Frank B. Halford C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., M.S.A.E., the chairman, outlined the year'.- activities. The company, he said, had been faced with genera' difficulties in its reversion to a peacetime status, but these had been overcome and there had been good all-round progress Taking the products of the company in turn, Major Haliord said that the production of the Goblin jet engine had risen steadily, and this engine besides being adopted by numerous foreign air forces had powered the Vampire which had captured the international speed record for the 100 km closed circuit. Later a D.H. 108 with the same type of engine had raised the record to 605.23 m.p.h. Progress had been made in the development of the larger Ghost gas turbine, and plan? were in hand for quantity production. Considerable flight testing had been undertaken, in the course of which a ne« international height record of 59,492ft had been set up
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