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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 2167.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER •.?*.?•''•' '• • •-.-• •'••-•• Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Editor - -CM. POULSEN Assistant Editor - MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. (WING CDR.. R.A.F.V.R.) Art Editor - - JOHN YOXALL FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE W6RLD •• FOUNDED WOQ Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telephone: Waterloo 3333 (<) lines). COVENTRY: BIRMINGHAM, I: MANCHESTER, 3 : S-IO, CORPORATION ST. K.1 N_G. ED WAR_D _ HOUSE, 260, DEANSGATE. GLASGOW, C.2: . -. NEW STREET. Telegrams : 11 i ff e, M anc h es te r ^j 5. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Te/efhone; Blackfriars 4412(3 lines) Telegrams. Ihffe Glasgow. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 7191 (7 lines). Deansgace 3595 (2 lines) Telephone: Central 4857 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home: Twelve months, £3 Is. Od. Six months, £1 10s. 66. Overseis: Twelve months. £2 18s. 6d. BY AIR : To iny country in Europe (excep: Poland). Twelve months, £5 Is. Od. Six months, £2 10s. 6d. To Canada and U.S.A. Six months, $16 No. 2087. Vcl. LIV December 23rd, 1948 c///e Outlook Thursdays, One Shilling A British Iron Curtain? /CONSIDERABLE uneasiness has been expressed in I j Parliament and elsewhere concerning the sale of ^~"^ military equipment abroad. The feeling that such practice may be dangerous is a very natural one, but when all aspects are taken into consideration, the risk is far less serious than a superficial knowledge of the subject might ^j^^^^jjgffi indicate. $£ Take, for instance, the sale to a |> friendly foreign country of a | number of fighters. Even in the ^ remotely possible event of that |jj country becoming "unfriendly," ~| the knowledge of the general ^ characteristics of the machine will ** not suffice to enable it to be built «? until that country has found out, ^ by painstaking analysis, the com- ^ position of the structural materials, jy Even if it is supposed that tooling- Z up for the manufacture of the air- «j. craft goes on concurrently with the ^ analysis of the materials, . years ^ are likely to pass before the ^ machine could go into production 2 in the foreign country. JI In the case of engines, and | more particularly gas turbines, the | difficulties which confront a would- $ be copyist are still greater. The ^ materials used for turbine blading, | for example, are extremely sensi- ^ tive to quite small changes in the „ composition, and it would take a | very long time to discover not only * the ingredients used, but to acquire what our American friends so aptly describe as the necessary "know-how," to the attainment of which there is no short cut. It has to be gained by long and often bitter experience. It has been agreed by all parties that this country must export or starve, and the British aircraft industry has contributed a very handsome share to the country's export. And in any case, how is '^^•^S^*^^^ it proposed to enable the countries f «!?«s? AT •&*&gt;& ^jg; of Western Europe to rearm except ; by supplying them with the needed * aviation material? They cannot, \ generally speaking, be expected to \ produce the necessary aircraft \ and equipment themselves within \ any reasonable time. f It must be admitted that when f it comes to the issue to foreign •* countries or firms of licences to £ build British aircraft or power t plants, the position is more diffi- l cult. In this case, full information I about materials and manufactur- f ing processes is supplied, but even % allowing for this fact, there is in- ^ evitably a time lag before produc- & tion can really get going. And so I far as the gas turbine is concerned, £ progress is very rapid, and the ? Government can and does exercise ^ a strict control over what may or R may not be granted a licence for g construction abroad. It is scarcely * likely to sanction licensing of the jj very latest information, acquired V since the original licence was sf granted. So here again there is (Suitor anb Staft of JfU«bf" eftenb to i|)nnu unb $bcr- scas aii <$oob $(*lisj)es for (ffjmsfmns. Mb babcin Iflmbrspcti- alln tbf maim fobo arc scrb- ing atonij fromporac in all parts of fbe ftRorlb, nub tobosv Cbougbts tuill turn ijonutunrbs more tj^an cber buring ibc nett <|cto gays. #»r Cljaiifvs to tbc l|l;v»ij tobo jmbc seat us Christmas (greetings. Cjjcj) an'miub apprceiatcb anb beartilii rectprotatfb.
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