FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0039.PDF
JANUARY OTH, 1949 FLIGHT 2? CORRESPONDENCE The Editor does not hold himself responsible for the views expressed by correspondents. The names and addresses of the writers not necessarily for publication, must in all cases accompany letters. FIRE-FIGHTING EQUIPMENT Why Not Helicopter Fire Tenders ?I N support of your correspondent J. O. Mathews' eminently sensible suggestion for halt-track fiie-fighting airport fire tenders, expressed in your December 2nd, 1948, issue, why not also have helicopter lire tenders? " D. G. H." E. Twickenham. RAM TEMPERATURE RISE Depends on Forward Speed Only TO avoid still further misunderstanding, may we point outthat the iam temperature rise, referred to by Mr. Barratt in the December 2nd issue of Flight, is dependent only on forward speed, the dependence on ambient temperature and pressure being quite irrelevant. ). C. F. BRUNSWICK. Word. ' A. G. RAWCLIFFE. I CLIPPED WINGS Dangerous Neglect of our Fighting Services T is a pity that in expressing his disagieement with the views • of your correspondents, his own comrades in arms, ex-S/L. D. M. Laver should have found it necessary to be gratuitously offensive both to them and to you. It would seem that he advocates encouraging potential gangsters by affording them every facility for training, and stipulates only that they shall not be supplied with live ammunition. Certainly our reluctance to allow them to indulge their "inexplicable joy and satisfaction" shows a churlish ingrati- tude for all the services the Luftwaffe rendered us. But we may, perhaps, find consolation in reflecting that a few more years of neglect of our own fighting services will soon enable the Luftwaffe, the Red Air Force, or both, to stretch their wings over English skies unfettered by the heroism even of a gallant "few." G. SANDYS-LUMSDAINE. . Winchester, Hants. MANNING THE R.A.F. Some Comments on Sir P. Joubert's Articles AS an ex-apprentice of 1926 vintage, one-time airman pilotand released in 1946 as a wing commander " not wanted on the post-war voyage," I have been following with mixed feelings the various manifestations of official concern about R.A.F. recruitment. There was Lord Tedder asking what was wrong with the younger generation in not coming forward; even if they are worse than their fathers (which is doubtful) I thought it was poor psychology to say so and indicative of an abject bank- ruptcy of ideas. There was Lord Douglas declaiming that the R.A.F. was in danger of "dying on its feet," but making little attempt *<"> diagnose the disease. More to the point, I thought, was the -Hansard report of the Lords' Debate; but in discussing the possibilities of better propaganda there was no mention of the value of the pre-war Hendon pageants, and the need to rein- stitute something similar. One gigantic loop by a Meteor IV would be worth a dozen phoney P.R.O. hand-outs. And now we have Sir Philip Joubert's refreshing analysis, which is sound so far as it goes but, I suggest, omits certain relevant factors:— (i) He does not consider the scale effect; surely the pre-war R.A.F. was so much smaller than the current optimum Force that even under identical conditions post-war recruitment would have been more difficult anyhow. (ii) He ignores completely the effect ot pre-war unemploy- ment on recruitment and discipline. Had there been full em- ployment then, would it have been so easy to pick and choose ; and would the R.A.F. have been so "disciplined, efficient and contented ? " Again, what about the man discharged at forty ; surely a modern R.A.F. must do something for him? Times have changed. (iii) He maintains a discreet silence on the post-war choice of officers for permanent commissions; on any count this was, I think, bungled badly, and has not helped the Service. (iv) He offers no solution of the R.A.F.'s most difficult problem of all: namely, how to rear an officer class who, whilst bred in the best "press-on" tradition, will at the same time (or slightly later) become wise and experienced leaders of C 20 technical young men. It was as easy tor the pre-war ex- apprentice to enter the officers' mess as it was for the short- service commission type to fly through the hangar; it did happen occasionally, but all the doors had to be open at both ends. How late, for instance, was the inception of the technical 'branch. On the points he does make I would say:— (a) Surely a simple return to pre-war ideas of discipline is not quite good enough. Is it not about time the R.A.F. developed their own particular brand of " bull," and gave up the old bastard concept born ot that ungodly bedlock betwixt the grenadier and the bo'sun's mate ? (b) He is, I think, less than fair to trje wartime technical staff who would have been quite content to serve-on if only reasonable prospects had been offered. After all, there were so few of us pre-war technicians that, as the war went on, we were completely swamped, and formed at the end only a very small proportion of the total. Even then the majority of us had been commissioned. (c) Surely reference to undue acceleration of the release programme by the Socialist Government is rather unfortunate. Would it not be better to keep politics out of this ? After all, the release after this war has been managed a good deal better than after the last. (d) I think Sir Philip rather under-estimates the difficulties of married life in the pre-war R.A.F. One certainly drew marriage allowance over the age of 26, but it was quite another matter to come "on the strength " and so to be entitled to a married quarter. The opinions of such a distinguisned and experienced officer will, of course, be given due weight; but even he, I think, has not appreciated the full magnitude of the problem and the changed circumstances facing the post-war R.A.F. I hope his homily is taken to heart, but I very much doubt whether the Air Ministry have a man of sufficient stature and experience to cope with the situation. The most tragic feature of the present debacle is that we have very few, if any, officers at the top who really appreciate the manner in which the modern young mind works. I regret that I cannot publish my name and address, but I am, I think, just a typical and slightly sad W/C. RTD. Sutton, Surrey. . . .. / . THE R.A.F. BENEVOLENT FUND ' '*: An Appreciation From The Rt. Hon. Lord Riverdale, C.B.E., LL.D., J.P.T HE R.A.F. Benevolent Fund has received many donations from your readers. I think they will be gratified to see the following extracts from a letter received by our Controller. As well as warming their hearts, I hope it will show them that the money they so generously subscribe is being well spent- " When I arrived in London friendless and walked the streets looking for work, I did not know how utterly lonely one could be. 1 did not want charity, but honest work; try as I did, though, I had no success. My small capital was soon ex- hausted and many times I put off my visit to your office thinking that I would meet with a committee who held a means test on every applicant. " At last I decided to call. From the time 1 saw Mrs. Blank I knew that London was not so lonely and friendless. Her gracious charm, cheerfulness, sympathy, understanding, her words of encouragement, her helpfulness—all immediately dis- pelled some very dark clouds that had enshrouded me. I knew that from the moment I sat in the chair at her table I had met a friend and advisei I cannot sing too loud in her praise. To yourself, Sir, I just cannot put into writing my loyal thanks for the way in which you gave me immediate financial help, and later the cheque to purchase tools. I am glad to say that I stepped out into the streets of London with my head held high, backed with the words of wisdom and encouragement from Mrs. Blank and yourself, and am happy to state that I have now secured employment. "My only hope is that some day shortly I shall be in a position to give a donation to the Fund, that you may help and advise another deserving ex-airman as you have helped me. I can say no more, Sir, but thank you. Maybe you get hundreds of letters phrased like this: can we let this be another one? " RIVERDALE. 67, Portland Place, London, W.i-
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
