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Aviation History
1949
1949 - 0521.PDF
Editorial Director G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Editor - -CM. POULSEN and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER Assistant Editor • Art Editor - - JOHN YOXALL MAURICE A. SMITH, D.F.C. (WING CDR. R.A.F.V.R.) FIRST AERONAUTICAL WSEKLY W THE WORLD : FOUNDED 1909 Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegrams : Flightpres, Sedist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (60 lines). COVENTRY: S - 10, CORPORATION' ST. Telegrams . Autocar, Coventry. Telephone : Coventry 5210. BIRMINGHAM, 2: KING EDWARD HOUSE, 260, NEW STREET." Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 7191 (7 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : DEANSGATE. Telegrams: Iliffe, Manchester Telephone; Blickfriars 4412 (3 lines). Deansgate 3595 (2 lines). GLASGOW, C.2 26 B, RE N Fl E L D ST. Telegrams : Itiffe, Glasgow. Telephone : Central 4837. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home: Twelve months, £3 Is. Od. Six months, £1 10s. 6d. Overseas: Twelve months, £2 18s. 6d. _; BY AIR: To any country in Europe (except Poland). Twelve months, £5 Is. Od. Six months, £2 10s. 6d. To Canada and U.S.A. Six months, $16. No. 2100. Vol. LV March 24th, 1949 Thursdays, One Shilling me Outlook Air Defence ^ xE QUIPMENT and manning were the two subjects around which centred most of the House of Com- mons debate on the Air Estimates for 1949-50. The Secretary of State for Air was able to announce that orders have been placed for a twin-jet night fighter and a twin-jet interim-period jet bomber, and that the strength of Fighter Command's jet-fighter force is to be doubled. The exact meaning of this doubling was challenged, and the statement was not contradicted that it merely meant two flights for each squadron instead of the one to which the squadrons had been reduced— in other words, that the squadrons are to be brought back to strength. In the absence of any official statement as to the number of squadrons in Fighter Command, the effect of doubling of the number of fighters cannot be fully assessed, but at least the effectiveness of/tbi Command will be very greatly increased by having double the number of jet fighters by next year. . • While one must applaud the placing of an order for a jet-propelled night fighter, there does appear to have been an unnecessary delay in arriving at.this decision. By the end of the German war it must have been quite obvious that such a machine would be needed. The Vampire and the Meteor were in existence, and their value as day fighters was not in doubt, but for night interception a second crew member was essential for handling all the equipment involved. It cannot be said that the Debate elicited any great degree of assurance so far as the bomber position is con- cerned. The twin-engined jet bomber to which Mr. Henderson referred has not yet flown, and so even this interim-period type is by way of being a long-term pro- ject, not to mention the more distant type which Mr. Macmillan called a '' dream bomber. If, unfortunately, war should be forced upon us in . B 1 the near future, we should have to rely upon the Lincoln, manufacturing production of which has ceased, although it is to be assumed that numbers will have been taken out of storage so as to incorporate any applicable developments and equipment found desirable as a result of experience since the type was first introduced. Actually the position is probably not quite so serious as might be imagined. There is little doubt that in case of a European war in the near future, this country would become a carrier for American bombers, some of which might well, in a fairly short time, be manned by British crews, thus supplementing our Lincolns. Our American friends have recently demonstrated, with the aid of British equipment, that ultra-long ranges can be attained by means of refuelling in the air, and, so long as the nations of Western Europe are not driven back to the sea, refuelled .bombers could strike well into enemy territory 1 *' •'./'."' . Manning the R.A.F.U LTIMATELY the realization of the Government's defence plan will, as the Secretary of State pointed out, depend upon the manpower prob- lem. He admitted that we are faced with serious diffi- culties. This year, he stated, 80,000 men and women are leaving the R.A.F., so that no matter how many recruits come in, there will be a shortage of N.C.O.s with the necessary background of experience of management and leadership. Mr. Henderson added that all that could be said was that the position is better than it was, but still far from satisfactory. The ventilation of grievances, and the suggestions for improvements, in which Flight has taken some part, has undoubtedly served to focus attention on service in the R.A.F., and there are signs that useful results have been achieved, and that efforts have been and are being made to improve matters. The UndeF-Secretary
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