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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 1723.PDF
FLIGHT, 22 November 1957 813 Naval Aviation Prospects A Broad Review by Rear Admiral Cambell at Hull RECENTLY appointed Flag Officer Flying Training, RoyalNavy, Rear Admiral D. R. F. Cambell, D.S.C., was thespeaker at the fourth Sir George Cayley memorial lectureof the Brough branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society at Hull on Wednesday, November 13. Originally the lecture was to havecomprised an historical survey of naval aviation by Rear Admiral C. L. G. Evans: deputizing at short notice, Admiral Cambellchose to discuss the wider implications of the value and prospects of the Fleet Air Arm at present and for the future. Introducing the lecturer, Mr. M. G. K. Byrne, chairman of theBrough branch and publicity manager of Blackburn and General Aircraft, disclosed that the next Cayley lecture would consist of ahistory of the Blackburn company (which celebrates its 50th anniversary in April 1959), to be given by Mr. G. E. Petty. After tracing the ways in which the use of air power had trans-formed sea warfare. Admiral Cambell described the postwar series of Fleet Air Arm aircraft and the problems of their procurement.Political delays and arguments, he reckoned, had cost up to three years in the life of each machine. Developments in aircraft carriers and their equipment were nextconsidered by the speaker, who went on to refer to the Fleet Air Arm's role in the Suez campaign. The most recent phase hadfollowed the Government re-thinking which culminated in the Defence White Paper earlier this year. It appeared that theGovernment favoured the concept of a carrier force as a "wander- ing fire-brigade" but doubted the Navy's place in a global war. The present era was one of modernization for the carrier force.Ark Royal, Eagle and the three Centaur-class carriers would be joined by the modernized Victorious and the much-modernizedHermes. Aircraft would include the Scimitar fighter and part- time strike aircraft, which could carry an atomic weapon, and theNA-39 strike machine. The Navy's existing carriers, the lecturer said, would last untilthe early 1970s. After this stage we could not hope to modernize —we should certainly not be able to accept bigger aircraft, forwe were up against the stops now. If there was to be a further stage, completely new designs of carriers and aircraft would beneeded. And if the decision was made to do this, no results could be expected before 1967. Radical new developments in techniquesuch as VTOL aircraft and guided reconnaissance machines (which could take photographs and return to base) might well beapplied to carrier operation. Admiral Cambell concluded his lecture with nine points: —"1. Nothing that has emerged in the field of ultimate weapons so far can make the Navy obsolete. Long-range ballistic missiles do not seemto apply at sea, and other forms of attack are vulnerable to Fleet defen- sive measures."2. If global war does become protracted (for any one of a number of reasons), defence of sea communications to and from the United Kingdomwill be the Navy's job again as in the past. "3. For limited war and associated threats, for cold war, imperialpolicing, for goodwill visits and prestige purposes, the Navy has a perpetual mission which cannot be done as well or as cheaply by anyother Service or agency. "4. I think manned aircraft will remain in the Navy for purposes ofoffence, defence and surveillance, but the trend of development will be diverted from the aircraft itself and transferred to its equipment. Forsurface strike and for air defence I visualise the development of a The lecturer (right) and Sir John Slessor, a Blackburn director, arriving at Brough. (possibly common) long-endurance aircraft of moderate speed andceiling, launching guided missiles of high performance. "5. To replace the close-range defence gun system, ship-to-air guidedweapons will be a most effective substitute. But I doubt whether it will be practical or economical to develop a long-range guided weapon toreplace the naval fighter unless some other customer—the R.A.F. or the U.S.N., for example—has similar needs and can share with us theburden of such a development, "6. The future of the helicopter at sea is very bright. For anti-submarine work it is proving highly effective. For imperial policing and minor localised affrays, the helicopter commando-carrier conceptoffers great hopes of a versatile and economical instrument. "7. I hope we shall see another generation of aircraft carriers on thestocks before long, but they must be matched by a new generation of aircraft. "8. In general, I rather agree with Mr. Nehru that the march ofscience has outrun Man's social sense. With the planets now within almost practical grasp, it is ludicrous that we should still have topractise the art of cutting each other's throats. But so long as inter- national affairs are dominated by the East-West enmity, we cannot affordto relax the tempo of defence and it is unwise, if not immoral, to leave the naval effort entirely to the U.S.A. "9. Our powerful sister service, the United States Navy, pavs morethan token respect to the Royal Navy; Hanson Baldwin said recently in the New York Times that few U.S.N. carriers could match the Ark Royal'sstandard of training and proficiency in Exercise Strikeback." Opening the discussion on the lecture, Marshal of the R.A.F.Sir John Slessor asked whether the trend towards big carriers was the right one; whether the atomic-powered surface carrier was anecessary intermediate step before the underwater carrier equipped with guided weapons; and whether catapults and arrester devicescould be adapted for land-base use in order to restore mobility to tactical air forces. Admiral Cambell replied that large carrierswere better able to operate in bad weather, but they introduced docking difficulties—30,000 tons was a good, practical size. Theonly great advantage of a nuclear-powered carrier was its endur- ance (but replenishment involved items other than ship fuel); andit should be remembered that a nuclear submarine with guided weapons would lack the carrier's flexibility. The question of the vulnerability of the aircraft carrier, notunnaturally, soon arose in the discussion. The carrier was no more vulnerable than land bases, the lecturer claimed, for eachcould be attacked both by bombing and by submarines with guided weapons. The development of a large number of very small under-water carriers, suggested by one speaker, was theoretically attrac- tive but impracticable, in Admiral CambelPs opinion.Asked when it was that the Royal Navy had changed its mind and had begun to believe in aviation, the lecturer told a storybased on a classic example of the old attitude. This episode took place in the North Sea during the early days of the last war,and concerned a bombing attack on a group of British warships which included Ark Royal and two battleships. To the frustrationof Ark's squadrons, the carrier was ordered to strike-down all its aircraft below the deck, to remove all fuel from them, and to fallin line behind the battleships and fire its anti-aircraft guns at the attacking bombers. The change in attitude came, AdmiralCambell suggested, when the bombs began to fall. CLUB AND GLIDING NEWS A4"EMBERSHIP of the Kronfeld Club, the basement meeting-•*• place for gliding and light-aircraft enthusiasts at 74 Eccleston Square, London, S.W.I, is now approximately 250, it was reportedat the recent a.g.m. The committee for this year comprises Hugo Trotter (hon. secretary), Maurice Imray, Mrs. Yvonne Bonham,Ron Willbie, David Smith, David Carrier and Denis Monckton. Miss Penny Taylor of the Southdown Gliding Club has takenover the production of the club's newsletter. THINNER of this year's competitions for the J. Y. Watson Cup" at the Scottish Aero Club, Perth, is A. McLennan. Second and third places were taken by members Nicol and Simpson respec-twely. Last month's first soloists included R. D. Burns, J. Balman and J Paul, while D. Grieve and C. Martin obtained P.P.L.s. PLUB competitions at Elstree have been won by C. O. Vernon,'-'technical knowledge; D. Trigg, navigation; E. Wells, forced landing; W. Heywood, circuit; and P. Laffy. student pilot. TheMe of club champion for 1957 goes to David Trigg, for the highest total in all the contests combined. Night cross-countriesror C.P.L. students at Elstree are due to begin on Tuesday next, vb 26. /CONGRATULATIONS to the Warwickshire Aero Club for^ winning the Popular Flying Association's Masefield Trophy for 1957 were voiced by Mr. Maurice Imray, P.F.A. secretary, atthe club's annual dinner at Elmdon on Saturday last, November 16. The award was made, he said, on the basis of performance,safety and facilities; Warwickshire was the only P.F.A. club offer- ing night flying, and its syllabus was second to none. Sir RobertMarriott deputized at the dinner for the Earl of Warwick, president of the club. A FORMATION flight of four Tiger Moths from Roborough toDartmouth, Exeter and return on October 28 completed the final sortie of the sixth year of training by Plymouth Aero Clubfor midshipmen of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. This year's Naval flying at Roborough has constituted a record level ofactivity, with 154 midshipmen and cadets attending and loeging a total of 937 hours since March 3. Of these pupils, 83 undertookprogressive flying training courses of varying lengths, with an average duration of just over ten hours; and the remaining 71received air experience in the form of ab initio flying instruction varying from li to four hours each. Roborough's three NavalTiger Moths were flown up to R.N.A.S. Lossiemouth for the midshipmen's flying camps during the summer leave period.
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