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Aviation History
1958
1958 - 0345.PDF
21 March 1958 361 Air Estimates Debated Eight-hour Discussion of £467m YlfHEN the Air Estimates were debated in the House of Com- "' mons (sitting as a Committee of Supply) on March 10 the Secretary of State for Air, Mr. George Ward, said that their total for 1958-59 was about £467m—over £20m less than the compar- able figure for 1957-58, though the true saving compared with the previous year was in all about £57m. One of the ways in which this was being achieved was by reductions in both Service and civilian staffs, the closing of various headquarters, and reduc- tion of Air Ministry headquarters staff. Organizational economies were being carried out, including the possibility of automatic data processing, and experiments with different types of catering. Mr. Ward said that this year he intended to speak about man- power first and then to deal with the operational side. Recruitment of officers was on the whole satisfactory; the intake of cadets at Cranwell and Henlow had been helped by the R.A.F. scholarship scheme; numbers and percentages of regular airmen on long- service engagements had been steadily rising, and the entry of apprentices and boys last year was 25 per cent up on that for 1956. But as the R.A.F.'s authorized ceiling of 135,000 regular officers and airmen would not at the present rate be reached until 1965, instead of 1962 as intended, the present annual intake would have to be increased. A limitation had been introduced on the number of postings, which was a disincentive to recruiting; several improvements had been made to R.A.F. uniform and the kit-bag was to be replaced* by a hold-all, Mr. Ward paid tribute to the "tremendous con- tribution" being made by the A.T.C. and the R.A.F. sections of the C.C.F. towards regular recruiting. Turning to the operational side of the R.A.F., the Minister said he was sure the V-bomber force would remain highly effective, and he made it clear that a long-range version of the powered bomb was being developed. This year the Mk 7 Javelin and Fire- streak weapon would be introduced; later, both the Mk 7 and Mk 8 would be given reheat. The performance of the P.I would be improved by "electronic computing equipment to tell the auto- matic pilot the place in which to intercept the bomber"; and Service trials of Bloodhound was to begin shortly at North Coates. Mr. Ward paid tribute to the work of the Middle East and Far East Air Forces; he said Singapore would be the long-term base for the R.A.F. in the Far East; and he referred at the close of his speech to the need for "a strike and reconnaissance aircraft" in overseas theatres and to consultations with the War Office about an eventual successor to the Beverley. Canberra Replacement MR. GEOFFREY DE FREITAS (Lab., Lincoln) said that the Opposition'squarrel was not with the R.A.F. but with the Government's policy. Where, he asked, were the transport aircraft to move the strategic reserve?What sign was there of a replacement for the Canberra? Would the NA.39 be anything like this? He also wanted to know more about theVictor, and asked whether there was any justification for Air Ministry to have the same number of Air Rank officers for 203,000 men as it didtwo years ago for 272,000. MAJ. H. LEGGE-BOURKE (Con., Isle of Ely) quoted in extenso fromthree articles by J. W. Fozard on The Supersonic Fighter which had appeared in Flight during December 1954, in putting forward a casefor developing aircraft which could fly non-stop over vast distances such as England to Australia. MR. GEORGE WIGG (Lab., Dudley) said that there were 29 squadronsof Canberras in the U.K.; three squadrons of B(l)6s and B(l)8s with the 2nd Tactical Air Force, and four squadrons of the B.3 and the P.R.7.The Americans had 1,600 B-47s; and 260 V-bombers had been ordered and 160 produced—108 Valiants, 77 Victors and 75 Vulcans. He saidthat maximum production of the Bison and Bear in the Soviet Union was about 300, but he was told they would have about 570 by themiddle of 1959 as against 430 U.S.A.F. B-52s. Mr. Wigg said that we were in acute danger in this country of reaching the point where ouraircraft industry was "finished." SIR NORMAN HULBERT (Con., Stockport North) made a comparisonof the cost and size of the R.A.F. now and twenty-two years ago. He said that at the latter date the pay of officers and airmen totalled a littleover £4m while today it totalled £100m. In those days there were 33,000 men in the R.A.F.; today there were 200,000. Sir Norman said_that whatever happened in the future the R.A.F. must have a personnel reserve; and he considered that members of the reserve should getpromotion. During forty years the R.A.F. had had its ups and downs. It rose to Olympian heights in war but reached its nadir when Parliamentstarved it of money, aircraft and men. MR. P. B. LUCAS (Con., Brentford and Chiswick), commenting thatthis was "a really critical period" for the R.A.F., said that the Chief of the Air Staff, Sir Dermot Boyle, had had to shoulder a burden notnormally borne by one in his position during times of ordinary service; and he believed that Sir Dermot's leadership of the Service had ensuredhim a place among the great occupants of his office. Mr. Lucas went on to say that none of the three countries possessingthe largest air forces—the U.S.A., Soviet Union, and Communist China —had indicated that it was going to dispose of the manned fighter; andhe expressed regret that the R.A.F. did not go for the Folland Gnat to use in its secondary tasks overseas.Mr. Lucas further asked if it was intended that there should be a successor to the Canberra, and wanted more information on theBlackburn NA.39. MR. P. WILLIAMS (Con., Sunderland South) said the Strategic AirCommand had, he imagined, known its targets for five or perhaps even eight years. He added that the fact that we were dropping the super-sonic bomber might well mean that we dropped out of the race for super- sonic transport aircraft. He queried whether R.A.F. Transport Com-mand was the most efficient and economic means of providing strategic movement in time of emergency, considering that this task could beperformed with greater economy by the civil operators. VICE-ADMIRAL HUGHES-HALLETT (Con., Croydon East) said that heagreed with members who considered that the Ministry of Supply had outlived its usefulness and was no longer required; it was a mistaketo go on interposing a civilian Ministry between a Service Ministry, such as the Air Ministry, and industry. SIR PETER MACDONALD (Con., I.o.W.), speaking of recruiting, saidhe did not see any reason why the R.A.F. should not obtain the personnel it required before National Service was terminated. He wanted anassurance that the P.I would, not be cancelled like the SR.177, and suggested that the three Saunders-Roe Princesses should be providedwith engines and used by Transport Command for trooping. MR. FRANK BESWICK (Co-op and Lab., Uxbridge) said that if he weredirecting "Operation Prospect" he would say three things—that there were more than enough young men ready to volunteer and play theirpart in the R.A.F.; that the Service was equipped to face conventional attacks and could strike blows sufficiently hard to deter any irresponsibleattack; and that these forces would be maintained in efficient readiness until UNO is built into a peace-keeping organization. He asked what thereplacement was for the Shackleton, and for the P.I—the latter, if we were going to have it, ought to be in the designer's mind now. Grounds for Optimism MR. JOHN BIGGS-DAVISON (Con., Chigwell) said he did not think theterms on which we had accepted the Thor missile were satisfactory. Mr. Malcolm MacMillan (Lab., Western Isles) said that ballistic missiles, com-pared with bomber aircraft, had a complexity, a vulnerability and a fragility which did not add up necessarily to a good technical argumentin their favour; there were all sorts of things which could go wrong. He wanted the Minister also to say something about Civil Defence. MR. WILLIAM ROSS (Lab., Kilmarnock) said that though improve-ments in Service conditions were important, he did not think that in the long run they were the real answer to the recruiting problem; itwould not be a bad thing for the Secretary of State to pay some unexpected visits to some stations to find out exactly what was happen-ing. He might find there was still room for more cleaning up. Mr. Ross also asked whether it was fair unless the R.A.F. had a promotion systemwhich offered everyone equal chances. MR. C. I. ORR-EWING, the Under-Secretary of State for Air, repliedto the debate, which had lasted for eight hours. On the question of re-engagements (which had been raised by Mr. Ross), he said thatunder its terms of reference the Grigg Committee was investigating what was necessary to make people who were already in the Servicesre-engage. Its report was awaited with the greatest interest. As to recruiting as a whole, Mr. Orr-Ewing thought there weregrounds for optimism. The Grigg Committee was examining what measures are needed to stimulate it. On promotions, the Under-Secretarysaid that senior posts went to the best men, irrespective of their branch. Speaking of air transport, he said that the right balance betweenTransport Command and civil aircraft which were available was a matter for strategic and military judgment; but the Service had to have in itshands and immediately available a significant quantity of transport. The "front line" of Transport Command had almost doubled since1951 and now consisted of 30 Hastings, ten Comets and 24 Beverleys (four of the last-named being at present detached in Aden). Thetransport capacity of M.E.A.F. had gone up by 50 per cent and that of F.E.A.F. by 150 per cent, since 1951. In sum, we could reckon onabout twice as much airlift capacity in ton-miles for military purposes as was available to us seven years ago. In due course a successor wouldbe needed for the Beverley, and consultations were going on with the War Office; when the twenty Britannias—to be operated by TransportCommand—came along they would be "extremely useful." Mr. Orr-Ewing paid tribute to the work of the two helicoptersquadrons in the Far East; and on the subject of a possible successor to the Canberra, he said that such an aircraft would need to have "built-in"flexibility. Air Ministry were conscious of the importance of this matter and would reach a decision as soon as possible. Finally, of the Thormissile he said: "We are satisfied that when they are deployed in this country, they will constitute an effective addition to the deterrent powerof the West."
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