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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0130.PDF
MARCH 5, 1925 OUR AIR POLICY Sir Samuel Hoare's Speech in Commons IN his speech on the Air Estimates in the Mouse of Commons on February 26, Sir Samuel Hoare outlined the Air Policy of the present Government, and below will be found extracts giving such of the points raised as appear to us to be of especial interest. Sir Samuel Hoare said :— In the first place, in accordance with the expressed desire of every party in this House—and 1 do not think there has ever been such unanimity amongst the leaders of all parties upon any question of defence—we are carrying through a programme of trebling the combatant strength of the Air Force as compared with its strength at the time at which I last came into office. Secondly, we have almost reached the limit of our war stocks, and as a result have been forced more and more to buy new equipment in the market. This latter feature, whilst it will undoubtedly help the British air- craft industry, is very serious from the point of view of the taxpayer for it means a heavy financial demand for re-equip- ment and replacement simultaneously with the big financial demand due to the expansion. Moreover, machines and engines and spare parts are constantly rising in cost I have here a list of some of these rises, and 1 find that many of the new types of machines and engines both here and in France are costing about 100 per cent, more than the old types. Air Power and National Security Year after year the Minister who introduces these esti- mates emphasises the magnitude of the revolution that has been brought about in the problem of home defence by the development of air power. To a country like ours that has never maintained a large army in peace time, and has until the last few years depended upon the sea and the Navy for practically its sole defence against invasion, this new revolu- tion probably means more than to any other country in the world. The central and undeniable fact is what matters, and the central fact is that air force, passing in a few minutes over trenches and armies and channels and fleets, can pene- trate into the heart of this country, and. whatever may or may not be the material damage that it creates, make life unendurable for a population that lives mainly in great towns. So far as we are ourselves concerned, we are in the particu- larly fortunate position of being Surrounded by old friends and allies, and we need not. therefore, fall into any panic or adopt exaggerated measures for developing a scheme of defence that, however remote may be the possibility of danger, is none the less necessary to our national securitv and status. Let us not, therefore, brood morbidly over remote perils, but let us rather take a healthy and sustained interest in a problem of defence that must be faced even in the most tranquil times In- any great empire Programme of Home Defence When I took office two years ago there were upon a liberal calculation only three squadrons available for home defence. There are now six times as many, and in the course of 1925-26 the existing number of 18 will be increased by a further eight Apart from the question of numbers, there are three other features to which I wish to draw the attention of hon. members. In the first place, we are equipping the Regular Squadrons that are being formed with really up-to-date machines. The reason is obvious, for the difficult conditions of a sudden air attack the essential need is that onr fighting pilots and machines should be the very best that we can obtain. It is skill and training and performance, perhaps even more than the number of machines, that are the three essentials of every sound home defence programme. Hon. members will, there- fore, be glad to hear that of the 18 Regular Squadrons already formed 15 have now been equipped with post-War types of machines. Secondly, I desire to draw the attention of the House to the fact that we are introducing into our scheme for the first time in the history of military aviation, non-Regular units—namely, four auxiliary Air Force Squadrons and, as I now hope, two Special Reserve Squadrons, instead of the one foreshadowed in the memorandum recently issued with Air Estimates. The Special Reserve Squadrons, as the House will remember, will be organised on a cadre basis, with one flight manned by- Regular personnel and the other two flights by non-Regular Special Reserve personnel—that is to say, personnel liable for peace time training and embodiment in time of emergency. One of these squadrons will be formed near London and another at Aldergrove, near Belfast. As to the Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons, there will be a small permanent .start of Regular personnel, but the main body of the personnel will be upon a Territorial basis. I have decided to locate the first four of these squadrons, two in London and one each at Edinburgh and Glasgow. I may add that in addition to the non-service personnel in these types of non-Regular squadrons, we are trying another experiment in the Regular squadrons in which we are introducing a number of civilians who will carry out the greater part of the less technical non-flying duties. The House, will therefore, see that both in the matter of non-Regular personnel and in the matter of the employment ol civilians, we are making a completely new experiment in the field of air defence. I hop- that the experi- ment will succeed, for its success will mean not only a con- siderable saving in expense, but, what is even more important. a diffusion of the knowledge of flying and air defence amongst a number of citizens, and in various parts of the countn . where little is at present known of either. 1 can at any rate say that the Territorial Association and the district.-- where it is proposed to place these squadrons, have cordially wel- comed the scheme and declare themselves most anxii>u> to make it a success. Lastly, we have now introduced unity of command into the field of Home Defence against air attack. An Air Oiticer Commanding has been appointed to this post, and it will 1»- his duty to take operational control over all our air defence.-, in any air operations. This does not mean that the Air Ministry will be in administrative control of the Anti-Aircraft units on the ground. I have myself never desired to over weight and complicate the duties of the Air Force with the administrative control of an unnecessary numl>er of non- flying units. AH that is needed is that there should l>e the closest co-operation between the Army and the Air Force in the matter of training, and that so far as operations arc concerned there should be unity of command under in Air Force commander. We shall take four or five years to complete the first stage of our programme, for in a time of complete j>eace I have not at present felt justified in asking the House of Commons for greater expenditure, nor without further compulsory powers for buying aerodromes, and without generally dis- locating the normal life of the country, could I greatly exjx-- dite the programme. If, then, I may sum up this, the most important phase of air policy. I would claim that we are working upon a sound basis, that our programme is proceeding surely, although it may be slowly, and that at the end of 1925-2H we .shall have formed half the 52 squadrons that are needed at this stage, and shall to that extent be in a much stronger ]H.>itii>n than we were when last I stood at this box two years ago I shall value the opinion of the House upon the broad policy that we are pursuing On the one hand, there is the undeniable fact that from the point of view of Home Defence we are still in a position of numerical inferiority as compared with the greatest F.uropean air power of 1 to 3. and that it will take several years to bring up to anything like the same numerical strength. On the other hand, there is the fact that this great power is our old friend and ally, and that no sane Frenchman or Englishman contemplates at the present tinic the possibility of strained relations between our tw-> coun- tries. Mobile Defence of the Empire. I pass from the question of the Home Defence it these shores to the wider question of Empire defence Whilst I do not wish to make any claim that cannot at present be .sustained, I would ask hon. members to keep constantly in their minds the great potentialities of air power for Empire defence If we could succeed in putting our Empire defence upon a more mobile basis, might we not save both large numbers of men and great sums of money .' Let me give the House a single instance of our mobility during the last year, and it will incidentally disprove the charges of hon. members opposite that air operations always mean l>ombing In May of this year, serious disturbances broke out at Kirkuk between the native forces. Within eight hours of the receipt of the first report of the trouble a small contingent of the Inniskil- ling Fusiliers had been flown to Kirkuk from Baghdad, a distance of 150 miles, and within two days a total of 145 officers and other ranks, had been similarly conveyed by air, with rifles, equipment, blankets, and full marching order To reach Kirkuk by ground Communication would have entailed a 12-hour railway journey and a four-days' march. 130
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