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Aviation History
1936
1936 - 3037.PDF
482 FLIGHT. * Protecting the Midlands COVENTRY is not so very vulnerable," replied Sir Philip Sasoon, when questioned in the House of Commons as to what would happen to the shadow industry if an air raid wiped out the factories in the motor city. It is very comforting to learn this fact from the Under-Secretary for Air; and it is certainly the case that the farther a place is from the south and south-east coasts the more chance there would be of the air defence organisation getting timely warning of a raid and of taking steps accordingly. Natur ally, everybody would feel a bit happier about the chances of survival of our reserve aircraft and engine factories if they were situated at remote Gretna Green or some place like that, but such an idea is held to be impracticable. The Great War lasted four years, and in its course a great deal of munition work was carried out at Gretna ; and if this country ever were involved in another lengthy war many things might be forced upon us which seem out of the question in psace time. Certainly a rapid output of aircraft and aero engines immediately on the outbreak of war would be most desirable, and provision for that is so important as to justify some risk. After all, we cannot be sure that any spot in the United Kingdom will be out of the range of hostile bombers a few years hence. FOR DESERT SERVICE. During the recent war in Abyssinia some of our bomber squadrons stationed in the desert offt Sudan were temporarily equipped with Vincent aircraft which are specially fitted out for work over the trackless wastes, m ^ picture we see No. 207 (Bomber) Squadron practising attacks in the Sudan. On return to England the squadron surrendere Vincents and went back to ordinary Home type bombers. NOVEMBER 12, 1936, To consider the possibilities of being bombed is an unpleasant subject, but there are always degrees of unpleasantness. The greatest horror is a deliberate attack on a civil population, and if such an attack were to be made it would almost certainly be made on London Flight has always held that an enemy who neglected military objectives to bomb civilians would be makin» a mistake in tactics; and it is rather hard to conceive of an intelligent enemy neglecting great centres of muni- tionment in order to asphyxiate women and children in, say, Streatham or Kentish Town. A sudden cutting off of Britain's supplies of aero engines would have a far more immediate effect on the country's fightin<* power. The most comforting news in connection with this problem is that the air defence of the Midlands and North is now being energetically taken in hand. Six- whole divisions of the Territorial Army in those parts of the country are being converted to air defence units. A beginning has been made in stationing fighter squadron- to the north of the "inner ring" round London, and we trust that active steps are being taken to establish listening posts of the all-important Observer Corps all along the east coast. The listening posts should extend up to the coast, while the fighter aerodromes ought to be well inland so that the squadrons can strike outwards at raiders instead of trying to pursue them inwards. It should be easy to arrange this.
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