EMPIRE AIR PLANS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 299, 18 December 1935, Page 15

EMPIRE AIR PLANS.

GIANT FLYING BOATS.

WORLD'S MIGHTIEST FLEET. LONDON", November 8. Imperial Airways, Ltd., has just placed the first order toward the mightiest lleet of commercial aircraft the world has ever seen. Huge flying boats carrying freight, mail, and as many as sixty passengers Avill cruise at a speed of three miles a minute, with a nonstop range of 1500 miles. By 1037 it will he in the air, operating 23,000 miles of empire air routes, running the fastest, most frequent long distance air services in the history of air transport. This new equipment is to meet the British Government's big empire air speedup plans that are to start in 1937. Under those plans they must have readyby that date ail air fleet big and fast enough to carry all the British first class mail by air at a cruising speed of at least 150 miles an hour on day and night services. Nothing ■ like those boats has ever been seen in Britain before. The only machines to touch them are the monster Sokorsky boats that America plans to use for the trans-Pacific-service between California and China.

Plans are already under way for the trans-Atlantic service between-. England and America, so that, before long, there will be a service of huge planes circling the globe in three major divisions: America to England, England to China, and China to America.

At present Imperial Airways has only three flying boats in regular service, these crossing the Mediterranean from Italy to Egypt. The new order is the first step in putting virtually the whole of the empire air traffic into flying boats. Those will fly across to India, as there exist natural British-controlled flying boat bases throughout almost the whole length of the empire ai>- routes.

Royal air force flying boats have already pioneered an "all red" air route to India, proving this to be a practical possibility for marine aircraft and commerce.

It also means that Britain can run her air services independently of foreign quarrels that can now cut off her land 'plane air services overnight.

When the "nil red" route is completed Britain will he able to control practically all of the world's air traffic eastward to the Orient.