PROGRESS TO ‘CLEAN’ BOMB

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28322, 6 July 1957, Page 11

PROGRESS TO ‘CLEAN’ BOMB

Mr Macmillan’s Reply fN.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, July 4. The Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) told the House of Commons today that Britain was making progress towards the production of completely “clean” hydrogen bombs. He said that it was not in the public interest to disclose details. Mr Hector Hughes (Labour), who raised the point, said the public were entitled to some information about it.

“This is a very urgent matter which affects the peace, health and happiness of mankind,” he said.

The Prime Minister replied: “Any progress towards the production of clean bombs would not have taken place at all if I had yielded to what you and your friends wanted—which was not to test.” The Indian Prime Minister (Mr Nehru) said today that he did not think it feasible to have an overall scheme covering all aspects of international disarmament.

He told a press conference: “If we go step by step, tension and lack of faith will become gradually less and less.” The suspension of atomic tests did not affect things like the balance of power, and would give time to consider the whole question in its proper framework, he said.

He would also like progress to be made immediately in stopping the production of fissionable materials for nuclear weapons and also in the reduction of conventional . armaments and armed forces. /

Atlantic Flight Anniversary

(Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, July 5. Twenty years ago today an airliner crossed the Atlantic for the first time. Tonight, in midAtlantic, two Stratocruisers—one British and one American—will celebrate the anniversary by exchanging radio greetings.

On the British airliner will be a British Overseas Airways radio officer, Mr T. E. Hobbs, who was the wireless operator on the airliner which made the first survey flight from Britain to America in July, 1937.

Since then the Atlantic has been crossed more than 200,000 times, and the daily rate is now 60 by planes from 15 international airlines.

Mr Hobbs, who has now crossed the Atlantic 548 times, said today of that first flight: “We took five days to go from Southampton to Southern Ireland, and then on to Newfoundland and New York. It was a sardine trip, no comforts, no smoking, and all we had to eat were sandwiches, with coffee from vacuum flasks. We had no passengers.”