BRITISH AIR FORCES

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 140, 9 March 1929, Page 9

BRITISH AIR FORCES

PROGRESS DISCUSSED IN HOUSE OF COMMONS DEFENCE AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES REVOLUTION IN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION In the House of Commons the Secretary' for Air dealt in detail with Britain’s progress in flying, the strength of the Air Force, and the development of commercial services. British Official Wireless. Rugby, March 7. Introducing the Air Estimates, amounting to £16,000,000, in the House of Commons this afternoon, Sir Samuel Hoare, Secretary for Air, said that, while the expenditure upon air armaments had been bounding up in other parts of the world, the British net expenditure for the fourth year in succession showed an actual decrease. Four prominent features in the Estimates were:— ' ' t

(1) At the end of the year the strength of the Air Force would be raised from 75 to 82 squadrons, but even so, our strength would fall considerably below the strength of certain other great Powers. (2) A regular air service to India would begin in a few weeks, while he hoped during the next few months to be able to make the necessary arrangements for the starting, in due course, of the other great trunk lines of the Empire from London to Cape Town. (3) A definite provision had been made for a further advance in technical and scientific development. A further advance would be made in the field of metal construction. Concentrated attention was being given to the possible developments of that great safety invention, slotted wings. 1 (4) A new proposal was made in the Civil Aviation Vote for the stimulation of the air sense of the nation, and making it easier for young men and women to learn to fly. The grant they were proposing to give to the National Flying Services Company was entirely restricted to payment by results, and not the least Important condition in their agreement was the provision, directly or indirectly, of 100 new aerodromes and landing grounds. Dealing with the question of the air defence of these shores, Sir Samuel Hoare said that there still remained co be formed 21 of the 52 squadrons that were regarded as the minimum for home defence, and Imperial reserve. He claimed, however, that the standard of efficiency of units had been greatly raised in recent years, and that auxiliary squadrons had shown themselves so efficient as to justify adding three squadrons to their number in the Estimates.

Imperial Air Routes.

On the subject of Imperial air routes, Sir Samuel Hoare said that within a few weeks the service to India should be flying weekly, and doing the journey in from six to seven days. He expressed his'satisfaction to the foreign Governments whose co-operation had been obtained; to the French and Swiss, over whose territory the first stage of the journey would be made; to the Italians, who had made the agreement under which British machines would fly from the Alps down the coast of Italy to Sicily; to the Greeks, in whose territory ithere would .be important landing stages; to Egypt, which had accorded every facility; and to the Persians, avlio had given the Imperial Airways permission to use a route along the northern shore of the Persian Gulf. In reference to the London to the Cape service the Minister said that he had included a sum in this year’s Estimates for starting the project. . The sum was purposely small for, with the best will in the world and with the full co-operation of all the Governments concerned, it would take at least twelve months to get the service regularly operating. They had, however, made very definite progress in the last few months. The British Government was prepared to take its share in the cost of the service and he thought that everyone would agree that, with the route passing through so many different territories all the Governments con-

cerned should take their share. The British Government was already bearing the whole burden of the subsidy for the section from England to Egypt, but was prepared to go further and give substantial support also to the African sections, provided the other Governments concerned played their part. , Sir Samuel added: “For some years past units of the British and South African Air Forces have been making service flights over the route. For some years past also and particularly during the last twelve months flying pioneers, like Sir Alan Cobham, Lady Heath, Lady Bailey, and Captain and Mrs. Bentley have been flying the whole length of Africa in civil machines. Let us pay, in passing, a tribute to all these pioneers and particularly to the enterprising ladies who have shown so notably their skill and bravery. The result of these flights has been to give us the experience and information without which so ambitious a scheme as an air route of 6245 miles from the north to the south of Africa would be altogether impracticable.”

New Types of Engines and Machines. Dealing with machines, the Minister said: “Upon the completion of this year’s programme the whole Air Force, with the exception of four squadrons in India, will be equipped with new types of engines and machines.. Four Indian squadrons are due for rearmament in 1930. Upon the civil side we are concentrating on the development of new and up-to-date types of machines for civil transport. Among the first items in our programme are a boat of a new type with twin floats, a better flying boat than we have yet constructed, and two aircraft which we hope will enable us to test the rival claims of monoplanes and biplanes for civil purposes. Meanwhile, a further advance will be made in the field in which we already have a leading place in the world, the field of metal construction. Four years ago the Air Ministry was ordering- only one metal machine to every nineteen of wooden construction. To-day the orders are seven metal machines for one wooden, so swift and complete has been the revolution in methods of construction during the last four years.”

MINISTRY CRITICISED LESSONS OF THE WAR AIR FORCES OF OTHER POWERS (Rec. March 8, 5.5 p.m.) Australian Press Assn.—United Service. London, March 7. In the House of Commons, Sir Samuel Hoare, in answer to a question, said that the increased petrol price would cost the Air Force £640 a week extra. Colonel Moore-Brabazon (C.), exmember of the Government, bitterly attacked the Ministry. He said that Mr. Baldwin after the election claimed that he had the finest youth of the country behind him. All he had done with them was to break their hearts. Mr. Baldwin had said that he was going to hack through vested interests. Did not Sir Samuel Hoare realise that the greatest vested interests opposing him were the War Office and the Admiralty? Who at present could tell by how much the Army and Navy could be reduced, if the Air Estimates were increased £10.000,000? The House should certainly have a chance of discussing all the Defence Estimates' together. The member added:—“By a stroke of genius Mr. Churchill had left Iraq to the charge of the Air Force, which now on the Sudan-Indian frontier was offering a chance of economy. I really sometimes think the Government is out for a fall. It may be that in its great wisdom it thinks that the next Government should be Labour, that it will not do much liarm, and the present Ministry will soon return. That is the only explanation of Sir William Joynson-Hicks’s speeches.” , ’ Captain Cunningham Reid (C.) complained that the senior fighting forces were comfortably dug in and refused to learn anything from the war or give way an' inch to modern conditions. They had carefully forgotten,how Londoners nightly had to go to cellars and tubes to avoid bombs. Britain had only twenty-one commerciaWieroplanes. France and Germany had 250 each. Germany had 18.000 miles of air routes; France had 12.500. and Britain 1080. 1 By spending more on the Air Force .and less on the Army and Navy both the Exchequer and national security would benefit. Captain Wedgwood Benn (Lab.) said the real problem was to promote civil aviation and prevent it being turned to the accursed purposes of war. If they were going on the processes of war, Germany undoubtedly had the air, leadership of Europe, owing to her numbers of aeroplanes, accumulations of stores and practised pilots. The only way to disarm Germany was to disarm ’ Sir Philip Sassoon (Under-Secretary for Air), replying to a Labour amendment, pointed out that the drastic reductions made after the war had caused Britain from being the first air Power in the world to become the fifth No further reductions on our part would influence other nations at present extending their air forces.