Evening Post. MONDAY, MAY 7, 1923. AIRCRAFT IN PEACE AND WAR

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 107, 7 May 1923, Page 6

Evening Post. MONDAY, MAY 7, 1923. AIRCRAFT IN PEACE AND WAR

Aircraft are in a curious position. They seem unable to thrive on a commercial basis; yet they are a national necessity because they are a great military arm- Their only parallel is submarines; but even these are an incomplete parallel. They are obviously of little use in commerce; aircraft have the most tantalising possibilities. Air transport is quick, efficient, and, according to a host of apologists, cheap (considering its speed); yet it has failed to make its way at I a time when quickness, efficiency, I and cheapness are the great stepping stones to success. This is a I paradox that requires explanation, which the advocates of air services have failed to supply. Some nations have developed aviation far more than others, and Britain is notably behindhand. British "partisans, aggrieved by the relative security of the French aviation services in particular, claim that the difference is very largely due to the subsidising of the French business. Heavy subsidies on one side of a business rivalry will of course very quickly damage or ruin the other side, and the competition, in this instance, is thus forced out of the hands of private enterprise into those 1 of the' State, which may or may not be willing to take up the challenge. So far, Britain has not done' so. Moreover, the military branch of aviation has been severely cut down, as was noted by the Wellington Branch of the Navy League at its annual meeting the other day. Sir Samuel Hoare, Minister for the Air, whose comprehensive statement on the subject a few weeks ago was reported by "The Post's" Londoncorrespondent in last Saturday's issue, stated in effect that the British Air Force had been reduced since the end of 1918 to about onetenth—that is, to 30,000 personnel and 371 first-class machines. France, on the other hand, had reduced from 3600 to 1260 machines, and her flying personnel had been to a large extent "saved by being absorbed into the army. Twothirds of the British machines were overseas, but three-fourths of the French were in France,"

The situation thus indicated is calculated to alarm those who are concerned with questions of national defence and who suspect the stability 'of international friendships. Nevertheless there is evidence that the British Government is far from indifferent, though its attitude may be subject to criticism. The Air Minister said: "Everyone wanted an Air Force and an air policy neither" excessive nor inadequate. So long as there could not be quantity there must be concentration on quality. The very small Air Force must be a corps d'elite; and they must devote themselves to the problem of training," He went on to refer to indications of the quality of the Force: the naval branch was "many stages ahead of that of any other Power" ; and the Air Force in the field in the Middle East had been doing remarkably good work. Still, it is to be observed that tha Minister (lacking, as he admitted, the advice of the Imperial Defence Committee which is going into the subject) tacitly accepted the idea of the "very small Air Force." Now, because a great army cannot strike a lightning stroke against Britain, a "very small army" of superlative quality has hitherto been found a sufficient guard. But a great Air 'Force can strike a lightning' blow; and however good a very small Air Force scattered over the world may be, Jt cannot adequately meet an enemy force many times as large, concentrated for one campaign.

The military aspect of the air service is of far more importance than the commercial; yet it seems that the commercial side is essential for the maintenance of the reserve of trained men and efficient machines that must be at call to supplement Sir Samuel Hoare's elite service. The British- Navy, great as it was in 1914, was compelled to call heavily on the merchant service. The Air Force has nothing to call upon. For this reason',, apart altogether from the • debatable question whether aircraft can efficiently fill, at this period, a place in the commercial sphere, civil flying is a subject of the highe?jt importance. The Duke of Sutherland, Under-Secretary for the Air, said on Tuesday that he had been engaged lately on a scheme for running a three-days' i mail-sf3rvi.ee'■to India (apparently the Burney scheme, or something very like it). There has not been very much to encourage popular belief that the future in the air lies with airships and not aeroplanes—rather the contrary—and. the present position of the airship^ mail scheme undoubtedly owes a great deal to the admirable energy of Lieutenant-Commander Burney and Mr. A. H. Ashbolt, the Tasmanian Agent-General. More Burneys and Ashbolts are needed to widen the outlook on the whole air issue. As Mr. G. Holt Thomas, a leading advocate of greater activity in aviation, wrote' in "The Times" in 1921, the experts who inquire into the matter need imagination, i'lt ie a. quality, in which

our authorities have been sadly lacking in the past." Aviation since its inception has suffered from the fact that the authorities have peered into every corner to see what it will not do and completely turned their backs to what it is perfectly evident it will do." .