NAVAL PROBLEMS

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 29, 4 February 1925, Page 2

NAVAL PROBLEMS

AIR BRANCH OF THE R.N.V.R,

The work of the Naval Air' Reserve falls into two categories) and is distinct from fleet air work, just as the work of the Reserves iv the last war was, to a great extent,, distinct from that of'tho main fleet. In the first of these two categories is ocean air work, or that part -ef the Navy's duties of protectim? tho ocean routeß, which will, in future be performed from aircraft. For thiß li Is ? laillled. an air branch of the Royal Naval Reserve should be created. - Now there remains to deal with the no' less important problem of an air service for the protectiop of ..shipping in narrow waters and for patrolling the approaches to ports, states the naval cor-respondent-of the "Morning Post." In the late war aircraft played an increasingly important part in these duties, and, where an •■ efficient air escort could be provided, it waß found that ships were, singularly immune from submarine attack. , .

In the^event of our again being at war with a Continental Power, the Euglisli Onannel and southern waters of the North *Sea are likely to be infested vvitli enemy aircraft, and shipping making for London would be a particularly tempting target. Submarine warfare, as xit was waged by Germany, is prohibited by international law, but this was already the case, \in principle, before it was started,' If a future enemy takes to using bombs and torpedoes from aircraft to attack merchant ships, and the submarine cqn still be used for mine-laving without breaking any convention, is:it seasonable to suppose that he will not resort to a more' active use of submarines before many weeks of hostilities have passed? The fact is that we cannot regard these international "scraps of paper" as true security against any and every form,of attack. We must always be prepared to set up. a. more practical means'of defence. ' _ „ . V Whatever menaces tq^our shipping the next war may bring forth, we know that these are likely to be greatest at or near the focal points of -the sea-routes, and especially in those localities where ships merg einto a dense stream of traffic flowing in and out of the big ports. In assigning the various classes of. sea air work to the component parts of '-.the war Navy—the Active Service, the Royal Naval Reserve, and the Royal Naval "Volunteer ReserveT-it is not intended for an instant to draw ail arbitrary line between their duties and responsibilities, any more than it is the intentibn to ignore the Royal Air Force. The latter is a service, with a definite role 6i its own to fill. Its primary duty is the. air defence of Britain, which may bo said to include "general command of the air." That is to say, on the Royal Air Force must chiefly devolve the responsibility for' preventing such a poncentratjon of enemy aircraft as might influence the whole conduct of operations by dominating some vital point. In, exactly the same why the main fleet stabilises the naval situation all oyer the world by covering the.enemy's principal naval forces. Outsido this particular function of the Royal Air Force lie the innumerable air requirements of the other fighting services. These may call for small air forces'- to secure local command of the air, or, more often, the use of aircraft for patrol, reconaiasance, and escort work. It- is for that p;irt of naval air work which relates to the patrol of ths narrow waters and the approaches tq the ports, that a special type of personnel is required no less than for fleet air work and ocean air work.

Scattered round our coasts are little groups of men who love the sea, and whose every spare hour is spent iii yachts, sailing boasts, pulling boats, motor boats, and_ every sort and hind'of small craft which will" float. It has been .truly said that every yacht club in this country is a ready-made recruiting depot for the Navy. Those' who wish to bene- , fit by naval training join the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. This is not an amateur naval society, but a fully constitu-,. led part of the Navy's reserves. At.pre- , 6ent,Jiowever, many of the yachting and motor-boat fraternity, ready enough to join up at oueo jn the event of war, dp not care, or have not the opportunity, to attend drills and classes at the various '"drill halls ;;n4 ships belonging to that corps.

It is to this section of our sea-faring and sea-loving population that tho side of naval air work with which we are now dealing should make a very strong up-, peal. To the man who delights in skimming the seas at forty knots in a fast niolor-boat it must seem infinitely alluring to take unto himself wings and to soar into the air at over a hundred knots. To the man who loves to sail calmljin tranquil waters exploring every creek and inlet of tho coast, what could b« uipre fascinating than the small airship puiihifr along with the whole panorama of land ai|d water stretched put below. Here to hand, then, is the human material for manning the patrolling seaplane, the big Hying boat, or the coastal airship which will be such important units of what Was knpwn as the Auxiliary Patrol in-the late war. Drifters, trawlers, minesweepers, and destroyers will _ doubtless still be needed for clearing channels and providing surface escorts, but the observation of homo paters will obviously devolvo more and more on aircraft, and who better to man them than men who know these waters intimately. They are nothing if not seamen, and they are also experts in their local knowledge. There is yet another most important part which the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve could play in a Naval Air Renerve. That corps has within its ranks a. considerable number of men who are skilled mechanics or craftsmen, and who would easily turn their abilities to the repair and" upkeep of aircraft. This work is a vital factor in the whole organisation of such an Air Reserve. Already facilities ava being provided at certain R.N. V-E. depots for the mechanically-minded to make themselves familiar with the workings of the torpedo, and it is suggested that similar arrangements could be made for suitable men to be trained in the engines and construction of aircraft. From time to time, too. opportunities could be afforded for those who joined the air branch of the R.N.V.R. to embark in an aircraft-carrier, so as to get in touch with the active service side of naval air work.

llie Active Service Navy is slowly and laboriously laying the foundations of a fleet a.ir a.rm in the face of almost inconcciyable obstruction. The communitieg which support and recruit the Boyal Naval Reserve and. the Royal N*val Volunteer Reserve control' w'i<Jo and'independeut wlluences. It i 8 sincerely to bo hoped that those influences will be exerted to tlie utmost to build up a branch of tho Navy a Reserve which is vital to national purity at sea and which can tic constituted 111 no- other way and from \ no ot.ier source, if it is to be efficient, ||