OFFICIAL INQUIRY INTO TUDOR PLANES FOR B.O.A.C.

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 September 1947, Page 7

OFFICIAL INQUIRY INTO TUDOR PLANES FOR B.O.A.C.

(Recd. 10.55 a.m.) LONDON, Sept. 24. The Minister of Supply (Mr Wilmot), in agreement with the Minister of Civil Aviation (Lord Nathan) has decided to appoint a board of three members to make an immediiate inquiry and report upon the development and production of Tudor aircraft for the 8.0.A.C. The 8.0.A.C. board in the course of a statement issued later, said it considered an inquiry into the charges was essential. >

In its statement the 8.0.A.C. board expressed regret that the managing director of the A. V. Roe Company. Sir Roy Dobson, had made a statement to the press placing responsibility for the delays in bringing the Tudor I aircraft into service upon the 8.0.A.C. The board emphatically denied the accuracy of this and other allegations Sir Roy Dobson made. “The corporation considers it is essential that an inquiry should be made into these charges.”

The charges were made by Sir Roy Dobson at a press conference at Manchester, where he accused “a certain element in the 8.0.A.C.” of delaying production of the Tudor I to justify their preference for buying American aircraft. Sir Roy said he believed there was some ulterior motive behind 8.0.A.C.’s desire for more alterations, involving repeated delays. Britain’s export trade had suffered severely from the anti-Tudor and anti-British propaganda. Giving details of the modifications. 8.0.A.C. called for, Sir Roy estimated that they cost the taxpayer about £10,000,000. He called for every effort to be made to restore the reputation of the Tudor, which was in the front rank of the world’s aircraft. “Brought To A Head” The long tussle over the production of the Tudor I airliner, which for two years has been the subject of “criticism, delays, slangings, demals, counter-denials, and costly chaos, has bden brought to a head by the allegation made by Sir Roy Dobson, managing director of A. V. Roe, Ltd, makers of the airliner, that a certain element” in the British Overseas Airways Corporation prefers American aircraft to British, says the

special correspondent of the New Zealand Press Association in London. The 8.0.A.C. is now reported to be “carefully studying” Sir Roy Dobson’s remarks. It is commented that, there will be widespread public support for his suggestion that if the 8.0.A.C. do not want the Tudor they should say so immediately, and that there should be a searching examination. The British Public has been somewhat mystified by the wrangling over the Tudor, since they were accustomed to hearing during the war that Britain produced the best aircraft in the world. “As a result of trials a critical report was issued by the 8.0.A.C. in February, 1947, alleging three major defects which were used as arguments for declaring the aircraft unsuitable for operation on any of their routes.”

Resentment Expressed

Other points made by the company include a statement that while the 8.0.A.C. could not make up its mind about the Tudor, British South American Airways were pressing for the Tudor I to be converted to the Tudor IV specification with the intention of-asking the Ministry of Supply to allocate them 10 Tudors.

Aviation circles comment that airline companies in general resent the Government edict that airliners should be ordered through the Ministry of Supply. They want direct contact with the makers when selecting, ordering, and approving machines. This triangular system of getting aircraft produced, it is stated, results in perpetual friction. The Tudor “flare up,” it is declared, was caused by a clash between airline technicians and aircraft makers.