U.K. Now Considering Civilian Aviation

Northern Advocate, 18 December 1942, Page 3

U.K. Now Considering Civilian Aviation

(Received 1.30 p.m.)

(8.0. W.) RUGBY. December 17. Bold Government measures for future civilian aviation were foreshadowed in the House of Commons by Mr. Balfour, replying to a debate on post-kvar air transport. Hitherto, said Mr. Balfour, we had had to concentrate our manufacturing capacity upon a combat type of aircraft and it was only now. for the first time since this huge struggle in the air started, that we could begin lifting our eyes from the immediate requirements of combat aircraft towards supplying some parts of the needs of our war effort in terms of British transport aircraft.

He added that while at the present time, the whole effort of our expert engineers had to bo devoted to war work, we had, nevertheless, converted one of our bombers into a transport

plane. This is now in production and considerable numbers will bo delivered in 1943. For Building Post-War World

With regard to the post-war position. the Government wanted to go ahead whenever possible and had to look at post-war civil aviation in a big way. We could start thinking and planning in that direction without detriment to our war effort. The Ministry for Aircraft Production and the Air Ministry were working in close concert on various aspects of post-war civil equipment and the Ministry for Air Production was working now upon a design for several types of civil aircraft for after the war. Civil aviation (was one piece of the jig-saw, of building up a post-war world.

He was authorised to say that the Government was now considering actively what those bold measures should be and what form they should take.