Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1909. MILITARY AVIATION IN ENGLAND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, Issue XLIII, 16 September 1909, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1909. MILITARY AVIATION IN ENGLAND.

WHAT THE GOVERNMENT IS DOING. BRIEF mention has been made in tlie cables from time to time with regard to the action being taken by the British 0 Government in the matter of cohstruct--0 ing airships for military purposes; but f ' the information supplied has boen somewhat vague and disconnected. An imr pression 'conveyed has been that a mea- '* sure of indifference jvas being shown in '' view of the great strides JPfl^e by Conir tinental nations in t&e encouK-gi.ment I s and development of aviation; but such a '" conception would be misleading, especially after Mr Lloyd-George's avowed enthusiasm as a -result of his visit to the Rheims teeth. News by recent mails gives a much cjearpr . and comprehensive -' idea of the posjtip.*- ifl- England, and > shows that, while there is sjtill much to > be done to bring Britain abreast of ths 5 times in the study and practice of aehal navigation, the Imperial Government is bv no means inactive. In the House of Commons on Jujy 1 Mr Haldane, Secretary for War, made ) an interesting statement indicating what - the War Office had done and was doing with reipget to airships for defence. He said that thn Committee of Imperial Defence was first silked io report, and did =0 to the effect that thn machines were jf three classes^— rigid dirigibles' tor |}.a---val defence (probably t'.ie only instalment of real value) ; non-rigid dirigibles (more for army purposes) ; and aeroplanes. T'I)? Prime Minister then constituted an advi?o»y ."ommittee, not «o construct or even invent, Mti- tl~> advise, and set them to work at the National Physical Laboratory of the War Office «jE- Aldershbt. The Committee had some of the j<es,t scientific brains of the world, with su,ch men «n Lanchester Mallock on tlhe practical' side; gni others like Lord Raileigh, Dr Glajj-rbiook, professors Petravel and Shaw, Major-Gene-ral Hadden, and Admiral Bacon. The Committee were thus furnished from various points of view. i * « • * • Mr Haldane informed the House that the Committee had eiiteiCid into communication with the Aeronautical Society and the Aeroplane League. Their design was to afford assistance to private iiiventors wherever that could be properly done, because* it was. felt that progress in the science of aviation was a national and not merely a Government matter. The Admiralty, ho said, was concentrating, under Admiral Bacon, on buildi.i;.' a rigid dirigible of the largest type,, •it least the size of the Zeppelin that is liping budta ut- Rarrow-Sn-jKurness by Viekcr.-., Son and Maxlia. In adidtion, tlie War Office was reorganising its fact iry at- Aldershot, preparing for the con-.--t ruction ot* a vary large shed to take : n the largest rf-se dirigible. TJi.ere had "lso been ordered a gas bag for Ijajlpons ■.f considerable size, and- a- car erigipe '•■rd been constructed for uses in the building of the dirigible. • ••••• Outsido Government action, a patriotic enterprise has been undertaken by two parties, a Parliamentary Committee and the "Morning Posfnews-jappp pro. prietary. The latter have collected a large sum, and propose to present to the War Office a non-rigid dirigible; while the former, working in conjunction with, the "Daily Mail." have pecured the offer of a shed. The War Office, witjj the assistance of the London Gounty Council, has provided a site at Wormwood Scrubs, and the shed jvhen the mail-left (August 6th) waß in conrs.e of erection. There is to come still another dirigibleThe "Morning Post" has contracted for one, in addition to that which is to be obtained and presentejl to the War Office; and if tho two oome pp to the test, one will be a gift and tha other a War Ofßce purchase. . Thus, therewill be available four dirigibles ., ol a new tyue, for, as stated already, thi fi *'. miralty and the War Office are building one each.

With regard to aeroplanes, it is hoped ed that before lon,* the British IJjvenimcnt will be in poss.i-i.-iii cf two for experimental purposes, and the e?£j.eriments will be eonJ icted -.n lines entirely new. To sum up, tlie Admii'iilty lio-"! in prospect one great, dirigible, r.nd tho War Office threa. Besides, there arc •war balloons, an aeroDiine, and Wo aero, planes in pto.spect. The liai.'oons ?irry each. about 20 mc«j, onl the Army dirigible will bear about ei>ht i.r ten i: )i. The Admoralty js spending $35,f10p, and it may be necessary io f-o to Pariianni.t for more. The War Oniee is s)jfr-din« over £36,000. Taking £35,000 in- lhc Admiralty, and £37,030 for thn.Wnr Office, with £7000 for the .-Yi'vUory Committer, the country will be spending about £78,000 this year ■:n aei-.-iav.ti'S, for the purpose of defence. This sum, according to Air IJ-ilpanc, compares favourably with the airwunt being spent by all the Continental n? lions, except Germany. Last. year France expended £47,000 and Germany £133,000, £26,000 of the latter being . on ballooii construction. Then there was a large private subscription by which something like £266,000 was collectoi for the Zeppelin fund, A^stris-Hungary spent £5503. It should be manti-ine-I that the comparison is not bet x woei) the amounts devotsd last year by_ Great ©ri4 tain and tfhe Continent to aviation research and experiments, but' between tint which the Continent uaadb'iio and .tKit. »h. : cli ' Britain is now doing. J Britah'.sTexP 6 "? diture last year amounted to only, £5270,* the smallest sum of all in Europe. '"' ■».*■•- •-. * *

MTHald-uie'sstatemeil-tiiitJieHbu^owas , not permitted to go unchallenged altogether. Mr Lee, a member nf tno rai-. liamontary Airship Committee, replied declaring ifliat Mr Haldane was too opttaistic' Mr Lee said that at Aldershot there was an airship that was no moro than a- toy, and thero was also an air, stop that y would not fly. This added Mr Loe,- was due to want of, funds, and the absence of adequate 5 x P. en ,^'"f 0 S the past, and, while flhe Admiralty might be concentrating Hs energies on g' navigation, the War Office was not doing much. Mr Lee made a co»pumm«% the activity of Germany, and pointed, out that a J the time of the faster to the Zeppelin airship tho German Goverli ment voted £25,000 within 24 .«.»»* the German people subswibed fi3OO,OOU, which had been expended in putting «P a factory capable of turning put eight , or ten Zeppelin airships annually. In Germany an'd France, there were artuaDy «*- --fective squadrons of airships, while th«e was not a. single «"it belonging to *e British Government. Ho did ****«*"» to suggest that those fsreign aii^hips were perfection, but they h^ already shown the power of travelling 200 or 300 miles, at over 35 miles an hour, carrying from seven to 25 men, or with a cairy ing capacity of 30001b. of explosives. In conclusion, it may be admitted that Britain is much behind the rest . oi ! U» civUised world with regard to aviation for military and other purposes; but there are indications that a movement is being made at last to come abreast of the times. Obviously the- Government SL b«i compelled to' devote adequate Iti 'construction and experiment and developments on the Pontinent and i„ the United States are sure to , have their effect on England, however tardily.