FUTURE TRANSIT

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11129, 8 February 1922, Page 6

FUTURE TRANSIT

CLAIMS OF AIRSHIPS IMPERIAL CHAIN OF BASES ADVOCATED. QUESTION OF FINANCE. By Telegraph—Press Aasn.—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received February 7, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, February 6. Major G. 11. Scott, of the British Air Force, in a paper read before the Air Ministry’s Conference, expressed the opinion that, without awaiting further improvements, airships are now technically capable of use for commercial and defence purposes, given provision of basos and mooring masts, the airship is the most promising means of solving the vital problem ot speeding up Imperial communications. A regular service to India via Egypt could bo immediately operated when the bases are provided. The available meteorological data did not justify a definite opinion whether the equal regularity maintained could be maintained with Australia, though the general weather conditions between India and Australia offered no special difficulties. The establishment of an Imperial chain of airship bases and masts would become a most vital factor in national defence, particularly in connection with naval operations and the protection of the trade routes, and possibly as fighting machines superior to aeroplanes and as aircraft carriers. The cessation of airship research would be false economy, because the progress which other countries were certain to make in the next two years would necessarily ,entail a revival of British experiments fit a much greater cost than they could be carried out now. The position demanded that every effort should be made to finance Imperial chain of bases. If Australia was unable to finance the last stage, we ought to concentrate on a link between England and India. Major Scott advocated airships of a capacity of 3,500,000 cubic feet, giving a gross lift of seventy-five tons and capable of carrying thirty-five passengers, besides seven tons of mails, by non-stop journeya- of two thousand miles at fifty miles an hour. He pointed out that R3B was constructed in 1918, when military needs demanded a high' “ceiling” in order to outffy the Germans. This reduced- the margin of safety. Commercial machines were not subject to this condition, and, therefore, they were safer.