ROCKET PROJECTILES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26541, 16 August 1947, Page 7

ROCKET PROJECTILES

BRITISH RESEARCH LAGGING INADEQUATE SALARIES OFFERED N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 9.30 p.m. LONDON, Aug. 15. The Science Editor of the Daily Express, Mr Chapman Pincher, who worked during the war as an army technical specialist on rocket devices, states after inspecting the new central rocket propulsion at Westcott that he is shocked by the lack of progress made in Britain in rocket research. Far Behind Americans The visit, he says, confirmed his belief that no important developments lie behind the locked doors of Westcott. On the contrary, the only British robot flying ;devices the Westcott scientists possess were graded obsolete when the first captured German rockets were brought to Britain. Westcott has one naval rocket on its list, but so far not even drawings of it exist.' The Americans, on the other hand, have at least 10 different types of guided rockets developed to the semi-operational stage. Mr Pincher claims that 12 German scientists, who are attached to the Westcott staff are not regarded as top rank technicians in Germany, and that although the Americans have, made available full information about their rocket research work Britain has made so little progress that she has been unable usefully to reciprocate. This lack of progress is not the fault of the British technical staff, but is due to what Mr Pincher describes as the “ cheese-paring attitude ” of the Ministry of Supply in regard to salaries. In support of this contention he quotes the salary of £l2 a week offered to a senior technician of outstanding qualifications who was asked to go to Australia to test rockets there, and the fact that the director of the station, Dr W. R. Cook, and his assistant are both resigning to ■go to better paid posts.

- In contrast to the British official attitude, Mr Pincher claims- that the Americans are now preparing to increase the number of German specialists employed on rocket research in New Mexico to nearly 1000, and that it has been estimated that these German experts have already saved the American Government 750,000,000 dollars in advancing the work on rocket propulsion. i