BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE No Goliath But Fine David

Chronicle (Levin), 11 January 1947, Page 7

BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE No Goliath But Fine David

(Special Correspondent.)

Received' Friday, 7.0 p.m. ' LONDON, Jan. 10. "No Goliath but a David perfectly proportioned ' ' was how Lord Tedder described > the peacetime Eoyal Air Force recently. The aim, he said, was a neat 'compact force capable of iminediate expausion. Even so the E.A.E. will. be three and a half tinies the size it was before the war with a persoimel of .305,000 compared withv 90,000 just prior to the war. The estimated ' expenditure for the curfen't year is £255,500,000 compared with .£120,401,000 iu 1938 after the additicm of the supplementary rearmament plan. The cost of aircraft, technical supplies a'ad' serviccs, research and developmeut are borne scparately by the Mjniairy of fcjupply. It was recently stated in the Commons that the expen diture on these for the current year would be £28,000,000. The, past year has been diffieult for the. R.A.F. which has been engaged both in demobilisation and recruiting 100,000 men to bring up the total to peacetime requirements. The response i'rom men who served during the war hga been poor with the result that there is a dearth of litters and insuificient men to keep aircraft flying in aiivthing like the required numbers. There has been, liowev-cr, an increasiiig.' r.espOnse from men without prcvi ous military experience. Establishments at home and abroad have been fairh well maintained. The overseas commahds are: Mediterranean, kriddle East, India, West Afriea and the Far East. There are also detachments with the B.AFO in Germany and with the forces in Japan. The home-based forces have been cliiefly engaged in training while those with the . BAFO have been disarming the Luftwaffe They have also joined in training exercises with the home forces ineluding intereeption on mock bomber raids 011 Germany. The most active section of the. R.A.F. has been Transport Conimand which inaintains daily serviccs to Europc, the Middle East, India and the Far East. Jet-propelled Fighters While experiments with and new de signs for new aircraft are contiuuom the B.A.F. has accepted jet aircraft a: the normal equipment for iighter squad rons, both Metcor and Vampire now be ing in production. Bomber Oommand it using as its standard aircraft the Ein coln which is a iarger version of the Lancaster and was designed for the long-range bombing of Japan. The activities ot the four Vampire sehools and li.A.F. establishments have been intensilied. The achools, ail of which include Domrnion personnel, are Empire Radio, Empire Air Navigation Empire Armament, and Empire Centra. Fiying School. Each conducts experi nients and special flights. There is alst the Empire Test Pilots School under the Alinistry of Supply. Tactics and use of bombers and fighters are studied by the Centrai Bomber and Central Eighter es ta'filishmeiita ' while 'the"1 ' School 'of 'Afi Support vhich is attendod by the com bined- services has two wings. They specialise in tactical support and supply dropping. While the pattern of the peacetime R.A.F. has been settled no figures oi aircraft of numbers of squadrons operating with Bomber, Fighter and Coastal Gommands have been inade available. Permanent W.A.A.F. Being Forined. A permanet W.A.A.F., which has always been a popular service, is being forined, and though tliere is no recruiting for aircrew at pfesent both permanent and e.itended commissionS are beilig granted for ofticers and extended engagements for n.c.o. 's. This applies tp -Doihiinion personnel, and it is also antieipaled that each Domiuion will be alVle to nominate cadets *to Cranwell College wliere they may qualify for commissions. In order that the E.A.F. may be transformed rapidly from being a "David" to being a "Goliath" the Air Ministry is concentratiug 011 building up its Eeserve Command. This is divided into three maia branches; firstly, auxiliaries or air -territorials; sec ondly, an air training corps or juuior territorials; thirdlv, univcrsity air squadrons. There are twenty auxiliarv squadrons with the membership at pre sent restricted to men with war experience. Th& respouse lias been "magnificent" and the squadrons are des cribed as being the most exclusive fiying clubs in the world. They are divided into three types: Day and night figlit ers and light bombers. Members must ■fly for 125 hours annually, do regulai training and attend an annual cainp. The A.T.C. for boys from 13" to 18 will have a inaximuni strength of 75,00o with an annual "output" to the R.A.l' of about 25,000 which will roughiy moei service requirements. They train week ly, attend camps on air stations, are given flights in aircraft and gliders and sometimes visits abroad. When tlie time eomes for them to be conscripted they will have had E.A.F. training and man.v are already making the service their career. The university squadrons total eleven. • All former E.A.F. pilots are given commissions and those withoul service experience may prepare for per manent comniissions if they wisli to make the service their career. The Air Ministry has also forined «i technical service branch with arina ment, engineering and signals branclies. rt will contribute towards research and development by providing trained experienced oflicers to work in the Ministry of Supply and its establishments. One of the features of the peacetime R.A.F. concerns the treatment of mori based on the principle that service conditjons should resemble civil iii'e a? nearly as possible. Pay is to be equated to civilian rates for similar work. Stations are to resemble well planned, rural housing estates with shopping centres, cinemas and dance halls. Unnecessary parades are being cut out and civilian elothes may be worn on or off the station when the day's dutres are-ended. A revolutionary innovation is a station committee of airmen oflicers under the cliairmanship of the commanc}in{> oflicers with the objective of impToVing general conditions. • Oue the main objectives of the

R.A.F. is to build a compact higlily 'ef ' flcient force in wliich men and women may rollow a useful and congenial career with a goocl standard of livihg and no unnecessary service restrietions.