BRITAIN'S AIR FLEET.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1617, 7 December 1912, Page 5

BRITAIN'S AIR FLEET.

DIRIGIBLE ORDERED FROM FRANCE. By Teloffraph—Press Association—Copyright Paris, December 5. A French firm has almost completed a large airship for the British Navy. Speaking in the House of Commons on July 24, Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, said—"A new department has been formed to co-ordinate tlio various branches of navigation of tho air. _ A captain of experience has been appointed to take charge of the air department, and it is expected that good progress will be made on lines which will avoid wasteful enterprise. We are now including airships as woll as aeroplanes, and everything that can be done without wasting money«is being done to secure a higher development of knowledge m regard to airships, and to make the beginning of, an airship flotilla. So far as aeroplanes are concerned, tho progress has been excellent, and all tho officers concerned have been encouraged to push forward their work. I have repeatedly asked them to mako suggestions for further expenditure, and' the £60,000 in the estimates is the greatest sum we can use without being foolish or l thriftless. . I confidently, look forward to the naval aeroplane sKrvico attaining adequate proportions during next year'. Ido not think wo can afford to use naval officers exclusively for aerial navigation, and I hope it may be possible to offer a career, an adventurous career, to the younger petty officers and tho smart ■youths who come into the Navy. This may be ono of tho avenues to commissioned ranks where other qualifications are satisfactory."