BRITISH AIR FORCE

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 149, 19 March 1919, Page 7

BRITISH AIR FORCE

, ESTIMATES BEFORE THE HOUSE OF COMMONS OUTLOOK REVIEWED BY THE MINISTER (Rec. March IS, 7.15 p.m.) . London, March IG. Th'J Air Minister (Brigadier-General Seely) moving the air vote in the House of Commons of .£45,000,000, said that itwas a vote on account of the total estimate of .£66,000,000, which would possibly be reduced when peace was signed. It would have been .£200,000,000 if the war ha.i continued. Britain started the war with six air squadrons. There were now two hundred. "We were building _ 4000 aeroplanes monthly when tho armistice was signed. 38,000 of oura were reported ''missvntr during tho v.ar period." A sum of .&.000.000 had been earmarked for experiment and research work in civil aviation Ho believed that the proportion of the air force to the land and sea forces would constantly grow—possibly in a few yoi''s it would make our present armies and fleets obsolete. The possibilities of carrying mails' between Cairo and India were extremely favourable, and the Air Ministry proposed to concentrate its first efforts on this route. The Minister- added that the whole of the air force resources would remain at the service of civilian aviation. We had further advanced than other nations as regards civilian aviation, and our next du-v was to plan aerial routes at home and abroad. Wo had at last got a wireless telephone by which in the same operation we could'send and receive a message. There had also been many other extraordinary inventions during wartime, including an apparatus for taking a series of photographs at.a great height, gi.-i.ig a more accurate survey of tho land below than months of ordinary survey could have accomplished. Tho Gernia.is were first in tho field in the direction of wireless, but we got the Gorman code, and thereby know exactly where to attack their flyer's. We were alda to direct machines from tho ground with complete success—Aus.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.