Empire Air Defences To be Strengthened

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 440, 23 August 1928, Page 9

Empire Air Defences To be Strengthened

NEW FLYING-BOATS GUARDING TRADE ROUTES British Official "Wireless Reed. Noon. RU6BY, Wednesday. An important extension of Imperial air defences is about to be made by the Air Ministry. Two new flights of supermarine Southampton flying-boats are to be formed at the Cattewater air station at Plymouth. The first of these flights, when it has completed its trials at Plymouth, will proceed to Eastern waters. It was at first intended to base on Karachi, but it is now almost certain that Basra will be the base. The second flight, which will be ready next spring, will remain at Plymouth for coastal defence purposes. Next year, therefore, the flying-boat defences of the Empire will be disposed as follows: Two flights in home waters (at Calshot and Plymouth) and two flights on the trade routes (one at Basra and one at Singapore.) The Singapore fligl* will be the four supermarine Napiers which are at present in Australia. “NAVY WEEK” AT PLYMOUTH A Navy Week” is in progress at Portsmouth, where the warships have been thrown open to the public. One of the principal features is the aircraft-carrier Furious. This vessel is prominent by reason of her superstructure. Below her main deck she is an ordinary cruiser, but above it she Is a vast steel aircraft hangar of two floors, on top of which is a flying deck 75 feet above the water-line. Aircraft are raised from the hangar to the flying deck, or brought down from it, by means of steel lifts. Tfie Furious, originally one of Lord r isner s famous “hush-hush’* cruisers, laid down in 1915, and completed in IJI7. She was designed to carry 15-inch guns, and displaced over 22,000 tons. Before she was finished, however, it was decided to convert her into an aircraftcarrier. Her two sister ships, Courageous and Glorious, served with the Grand Fleet, but after the war were also converted into aircraft carriers. The Furious was further reconstructed in 1923, when the special features mentioned in the message were installed.