A TRIBUTE TO BRITISH ENTERPRISE.

Taihape Daily Times, 17 July 1919, Page 6

A TRIBUTE TO BRITISH ENTERPRISE.

. : I HOW BRITAIN VBECAME THE =t GREATEST AIR-POWER‘. 'l] ...-. ' h It is refreshing, and we believe it is 1: becoming less unusual, to find this kind d of writing in the American Press. -ti Says the Scientific American ’s aviation expert, Mr C. IE", Claudy-,__ . u “At the beginning of the war Great ti ZBritain’s capacity for manufacturing [ o airplanes was not greater than one a hundred per year. At. the time the p armistice was signed she was turning t] ‘W3 P 131103 at the rate of 800 a Week! s( In other words, her production possi- 01 bilities were demonstrated to be in ‘II excess ‘Of 40;000 iplanes :1 year! Think 01 95 “‘-f%*- and r-“-“*r‘r=~.ho.~.- that it is not b‘ America, with hei-‘ limitless resources 1( of men money, and factory and a 5 ran’ material, but the British Isles, ti ~r~1.?.1 then‘ ‘very much limited ‘maln. Sc Terror. material resource", andgteel uh audustry, which not only built the '2’

’planes, but engined them. And then, as do all other fair-minded Americans who get the actual facts, take off your hat and bow ill deep‘ respect to a nation we of America are rather too apt to consider slow and ;o,l{J-fashioned in methods when it leomcs to factory production. “Nor think for a moment, ‘Oh, well, after all, they were ollly British planes and engines.’ The ‘only’ doesil’t sit Well, when it. is known that in speed, power, climbing ability, manoeuvring, steadiness and sturdiness, the British ’planes led those even of France, the home of aviation. As for Germany’s much vaunted “planes, While it is freely admitted that it was ‘Germany which first armed a plane wi'tharapid'fire gun, shooting through the propel-Z_ ler, amove which gave the Allies seri-ll ous trouble in 1915, her 'craft_. -as craft, were never in the same class with the British fighters; only history and the perspective of years will ‘tell how much :of the war was won in the air, but all the facts of both quantity and

production and ability to stand up under gruelling wbrk are on the side of -the British machine.” .

To sum up: “Avt. the close of the‘ war Great Britain led all nations in the air. The British ail'—fol-ce fought on more fronts than any other nation and its successes were therefore proportionately greavter. In August, 1914 the British naval and- military airservice together mustered only 285 officers and 1853 men of other ranks. In November 1913, there- were 30,000 officers and 264,000 men. At the outbreak of the war Grezvt Britain had 166 airplanes, 445 seaplanes, and 7 airships, while at the cose of hos--’ tilities she had 21,000 airplanes, 1300 sen.plall:?s, and 103 .'.Lll'ShipS. Besides "‘=7“’."' w~'"'e 95,000 airplanes and sea-‘,-‘-::ne3 being built, and 55,000 airplane

[engines Under contract. The Women’s {Royal Air Force, which was not in gexistence in 1914, numbered ‘at the {close of hostilities 23,000.” I \