Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-12-23
BRITISH AIR CORPS
HAS GOOD GROWTH
Editor of The Acroplane Says
Development Is Faster
Than in Army.
MANY TYPES OF CRAFT
Has Seaplanes and Several Va
rieties of Small Airships,
Including German.

Of the rapid and extensive growth OF
the British aerial service is given by
G. C. Grey. editor OF the Acroplanc,
writing in a London newspaper. lie
says:
Great as the growth of tho British
army has been. ono may fairly assume
that the growth OF the British flying
scrvices-which comprise the Royal
Naval Air Service and the Royal Fly
ing Corps-has been greater. One
cannot, OF course. give numbers, so
one can only indicate in a general way
the immensely of tho expansion which
has taken place.
"As branch OF the senior service,
the r. \. A. S. must be considered first.
When war began the X. y. 4. $. had
Just completed concentration OF all
their available machines for the naval
review--which turned out to be the
mobilization Of the ncct-at SDithcad.
They managed to raise on that occa-
sion about twenty seaplancs. one flying
boat and about twenty shore-Eoing air
planes. The service was commanded
by a post captain. who had one com
mandcr under him and about half
dozen squadron commanders, who
ranked as lieutenant comma nderS.
There was one big station for land
machines and five scaplanc stations
along the coast. The Admiralty re-
Garded the whole thing as rather an
interesting hobby for few enthusiasts.
backed by Winston Churchill.
Besides seaplancs and airplancs, the
r. y. A. S. had small but good Ger
man airship. a small French airship
which was nearly as Eood. and some
,r,N .rit t.,.t
airsiips which had been handed over
by the army. To-day the Admiralty
thinks SO much OF the K. y. a. s. that
it issues special communicates almost
daily recording the prowcss of naval
aviators ashore and anoat: i'll fact, the
L. y. a. s. covers more paper in this
OF the British navy. The Il. y. 4. $.
is commanded by u commodore OF the
FIRST class, who is also air lord Oh the
Board OF Admiralty He has two other
commodorcs as colleagues and proba bly,
half dozen post captains among his
subordinates. Wing commanders. who
rank with commanders r. -, arc
rcckoned by the dozen, and squadron
commanders arc 30 numerous that
without a copy ri the navy list. one
could not hope to keep track ct them
There are naval air stations all
along the coast. and almost any one
OF them has more machines than the
wholc Ii. y. =. S. possessed before the
war.
HAS FOREIGN STATIONS
WHENCE TO CHASE SUBS
I'm addition TO coast defense work.
which includes submarine catching, the
II. y. A. S. has stations abroad. cspe-
cially in the Mediterranean, whence it
chascs submarines, and it has a large
number of scaplane-carry!ns ships,
which enable it to work further from
land than its coast patrols dare to go.
Detachments OF the II. y. a. s., some
times with seapIanes, sometimes with
shoro-E going machines. are cooperating
with the army in Flanders, in the Bal
kans. in Egypt. in German East Africa
and in MesoDotamia. each detachment
being many times as large as the whole
OF the original II. y. ~ s.
In addition to its seaplanes and
land airplanes, the L. X. A. s. has hun
drcds OF airships OF various sizes.
which do good work in patrollnE for
submarines and escortins food ships
in dangerous waters. Also it has many
lery observation. The airship and kite
balloon sections employ thousands of
officers and men. so one may well
imagine how vast Il thing is the r. N
A. s. OF to-day.
Vast as is the r. y. \. S., however.
ii is comparatively small affair com
pared with the Royal Flying Corps.
AZ the outbreak OF war the II. Il. G..
was little, if any, stronger than the
r. \. A. S. Only n month before the
war concentration of all the squad :
rons OF the r. T.. C. was held on Sails
bury Plain. To the best of my recol-
| lection. the five squadrons there as
| sembled could only get together about
| forty airpiancs.
when war began five squadrons
were more or less fully equipped by
| borrowing machines and motor trans
ports from the Central Flying School,
and all flew tho channel to France sue
; cessfully. which was q great feat in
those days The Il. T.. C. was then
commanded by brigadier- general, and
he had about seven or eight majors
under him, commanding the squadrons
or OH the staff. To-day the r. r. c.
| is whole army in itself Its then
commander is now n lieutenant
general, a rank which would cntitIe
him to command an army corps on the
| field.
AS in the case OF the II. y. A. S.,
| the II. l.. c. has special communicates
all TO itself, issued by the general Of
| ticcrs commanding-in chief in various
parts OF tho world, which is an honor
! not accorded to any other branch OF
the Kings army. The +. +. G. now
fights its own battles in the air, and
takes hand in everybody else's battles
| as we'll. whether at homo or abroad.
MORE MACHINES IN AIR
THAN IN PnEWAR SERVICE
Even in England one can obtain
some idea of the expansion of tho
corps When l passed an aerodromc
near London tho other day-and a
windy enough day ut that counted
more airplanes in the air at once
Continued on Seventh Pagc.)