Evening star., 1948-10-10

r recruiting air crews do not fore.
+ Britain's front t-line air strength.
n there are at present. The present
tiveness Of the RAF and preparing
war compel that.
after 1s45 by Q measure Of anity
among the former Allies there
would have been no urgent pressure
on the Raj now to equip its home
day fighter squadrons with Jet air
craft and to press development Of
Jet bombers. In present circum-
labor and materials have to
be devoted to equipping the RAP
with aircraft Of speeds below TOO
m.p.h. Another rs-equipment pro-
gram will be required at . later
stage when the fruits Of present
research can be applied to the prac-
tical purposes Of defense,
Air Crews Lose Touch
For the moment, the RAF is con-
cerned with being ready for action
In the most effective form. It Is.
in fact. putting itself once again
into a posture of defense and pro-
viding itself with the best weapons
available.
The need for early readiness ex.
plains both the acceleration OF
fighter production and the offering
Of special inducements to air-crew
recruits. BY all normal standards
this might be Judged a paradox.
The orthodox and accurate view IL
that air strength consists not In
aircraft simply, but tn aircraft ready
for night. Aircraft can only bs
kept ready for flight by an adequate
force Of skilled ground crews.
Why then Is the plan not devised
In the first place to attract ground
crews or to retain those skilled men
who now are completing their en-
gasements and are being releasedf
The presumption, no doubt. Is that
many thousands Of skilled trades
men could be enrolled quickly to
serve with the RAF II war broke out
and. within . few weeks, would bs
IS familiar with the existing aircraft
Is they were when they left the
service.
The same would not be true Of
air crews. Pilots and navigators
suffer seriously from lack of practice
md training. For fighter operations,
IN particular, they suffer also from
The passing Of years.
Lacks Jet Bombers
Youth Is most highly regarded In
air crew service-more 20, perhaps,
than 1t was when aircraft were slow
Or and Of navigation and combat
less intense effort. When
the threat OF war hangs ominously
In the air Of international affairs.
the training OF air crews must b
and their state Of resdi-
ness must be immediate. Behind the
front-line squadrons there may be
the reservists. kept In touch with
flying by their annual training and
ready for more intensive training
should the emergency develop. The
present intention seems to be. there
fore. to keep the defense force con-
stantly ready.
Those who appreciate the value
Of q striking force In the scheme Of
air defense may be disposed to re-
mark that the Raj still Is without
Jet bombers, while two major powers
the United States and Russia-al-
ready have Jet bombers flying (al-
though these are not in service and
are mainly experimental types.
This apparent inequality can be
judged only when the question Of
bases and performance can be de-
fined with some precision.
Jet bombers viii be most valuable
for relatively long-range work and
for their powers Of evasion. They
have TO fly high for fuel economy
and for safety from antiaircraft
fire. They would be wastefully used
II they had to climb to 10000 feet
for . journey OF 400 to 800 miles.
Speed Second to RanSe
For longer ranges. the gas turbine.
~ 1t Is known outside Britain, can
offer little assurance. Neither It's
fuel consumption nor its length Of
life allow 1t to appear yet Is . seri-
ous factor In long-ranse bombing.
BY the evidence Of one American
writer, Britain, behind though she
may seem with the Jet bomber. has
gas turbines which run 11ve times a.
long between overhauling as those
built In other countries. Britains
Jet bombers are on the way. q tbs
undersecretary Of state for Air has
said. The first prototypes were Or.
dered more than three years ago.
Those bombers will meet quite
stringent requirements based on the
least favorable strategic situation In
which the Raj might hnd itself.
Until those requirements can b
met, there Is little advantage In
using Jet propulsion for the bomb
ers. When jet bombers come into
they must add speed with
out reducing range. An old dogma
In air warfare holds that range n
more important than speed.
Night Bomber Elusive
In warfare. embracing the whole
ylobe-as modern war inevitably
Is undoubtedly Of tbs
utmost Importance to the RAJ.
While the jet bombers are being
made to meet that need, the night
bomber squadrons of the Raj have
shown in the recent air exercises