Britain's Troubles

When the dirigible R-101 crashed and killed 48 occupants on its first long flight last autumn, it cost Britain practically her whole staff of dirigible experts; it cost millions of dollars; worst of all, it cost public confidence in Britain's lighter-than-air program. Last week that loss was recorded in an announcement by Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald that the Government had temporarily abandoned its airship building program.

Between the alternatives of building more ships and scrapping all equipment on hand, the Government compromised on a static program. The R-100, which made a laborious flight from Cardington to Montreal and back last autumn, will be maintained as a sort of flying laboratory (like the U. S. Los Angeles), but it will not be reconstructed or lengthened for additional lifting power as was its sister R-101. The mooring masts at Montreal, Karachi (India) and Ismailia (Egypt), erected as part of Britain's ambitious scheme to link the far-flung parts of the Empire by air, will be kept in repair. Annual cost of the new retrenched program is estimated at $700,000.

Obviously Great Britain, which expended about $11,000,000 on dirigible practice to scarce advantage, intends to mark time and watch what results befall the U. S. and Germany in their elaborate developments. The U. S. Navy has unofficially invited Britain to send officers and men to Lakehurst for training.

The heavier-than-air phase, too, of Britain's military aviation is suffering evil days. Last fortnight brought the death of famed speed flyer Flight Lieut. Henry Richard Danvers Waghorn, 41st pilot of the Royal Air Force to die by crash since the first of the year. In London last week the Marquess of Donegall charged that Lieut. Waghorn and many another R. A. F. flyer would be alive today but for the "obsolete" type of parachute issued by the Air Ministry. This 'chute, he said, is not guaranteed to open under 800 or 1,000 ft. But Lord Donegall made no reference to the need for 'chutes, viz: the frequency of crashes. One theory lies in Britain's peculiar problem of aerial defense. More than any other form of aggression Britain fears a bombing attack from the Continent. Hence she has concentrated upon development of "interceptor" planes, some of which can reach an altitude of 25,000 feet in 17 minutes. Such speed and high rate of climb can be built into a plane only at some expense of safety factor. And diminishing the safety factor may accentuate the daredevil attitude in personnel.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.