adoption for general service, and at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough.

Sufficient aircraft are also maintained at Headquarter Units and at Training Establishments, other than those directly concerned with flying, to enable the staffs of those units to keep in flying practice.

It will be readily appreciated that all these various training requirements absorb collectively a large number of aircraft. Differences of function and equipment as between Service squadrons and Training establishments, and as between the different kinds of Training establishments themselves, make it difficult to express their importance in terms of any conventional unit; but their flying activities form a large addition to those of the Service squadrons, and cannot be dismissed as merely a form of the ancillary ground organisation of the Royal Air Force.

Personnel.

The Estimates for 1927 reflect much more fully than was possible last year the decision of the Government reached late in 1925 to retard temporarily the expansion of the Royal Air Force. I have taken special steps during the past year to reduce personnel, the number of which, owing to the length of time (varying from 1 to 3 years) necessary to secure adequate technical training, had been increased by abnormal entries to meet the then growing requirements of the Home Defence Force. This is the main reason for the reduction of Vote A (maximum number of personnel to be borne during the year) by 2,500 to 33,000. It should be understood, however, that this reduction is only a temporary one : as the Home Defence expansion proceeds in subsequent years the provision in Vote A will necessarily increase. Other reasons for the reduction this year in Vote A are the constant revision of establishments, the withdrawal of air forces maintained in Iraq and the progress of the policy of "civilianisation." The Iraq withdrawals affect Vote A mainly through the reduction which has been made possible in the ancillary personnel engaged on supply, transport and medical duties. The replacement of service personnel wherever possible by civilians has proceeded steadily as a result of the systematic investigation of unit establishments.

Requirements of officers have been further reduced by an increase in the number of airmen pilots, the establishment of whom now stands at 242. Additional responsibility will also be given to airmen pilots who will be eligible to undertake, in addition to their flying work, certain technical duties which have previously been performed by officers. This extensive substitution of airmen pilots for short service officers is attended by one disadvantage, namely, that the flying Reserve (in which short-service officers are liable to serve for a period) is proportionately diminished. To obviate this it has been decided

that in future airmen pilots shall return to the duties of their trade after five years' flying service and shall keep in flying practice and be liable for flying duties in war.

In connection with the Imperial Conference valuable meetings have been held with the Defence representatives of Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand to discuss co-operation in personnel matters between the Royal Air Force and the Dominion Air Forces. The proposals discussed will not only assist the interchange of ideas between the air forces of the Empire but will effect economy through the division of the cost of flying training between the Imperial and Dominion Exchequers. An instance of such an arrangement is provided by certain officers trained in Australia who have recently joined the Royal Air Force on short-service commissions for a period of four years, after which they will return to Australia and give a period of reserve service to the Royal Australian Air Force. By this means both Imperial and Australian requirements have been met and each Government has borne its appropriate share of the cost of initial flying training.

The form of Vote 1 (Pay, &c.) and Vote 6 (Educational Services) has been changed by the transference from the former to the latter of the cost of the School of Technical Training (Men) and the Electrical and Wireless School. Vote 1 amounts to £4,261,000 gross and £3,160,000 net-a reduction of £406,000 and £245,000 respectively. Discounting the sums transferred to Vote 6, these figures represent reductions due to the savings in personnel referred to above and the revised rates of pay introduced for new entrants in 1925.

During the past year the boys' training establishment at Cranwell has been transferred to Halton, where all aircraft apprentices will be trained in future except those instructed in electrical and wireless trades, who will remain at the Electrical and Wireless School at Flowerdown. This concentration of aircraft apprentice training at Halton, which has resulted in definite administrative savings, is the final realisation of the policy which was laid down in 1919, and which has since been steadily pursued by my predecessors and myself. I am confident that the success already attained by this scheme of training will become more and more complete. Provision is also made in Vote 6 for the Air Ministry's share of the cost of the new Imperial Defence College. As the outcome of these changes Vote 6 stands at £529,000 gross and £507,000 net, apparent increases of £81,000 and £75,000 on 1926, though in point of fact there is an actual decrease of approximately £40,000.

Vote 5 (Medical Services) shows a reduction of £32,500 in the gross amount, which stands at £315,000. This is mainly due to reductions in the medical establishments of Iraq, where I have arranged for the British and Indian Hospitals, hitherto maintained as separate establishments, to be amalgamated. The net vote, from which the cost of Middle East services is

excluded, shows a slight saving and stands at £203,000. This result may be regarded as satisfactory having regard to the improved rates of pay which, following the investigations of an interdepartmental committee, it was found necessary to grant in 1926, to remedy the acute shortage of medical officers in the fighting services.

Reserve and Auxiliary Forces.

No considerable alterations in policy are anticipated in connection with the Reserve and Auxiliary Forces, the object being to develop progressively these adjuncts to the regular service on the lines already laid down. Vote 7 is consequently increased by £94,000. The five civil schools engaged in training reserve officers are all employing aircraft of modern capabilities and performance for this purpose. The experimental scheme of ab initio flying training in the reserve has proved successful in practice and economical in operation and is to be continued on a more permanent basis.

It is anticipated that considerable progress will be made with the development of the existing seven Special Reserve and Auxiliary Air Force squadrons during the year. The proposed formation of one additional non-regular squadron has already been mentioned.

The "Air Squadrons at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the constitution and objects of which I described last year, have made satisfactory progress during 1926, and no alteration is being made in their organisation. For the past year the membership of each "squadron" was limited to 25, but in October last this was increased to 50.

Technical Equipment.

Vote 3 (Technical Equipment and Research) stands at £8,489,000 gross and £6,424,000 net, a net increase of £333,000. This figure is arrived at after an overhead deduction of £300,000 to allow for unexpected delays in contract work and consequent failure to spend, on the lines of the similar deduction referred to in the memorandum accompanying Air Estimates, 1925–26. The increase on the total of the subheads is, therefore, £633,000. This is partly accounted for by increased requirements for Airships and for Research and Technical Development, but mainly by the increased provision necessary for the replacement of older types of aircraft and engines and for the formation of new squadrons.

Provision is made in the gross estimate for the formation of additional flights for the Fleet Air Arm, and there is a corresponding increase in the grant from the Admiralty. Decreases in the appropriations-in-aid from the Middle East and India

reflect the reductions in the strength of the Royal Air Force in Iraq and the reduced cost of maintenance in India.

The policy of replacing aeroplanes and engines of war-time design by modern types is making steady progress and it is the intention that in future no more aircraft or engines of wartime designs should be bought. The provision for maintenance is less than in 1926, a decrease which the experience of the past year has shown to be justified.

Research and Technical Development.

Appendix II shows the funds allotted under various subheads of Vote 3 to Scientific Research and Technical Development. It will be seen that there is a net increase of £128,000 as compared with 1926, of which the major part is in respect of research and development on aeroplanes and engines. On the aeroplane side this is due to provision for the purchase of a larger number of aircraft of types which have already been flown experimentally, for development up to the point at which they may, if suitable, be standardised for service or civil purposes. Similarly provision has been made for the purchase of a number of engines in an advanced stage of development, for installation in experimental aircraft, so as to combine the latest advances both in aircraft and engine design in one machine. The increase under subhead G.1 is mainly in respect of metal construction.

The programme for the construction of new experimental aircraft provides for putting in hand eleven types. Delivery will shortly be made of three machines of the autogyro type for which provision was made last year, and it is intended to carry out investigations on these aircraft during 1927, with a view to ascertaining the future possibilities of this novel development in flying.

The expenditure on aircraft and engines specially designed for very high speed has (as with motor cars) produced very valuable information from the point of view of research. Provision has accordingly been made in these Estimates for three more aircraft of this type.

There has been a slight change in the organisation of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, by the creation of two posts of Superintendent for Scientific Research and Technical Development respectively. This change is in conformity with the division of responsibility at the Air Ministry between the Director of Technical Development and the Director of Scientific Research, and has been effected without additional cost by substituting the two posts of Superintendent for appointments already approved on the establishment. At the same time, the title of the Head of the Establishment has been changed to Chief Superintendent.

Airships.

During the financial year 1926 the period of preliminary research and experiment has been completed, and the construction of both airships begun. The present Estimates provide for construction to proceed during 1927, and it is anticipated that both airships will make their first flights by 1928.

The analysis of the results of the aerodynamic experiments with R. 33 was completed in the early summer, and showed general agreement between the full-scale figures and those obtained from similar model experiments in a wind tunnelthus enabling the latter to be accepted with confidence as the basis of design. R. 33 was re-commissioned at Pulham in the autumn for the double purpose of testing the new mast-head gear on the Cardington mast, and of carrying the aeroplane experiments of 1925 a stage further. On each of her two flights between Pulham and Cardington she took the air with two single-seater fighter aircraft attached, and released one over Pulham and the other over Cardington, thus actually filling the role of an aircraft carrier with service aircraft. No other country has so far carried out trials of this character with service aircraft.

An important full-scale constructional experiment was carried out by the erection of a complete section of R. 101 (the airship being built at the Royal Airship Works) for test purposes. The tests gave satisfactory results, in general accord with the designer's calculations, and, as was hoped, supplied new information of great value in connection with the detailed design of the hull structure. The test section, R. 33 and the new mast at Cardington were inspected by the Dominion Premiers attending the Imperial Conference in November, 1926.

Considerable progress has been made with airship works services, as will be seen from the estimates. Both the shed and mast at Cardington have been completed, as has the mast at Ismailia. The shed at Karachi is proceeding satisfactorily.

The Imperial Air Communications Sub-Committee of the Imperial Conference displayed a keen interest in the development of Empire airship services, and recommended that the Governments of the Dominions concerned and of India should consider the question of erecting mooring masts for the purpose of demonstration flights in 1928-29, whilst the home Government should consider the question of erecting a second shed at Cardington. The Dominion of Canada and the Union of South Africa have already signified their willingness to fall in with this recommendation.

The Estimates provide accordingly under subhead O of Vote 3 for £50,000 as a first instalment of the cost of a second shed at Cardington. Provision is also made for visits by officers of the airship and meteorological staffs to South Africa and Australia in one direction, and to Canada in the other. Advantage will be