Camps (Heating)
28.
asked the Secretary of State for Air how many airmen have been sent on leave owing to lack of fuel for heating at their camp; and how many are at present on leave for this cause.
No airmen have been sent on leave this winter because of lack of fuel at units. Four hundred airmen at one unit may, however, be sent on leave tomorrow as a result of a fuel shortage. Emergency stocks are being sent immediately to the station concerned, and it is hoped that they will arrive in time to make this step unnecessary.
Is not the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that I am constantly meeting men up and down the country who tell me that they have been sent on leave for this reason? Further, is he aware that somewhere between 400 and 600 men from Moreton-in-the-Marsh training station are to go on leave for a month in the near future? Does it make sense to call up 250,000 reservists while sending on leave men from training establishments?
I should be grateful if the hon. Member would give me any particulars that he has. I have consulted every R.A.F. command in the country, and the information I have given to the House is that which I have received. Moreton-in-the-Marsh is the case to which I referred in my original reply. The men have not gone on leave and if fuel reaches the camp tomorrow, as it is expected to do, they will not go on leave.
Mr. Russell.
rose—
I think that the answer was quite comprehensive.
Recruits (Shaving)
29.
asked the Secretary of State for Air why recruits enlisted under the National Service scheme are instructed not to use brushless shaving cream.
No such instructions are given to recruits.
Is the Secretary of State aware that the instruction was given in one instance of which I have given him particulars? In any case, does not he think that it is a waste to issue shaving brushes or to compel recruits to buy them when they do not use them?
There are many hon. Members in the House today who have served in the Forces and they are well aware that compulsory items of kit have always included a hair brush, a tooth brush and a shaving brush.
F86 Aircraft
30.
asked the Secretary of State for Air for what reason he is equipping the Royal Air Force with F86 Sabre aircraft from the United States of America.
No decision has been made to equip the Royal Air Force with F86 aircraft, though a proposal of this kind is under examination. These aircraft would be additional to our own jet fighters, which are being produced under the Government's rearmament programme.
Is not the fact that this proposal is even under consideration either tantamount to a slight on the British aircraft industry which can very easily produce aeroplanes which, in the opinion of many, are just as good; or, failing that, a reflection of the vacillation and indecision of the policy of the Government in rearming this country?
No, Sir. I endeavoured to make clear in my reply that these aircraft, if they are received, will be in addition to all ordered under our programme.
In that case, would not we have enough without them?
It is a matter of opinion as to whether one has enough of anything.
Flying Boat Fighters
31.
asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is satisfied that sufficient priority is being given to the development and production of the flying boat fighter SRA1.
There is no R.A.F. requirement for this type of fighter, and the question of priority does not therefore arise.
Is the Minister aware that there is considerable disquiet about the defences of Hong Kong, where the airfields are threatened with artillery bombardment, and that fighters of this type might provide a very desirable means of defending bases of that kind?
I have taken the best Service advice available to me in my official position, and it is not considered that this type of aircraft has any utility to the Royal Air Force.
Auxiliary Transport Squadrons
32.
asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will create more Auxiliary Air Transport Squadrons by issuing aircraft now in storage to firms able to service and operate these aircraft on behalf of his Department.
It is hoped to form three more auxiliary squadrons of this type as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.
Raf Regiment
33.
asked the Secretary of State for Air what is now the strength of the Royal Air Force Regiment; and whether it is his intention to increase the size of this unit.
The strength of the Royal Air Force Regiment is about 5,000. The question of an increase in size is under consideration.
Is the Minister satisfied that the aerodromes in the east of England are properly protected against airborne attack, and can he tell the House whether any ex-members of the Royal Air Force Regiment will be included in the proposed call-up?
The latter part of that question raises an entirely different matter, and perhaps the hon. and gallant Gentleman will put it on the Order Paper. In regard to the first part, again, it is a matter of opinion as to whether anything can be properly defended. What I can say is that, within the limits of the establishment of the R.A.F. Regiment, we are satisfied that it is sufficient and able to do the job it has to do.
How can it do it with 5,000 men?
I want to be quite frank with the House. All the 5,000 men are not deployed in this country—
That makes it worse.
—but, after all, there are other forms of anti-aircraft defence, and Anti-Aircraft Command have to be considered.
Staging Facilities, India
34.
asked the Secretary of State for Air what staging facilities are afforded by the Government of India for aircraft carrying service personnel proceeding to the Korean theatre of war.
As there has been no occasion to ask the Government of India for these facilities the question does not arise.
Is not this the most direct route to Korea, and have not provisional arrangements been made with the Government of India? If not, ought they not to be made?
There is no need to invite the Government of India to afford these facilities, because the transport planes land at Karachi and go on to Ceylon, and there is no need to stop at any intermediate station.
Do not planes of the United Nations land in India, and have they not permission to do so?
That is not the Question which the hon. Gentleman asked.
Soviet-Built Aircraft
35.
asked the Secretary of State for Air how many Soviet-built YAK-25 fighters have been identified over Korea; and whether he is yet in a position to make a comparison between the performance of this aircraft and the MIG-l5.
The answer to the first part of the Question is "None." It would not be in the public interest to answer the second part.
Is the Minister aware that there is growing concern about the development of Russian jet fighter and bomber aircraft, and will he take an early opportunity of making a full statement on the subject'?
All I can say is that Russia is not the only country developing the most advanced types of aircraft.
Western Powers (Liaison)
36.
asked the Secretary of State for Air what liaison exists between France, Great Britain and the United States of America concerning radar and general air force matters.
The daily contacts between Royal Air Force, United States Air Force and French Air Force staffs in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Western Union defence organisations provide ample means of liaison on Air Force matters. In addition, there are the British Joint Services Mission in Washington and the Air Attaches at the appropriate embassies. French and Royal Air Force officers are among the staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Air Forces Western Europe.
Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman completely satisfied that all is well with this organisation and that decisions are made? Are not things going far too slowly?
No, Sir. I think things are going extremely well in this organisation.