To overcome this the
system of direct entry into the R.N.A.S. was instituted, which
enabled pilots to be enrolled from civil life in addition to the
midshipmen who were drafted from the Fleet. The majority of the
ratings were recruited from civil life and given instruction in
rigging and aero-engines as quickly as possible, while technical
officers were nearly all civilians and granted commissions in the
R.N.V.R.
A tremendous drawback was the absence of rigid airships and the
lack of duralumin with which to construct them.
Few men were also experienced in airship work at this time, and
there was no central airship training establishment as was
afterwards instituted. Pilots were instructed as occasion
permitted at the various patrol stations, having passed a balloon
course and undergone a rudimentary training at various places.
To conclude, the greatest of all difficulties was the shortage of
money voted for airship development, and this was a disadvantage
under which airships laboured even until the conclusion of
hostilities.
We have seen previously how the other difficulties were
surmounted and how our airships were evolved, type by type, and
the measure of success which attended them. It is interesting to
recall that five years ago we only possessed three ships capable
of flying, and that during the war we built upwards of two
hundred, of which no fewer than 103 were actually in commission
on the date of the signing of the Armistice.
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