Engine Trouble London, Oct, 28.
During the public Court of Inquiry into the loss of the airship R-101, which opened to-day in the hall of the Institute of Civil] Engineers, the Attorney-General, Sir William Jowitt, said the R-101 had had four trial flights befor} starting on her ill-fated voyage to India. She had a certificate of airworthiness for long distance flights issued two days before her departure on her last voyage.
Sir William said that the experts, when they examined the wreck of the R-101, found that the cable controlling the elevator fin had been! broken, It was possible that this breakage occurred before the accident and examination of the fracture under a microscope might show whether it was broken before oF after the accident; whether it} broke when cold or hot, fight of the R-10t was unsatisfactory because it was not longer and because more diverse weather conditions had not been encountered.—Reuter.
London, Oct, 29.
During the resumption of the inquiry into the R-101 disaster to-day Air Vice-Marshal Hugh C. T. Dowding, reporting on the trial fight, mentioned that they hag trouble with the two reversing engines.
The Attorney-General, Sir Wil-iam Jowitt, declared that Lord Thomson never knew that the trial going to be under 24 hours }in duration, as originally contemplated. When Wing-Commander Colmore, then Director of Airship Development, suggested that the {fight to India should begin on Satur-your judgment to be swayed by my. natural anxiety to get off quickly."
The Attorney-General stated that} the insertion of a middle section in the R-101 in order to increase her ite involved not cutting of the hull but the unscrewing of certain sec~ tions, Oficial authority to split the, airship was given on July 22 this} year by the Secretary of State for Air, Lord Thomson.
William Jowitt quoted a! minute signed by Lord Thomson, the Into Secretary for Air, express ing the opinion that no good and, possibly, harm might be done by flight by the R-101 to India early in 1980, The Secretary for Air. suggested that necessary altorations to the airship should be made, together with an extra bay' and that the flight to India should made with 55 tons of lift at the Air Vice-Marshal Dowding suggested to Wing-Commander Colmore that, as the airship had had no test of her full power during the trial, it should have one near home on the actual flight, so that it could return if necessary.
Sir William Jowitt that although the Air Minister, Lord Thomson, put considerable pressure on the responsible officials as re gards time, neither Flight-Lieut. H.
Irwin, the captain, nor Major G. HE, Scott, nor Wing-Commander Col-more had suggested that the fight to India should be delayed or that further tests should be made. All three were quite satisfied with the trial fight and expressed the opinion that the R-101 was more manageable after the insertion of the extra, bay than before. end of September, Sir William Jowitt read a leter from Sir Walter Nicholson, the Secretary of the Air Ministry, written after the new bay had been added to the airship, in which tho} latter said that several flights would bbe necessary prior to the departure of the R-101 for India, Sir John Simon, the Chairman of the Committee, observed that actus ally "there was only one flying trial, which lasted for 16 hours and which took place on the Ist and 2nd of this month.
Sir William Jowitt expressed the} opinion that Lord Thomson began the flight to India when he did because ho wanted it accomplished while the Imperial Conference was} sitting. Ho added that there was written report of the trial fight mentioned, He pointed out that the R-10L was fitted with Diesel engines! weighing 17 tons instead of 9 tons 'a8 originally estimated. The dis-pesable lift which it wns estimated would amount to 60 tons proved, fact to be 40 before the new bag, wae fitted. "After that had been dono, the disposable lift was 53 tons.
At this stage the proceedings were adjourned.—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.