British aviation can look back on 1937 with a good deal of well founded, British manufacturers. Among the irerafe now leaving the factories in Moscow, Fob, 12, The attempt of the auxiliary ship Jaurmanez. to rescue the four Soviet Polar explorers drifting on an ice-foe, is meeting with difficulties, 'A radio message received from the Jaturmanez, says the ship only just escaped being crushed to pieces by pack ice, During the past four days the ship failed to get an inch nearer to the explorers and was even partly pride. 'The increase of the Royal Air Force, decided upon in 1935 as the result of the international political situation, has gathered such speed that the resolution that the RAF, must be second to none is nearing' accomplishment.
Since April 1935 the first-line. strength of the Service at home—now called the Metropolitan Air Force—has risen from 580 aeroplanes to 1,550 many of which.are high-performance monoplanes not excelled Anywhere. Metropolitan squadrons now number 123 against $3.
"The full first-line Metropolitan strength is to be 1,750 aircraft, while the strength of the Fleet Arm is to be doubled and there will be large' additions to the squadrons over seas. Full war reserves of aircraft, engines, armament ete. have also to be built 'Before the Expansion scheme was begun, the industry only employed 20,000" hands; last March it was Te~ vealed that these had increased to 63,000; and the numbers have risen' considerably since. The output of aircraft is 2% times ard of engines 3% times the pre-expansion rate.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.