Thirty-two thousand more officers and men, lo raise the total of regular Royal Air Force personnel (exclusive of auxiliary services) to 150,000 are provided for in a new Supplementary Estimate prior to the outbreak of war. Increased intake of personnel is required to augment the effectiveness of the R.A.F. and in part to man and maintain extra squadrons which will fulfil duties of protection of over-as Empire territories and trade. Elsewhere in lo new te a sum of more than £14,000,- 000 is requisitioned for additional expenditure under the heading "Aircraft and Balloons," bringing millions. Main reason for this sui which amounts to nearly the entire penditure for 1924, is and technical equip a more rapid rate than was expected when the original Estimate was prepared. This concrete evidence of continued United Kingdom air expansion and output goes with the progressive rise in the defence and count: r-offensive power of the aircraft in service. The striking, of the ones great numbers of formidable bombers ug daily in the squadrons is balanced swarms of high speed fighter aeroplanes which, in the oficial view, are capable of destroying any bomber, Impressive aspect of the modern R.A.F. is the high speed common alike to attack and defence craít. Bombers carrying big war: loads race in formation on long-range missions at maintained speeds superior to 200 m.p.h. Fighters pass so swiftly on their journeys that the visible horizon holds them only a few seconds. early a year of arduous training goes to the making of a modern RAF. pilot. War birds by the score can be counted who went to battle in 1914-18 backed only by two hours—or less—flying instruction. They had.to learn their job under active service conditions. Today, as the ult of a refining process in which each stage of training has been brought to a fine art, pilots and aircraft crews join their squadrons fully fledged and ready to take up all their wartime duties immediately.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.