When in the past British pilots, flying British machines, set a succession of records in speed, height, and distance, criticism was sometimes made in which the value and purpose of these efforts were questioned writes the air correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph." The answer has been amply provided since the beginning of the war, and it is now realised that the efficiency and fine quality of the aircraft 4 employed in the R.A.F. are the legacies of Britain's flying achievements of the past two decades, The Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of various series, with which our fighters and bombers are powered, are the lineal descendants of the engines used in the Supermarine Schneider Trophy racing seaplane of 1900 and 1931, and the Bristol engines used in the Sunderland flying-boat, the Blenheim, the Beaufort, the Gladiator, and other machines used are the outcome of years of peace flying developments,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.