§ 53. Mr. HANNONasked the Secretary of State for Air whether, seeing that two years ago a test was carried out under the auspices of the Air Board for tanks for use in aeroplanes which would not leak when crashed from 100 feet or when perforated with machine-gun bullets, and that certain tanks satisfactorily passed all the tests imposed, but in spite of this have not been put into general use by the Air Ministry, he will explain why these tanks are not being used in view of the recent serious accidents which have occurred?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for AIR (Sir Samuel Hoare)The production for use in service aircraft of a petrol tank which will be proof against fire has been the subject of many experiments, and these experiments are being, and will be, 2023 steadily pursued. There are, however, considerable technical difficulties which have not been overcome, and I cannot accept my hon. Friend's suggestion that a type of fireproof tank suitable for service use is already in existence. He may rest assured that the-importance of producing a fireproof tank is fully realised.