§ 52. Captain GARRO-JONESasked the Secretary of State for Air how many squadrons of the Royal Air Force and the Auxiliary Air Force are equipped with machines designed prior to the end of 1918?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for AIR (Sir Philip Sassoon)Twenty-three squadrons of the Royal Air Force and Auxiliary Air Force are at present equipped with machines designed before the end of 1918, but certain of these squadrons are already in process of being re-equipped, and the number will be reduced to 15 by the end of the current year. I may add that only 10 of the 23 aye equipped with Bristol Fighters, to which particular type the hon. and gallant Member referred in his questions on the 9th instant. I must make it clear that, although the types with which these squadrons are equipped were designed during the War period, they have since undergone continuous development and improvement as the result of Service experience gained from their use, and are, in many respects, quite different machines.