§ 4. Mr. Haleasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the anticipated cost of the various bomber aeroplanes in respect of which super-priority has recently been given.
Mr. WardI cannot give precise figures, but I can say that the cost of the Valiant, as production gets under way, is unlikely to exceed £350.000 and that, so far as can be foreseen at present, the cost of the Victor and Vulcan. at a comparable stage, will be higher but of the same order.
§ Mr. HaleHas the hon. Gentleman thought of suggesting to the Minister of Supply that at some time some public tribute should be paid to the services of my right hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall (Mr. G. R. Strauss), the previous Minister of Supply, in the work that he did in producing both military and civil aircraft?—[An HON. MEMBER: "That was done yesterday."] I am very glad to hear that it was done yesterday, but it was very belated. Is it not a fact that some five or six years ago we were producing bomber aircraft at about £50.000 each, that the price has now gone up to £350,000 while durability has been reduced, and that new models are coming forward at such a speed that the cost of bomber aircraft has become an almost inconceivably high sum? When will a limit be fixed, and where will it be placed?
Mr. WardIt is undoubtedly true that the cost of aircraft and equipment of all sorts is going up. For that reason we have had to limit very strictly the number of bombers we have ordered.
Mr. C. I. Orr-EwingCan my hon. Friend tell me whether the figures he has quoted, which were much lower than 979 those which have been reported in the Press, include the cost of embodiment loan items?