§ Viscount WOLMERasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that Mr. A. Heane, of Frimley Road, Ash Vale, applied in 1916 to the Admiralty for their sanction for a patent in connection with guns for aircraft, whereby, by means of a synchronising gear, it was made possible to fire through the propeller of an aeroplane; that this invention was submitted to the Ministry of Munitions, and examined by the Air Board in 1917; that the invention was subsequently adopted by the Air Ministry; and, seeing that Mr. Heane has been refused any award for this invention, and has even been refused his out-of-pocket expenses in connection therewith, that his claim in respect of an award has been tried in secret, and that he has been refused an open hearing, will he order a public inquiry to be made into the matter?
Mr. YOUNGThe answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. During the year 1917 Mr. Heane was in communication with the Air Board concerning a form of synchronising gear invented by him. It is not the fact that his invention has been adopted or used by the Air Ministry; the Scarff-Dibowski gear, which, with improvements suggested by others, has been used, and which appears to have most resemblance to that submitted by Mr. Heane, was submitted by Major Scarf to the Admiralty in November. 1915, and was actually tried on 19th January, 1916. Mr. Heane has been heard in person by Mr. Justice Sargant and the Secretary of the Royal Commission, to whom the original dated plans and suggestions for the Scarff-Dibowski gear were produced in Mr. Heane's presence; they were satisfied that his application had no reasonable chance of success if heard by the Royal Commission as a body. I am not prepared to order a public inquiry to be made.