§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Prime Minister on what date the examination was made of Mr. F. G. Creed's invention of seadromes; whether any engineering experts outside the Services took part in the examination and who they were; on what grounds the invention was rejected; and whether he will reconsider the invention in view of considerable improvements which the inventor claims to have made in it?
§ Mr. AttleeThe type of seadrome advocated by Mr. Creed has been examined on a number of occasions since 1937. It is known that a number of engineers outside the Services have examined and expressed opinions on this scheme, but I regret that a list is not readily available. As regards the last part of the Question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave him on 1oth February. Mr. Creed's scheme was rejected for Service use for strategical and tactical reasons and not merely on engineering grounds. The decision could not be affected by structural modifications to the proposed seadrome.