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PROGRESS REPORT ON DECOY SCHEMES.
152
Inception Difficult- ies.
In inaugurating all new activities there is a period in the early stages in which inertia has to be overcome and in which very little progress is apparent. In the particular task which has been entrusted to the Air Ministry, there have been heavy handicaps in three directions:-
Co-ordina- tion.
2.
(a) The necessity for seeking approval to decoy
sites from so many different interests;
(b) The difficulty, under war conditions, of
obtaining efficient staff in reasonable time, and
(c) The interruption of work caused by the frequent
air raid warnings and the traffic dislocation.
Co-ordination has been arranged and delays avoided as far as possible by reducing to a minimum the number of authorities that have to be consulted before any executive action can be taken. The authorities who are now consult- ed in all cases before any scheme is accepted comprise the decoy representatives of the Admiralty, War Office, Air Ministry, Ministry of Home Security and the Petroleum Department. The Admiralty and Petroleum Department are only consulted whenever their particular interests are affected.
These representatives, who have been appointed and are functioning, have two responsibilities:-
(a) They obtain the policies of their respective
departments and
(b) They ensure that the schemes of other depart- ments do not interfere with the vital interests of their own departments..
Every decoy scheme is submitted to these
departmental representatives, and, if accepted by all, is considered an approved scheme and is recorded as such in the co-ordinating section at the Air Ministry.
The interests of all other departments concerned are watched by accredited representatives who are given the opportunity of inspecting the records, maps, etc. as often as they wish.
Lists of accepted sites, with their latitudes and longitudes are forwarded fortnightly to Army, R.A.F. and A.A. Commands with the understanding that if Commands raise an objection to any site, work on that scheme or its operation will be suspended pending settlement of the question. In addition, as civil schemes are very likely to clash with A.A. interests, local A.A. Brigades are consulted before these schemes are accepted.
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