CO129-571-15 Sino-Japanese War- manufacture and import of aircraft to China 18-1-1938 - 5-1-1939 — Page 102

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Aeronautical instructors was sent to China and the

This

Central Aviation School was formed at Hangchow.

school and, as and when developed, other schools under the

Central Government control, were exclusively supplied with

American machines principally "Fleets", with the result

that as from that time American products became practically

the standard machines in China and all pupils were taught

on American machines and as provinces gradually came under

the Central Government control, so the "Fleet" was

introduced to these provinces to the detriment of British

aviation. The result is, we are instructed, that today

there are approximately three hundred "Fleet" machines

being used of which some one hundred and fifty have been

purchased during the current year. Since 1932, we are instructed, approximately five hundred of these machines

have been purchased in addition to which some fifty or so

have been built in China, under licence, in a Chinese

aircraft factory.

In addition a considerable number of Chinese pilots

have been instructed in America and have consequently

returned to China with a strong "pro-American machines"

attitude to the further detriment of the British aircraft

industry.

The above will show the loss to British trade,

and the British aircraft industry in particular, owing to

this invasion of American instructors and American

machines.

Our clients' scheme, however, and particularly

that of Mr. Wen Lin Tschen, who has had experience of

British machines for a very large number of years, is to

endeavour to bring into use in China machines of his own

design as specified above in which British materials are

almost exclusively used and British machines built under