This is the BBC Home Service...
April 1
Today in Karachi Viscount Halifax formally signed the final papers handing official control of Pakistan to Persia and India as laid down in the Karachi Agreement. The British Colonial Administration shall wind down all activities and the last civil servants should leave by 1st October 1936. All Pakistani citizens form today loose their British Empire citizenship and henceforth are either Persian or Indian subjects [Note]. This evening Viscount Halifax is leaving via Imperial Airways flying-boat to return to London to take up the post of Foreign Secretary.
[Note: this does not to apply to British ex-pats, most of whom are returning to Britain or moving elsewhere in the Empire, others who are staying are full British citizens]
April 2
Today King Edward VIII opened the Spithead Review, the showcase of Britain’s maritime might and power. While some commentators note the decline of the Royal Navy since the biggest Review in 1897 there is no doubt the RN is still one of the most powerful navies afloat today and getting stronger each year as her Great War era ships are replaced by new modern construction. Also attending were Dutch Crown Prince William and the Dutch Minister of the Navy, Admiraal Pienaar. The Belgian Minister of Defence, Andre Flahaut also attended.
The Royal Navy and the Commonwealth navies were well represented with the battleships HMS Saint Vincent, Trafalgar, Agincourt, Nile and HMS Queen Elizabeth and the battlecruisers HMS Inflexible and HMAS Panther. HMS Ark Royal and HMS Glorious were the only two British carriers along with HMCS Hermes and HMAS Enterprise. The three rows of cruisers included HMS Anson, Duncan, Exmouth, Benbow, HMCS Labrador and Yukon, Hannibal, Hercules, Hunter, Hotspur, Hero, Hermione, Imperial, Infidel, Icarus, Despatch and the HMAS Sydney and Melbourne. Destroyers were also in abundance with the 15th Destroyer Flotilla (Mackay, Echo, Esk, Escapade, Electra, Encounter, Express, Eclipse, Escort), 1st Destroyer Flotilla (Bruce, Unbeaten, Undaunted, United, Unruffled, Unshaken, Untiring, Xenon, Zebra) the 15th Destroyer Flotilla (Mackay, Echo, Esk, Escapade, Electra, Encounter, Express, Eclipse, Escort), six Australian destroyers (Wessel Isl Dauntless Devastor Defence Defiance Desperate) and the Canadian 1st Destroyer Division (Iroquois, Athabaskan, Algonquin, Cayuga). Six new P Class coastal submarines were also lined up as were four old L Class subs. The 1st Minesweeper Flotilla (8 Poole Class minesweepers) also attended. The RCMP sent the fine schooner St. Roch to Spithead.
Foreign ships also attended to pay tribute to the new King of England and to show their might and political allegiances to the British Empire. For warship enthusiasts it was a sight probably not to be bettered until the Coldmere Review later this year.
Russia sent the battleship Navarin accompanied by the aircraft carrier Kulikovo, the fast armoured cruiser Admiral Makarov, the light cruiser Admiral Putiatin, and 3rd Destroyer Flotilla. The German Kreigsmarine squadron is comprised of the battlecruiser Von der Tann, the training carrier Otto Lillienthal, the heavy cruisers Graf Spee and Prinz Eugen, and the destroyers Paul Jacobi, Z-230, Z-231, Z-233, & Z-234. Nordmark sent the Battleship Gustav V, half of the 1st Carrier Squadron, the 1st Cruiser Squadron and the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. Atlantis only had the battleship Eumelos ready to send to Spithead and she was accompanied by the carrier Alioth, light cruiser Acestus and DesDiv 1 (Jacinth, Jackel, Jackdaw and Jaguar).
The Royal Dutch Fleet was represented by the battleship van Heemskerck, the 1st Cruiser Division and the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. Belgium sent the training sloop Artevelde representing practically half of their entire Navy. The Royal Danish Fleet was represented by the battleship Tyr, the carrier Jutland, the heavy cruisers Hel and Freya, two light cruisers of the Valkyrie Class and two destroyers of the Archer class and four of the Lancer class. From further afield Persia sent the warships Isfahan and Azerbaijan and sailing across half the world representing China are the two cruisers PRN Lienyun and PRN Manning and the new light carrier PRN Zhangyhum. The Imperial Japanese Navy was amply represented by the two carriers Soryu and Hiryu.
April 7
An order for 60 Armstrong Whitworth A.W 38 Whitley Mk II heavy bombers armed with a twin 3.30in ventral retractable turret has been placed by the Air Ministry. The nose and tail turrets are being replaced by new power-operated models. Engines are unchanged.
April 10
After two weeks of trial interceptions of RAF bombers by fighters from Biggin Hill via a controller using information by the Bawdsey station the Air Ministry has been informed the system works. Using experienced signals operators contacting the pilots every minute to update target information such tactics seem feasible. In later trials the bombers were instructed to change course or 'jink' the defenders courses had to be changed mid flight. Tizard using the angles of an isosceles triangle formed a method of working out a new interception path from the cathode tube. In one trial the controller actually made the change by eye rather than working out the calculation. Therefore an experienced operator could work by instinct. Further trials with larger numbers of aircraft and more controllers will begin shortly. The fighters have made use of the recently invented "Pip-Squeak" device to locate their position to ground controllers.
April 12
Today the first prototype Fairey Barracuda carrier-based torpedo bomber took off for the first time at Fairey’s Great West Aerodrome although production will take place at Fairey’s new factory at Heaton Chapel, Stockport. The Barracuda is to enter service in 1938 and 200 are on order.
April 15
Comments made by Admiral Charles Morton Forbes, Commander in Chief China and Far East, to high level personalities have reached Whitehall and today strong questions were asked in the Commons by Winston Churchill. Admiral Forbes considers his force of "Two Great War big-gun relics one hashed-up flattop conversion and too few decent cruisers and destroyers which are now aging rapidly," as an "Indictment to all those arm-chair admirals in Whitehall who push bits of paper and count figures and sums trying to inflate the Navy with cost exercises. My fleet is of little practical use to combat the gaining power of Satsuma and the wide-reaching commitments made to SEAR are unrealistic when placed beside what we actually have in station and what is available to theoretically reinforce us." Forbes' comment was put to the Prime Minister by Churchill and his growing coterie of political allies on the backbenches of both sides of the House to much applause and cheering from both sides of the House. Ramsey Macdonald soon rose to criticise the Naval Programme put into place in the early 1930s as doing too little to remedy the worst defects of the fleet while overstretch was becoming a problem with most cruisers and destroyers well past their effective life-spans. Also criticised was the stationing of HMS Malaya in Singapore (and the subsequent public tours of the ship) which was described by one Labour backbencher as, "a self-gratifying propaganda exercise for the people of Malaya to swallow whole. Is the ship a man-o-war or an amusement attraction?"
April 17
Today at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough Geoffrey de Havilland gave a lecture based on material from last July’s Volta Conference. In particular several aerodynamic problems were raised and a wind tunnel programme has been devised. Also raised was the question of compressibility at high speeds and swept wings to overcome these problems. Since most of the RAE scientists feel such speeds are a long way off such work would be premature but an agreement was reached to study several small-scale wind tunnel models.
April 23
Developed to Spec M.15/35 and runner up to the Bristol Beaufort torpedo-bomber the prototype Handley Page Hereford first flight was at the firm’s factory at Radlett, Hertfordshire. Powered by two 955hp Napier Dagger inline piston engines it is hoped fully rated 1000hp Napier Daggers will be fitted before the prototype goes to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment at Martlesham Heath. Being almost identical to the Hampden bomber apart from the engines, no problems are foreseen during development. An order for 100 aircraft has been placed by the Air Ministry.
Also today Imperial Airways has begun a regular weekly flying-boat service to Hong Kong (a ten day trip versus 34 by boat) from Southampton. Also the Southampton-Brisbane service will be increased to twice weekly (eight days duration). Both services will be flown by the new Shorts C Class.