During the war a heavy demand was made on the supplies of aeronautical timber, and in order to allow of the use of smaller sized timber, it became necessary to permit the introduction of splices into aeronautical construction. We knew of no means to obtain accurate comparative data, and the purpose of the present inquiry (with which Captain K. Robertson was also associated) was that of finding a method of splicing timber beams which should prove to be the most effective for withstanding bending moment (as in aeroplane main plane spars) and which should at the same time be simple to produce and easy to inspect.

As a preliminary step we invited suggestions from aircraft constructors and others as to the forms of splices which, in their opinion, were likely to give the most useful results.