FRENCH AIR FORCE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20076, 24 October 1939, Page 2

FRENCH AIR FORCE

NUMBER AND QUALITY CHANGED SPIRIT GREAT RENAISSANCE REBUILT SINCE 1936 In an article in the “Daily Telegraph” a few days before the outbreak of war, Group-Captain L. G. S. Payne described the new French Air Force, largely re-built and re-equipped since 1936, as a fomndable fighting force with superb equipment. GroupCaptain Payne based his opinion upon a visit he had just made to two of the largest French aircraft factories and to the military air base at Diion, from where he returned greatly impressed with the “miraculous' renaissance" of France's military aviation.

Internal unrest, political and industrial, he wrote, had had a serious effect upon the output of modern equipment in 1936, at the very time when the German Air Force was being lavishly supplied and the British Air Force was rapidly recovering from the effects of unilateral disarmament.

But, he wrote, it was too readily assumed that France’s military aviation had suffered an irreparable setback. The efficiency of her Air Force’s personnel and the genius of her engineers and aircraft designers were not seriously impaired. When the outlook of the French people and workmer. changed, and a new Government came into power, the French aviation industry and Armee de l’Air soon showed the same powers of recuperation that the British aircraft factories and R.A.F. displayed once a serious programme of air expansion was authorised in this country. “To-day there can be no doubt that the Armee dc 1 ’Air. already largely re-equipped with modern planes, is a powerful and formidable fighting force," lie stated.

Great Increase in Production The effect of the changed spirit and the extent to which the French aviation industry had been reorganised and supplied with up-to-date machinery was shown by the average monthly production of aircraft of the two factories visited, nearly seven times as great as the average monthly production of the entire French aircraft industry in the period from September 1 lo December 1, 1937.

The Potez factory near Albert belongs to the group operated by the Societe Nationale de Constructions Aeronautiques du Norri (S.N.C A.N.). It was established in 1923 and lias since been considerably enlarged. It has it.-; own aerodrome and when the visit was made employed between 4000 and 4500 workmen, working eight to nine hours a day.

[The numbe- of employees must since the outbreak of war have been greatly increased and the hours of working lengthened.] Planes That Travel 300 m.p.h.

The factory is exclusively employed on production of the small Potez 63 low wing twin-engined monoplanes. These all-metal machines, which seem very popular with the French Air Force, can be used, with slight alteration to the fuselage, for fighting, bombing or -econnaissancc. The lighter carries a crew of three, seated in line in the fuselage will) the pilot in the foremost posi.'on. It is armed with two cannon in addition to machineguns.

In tiic reconnaissance machine the pilot occupies a raised cockpit amid-

ships, which gives him an adequate view and provides an excellent field of vision for the air observer, who sits in the nose. The rear gunner sits in the aft cockpit. The bomber carries a crew of two,-die central cockpit being converted for the internal stowage of bombs. The machine is powered with two GGO ‘h.p. Gnome and Rhone engines, and .ire exceedingly manoc-u----verablc, notwithstanding their top 'speed of .100 m.p.h.

r.eservc of Pilots At the Dijon air base, one of the largest in France, about half of the machine strength was ot “postovpansion” types. The fighter squadrons are chiefly equipped with new Morane 406 low-wing single-seater fighters, powered with 860 h.p. I-lis'pano-Suiza engines and very similar in appearance to the British Hurricane. Their maximum speed is about .115 m.p.h Instead of being armed, like the Hurricanes, with eight machine-guns, thew carry two forward-firing machine-guns and one cannon. The Morane 406 is an exceedingly well made and robust fighter. There are also a number of Polcz 6,‘l reconnaissance machines at Dijon,-These machines will eventually entirely replace the older Brcguct 27 observation planes now in service at. the station.

He was informed that there was no lack of candidates for training as pilots, in the Armee de l’Air. The intake was limited only by the medical standard required, which was very high. The average ago of the French junior pilots, both officers and n.c.o.'s seem rather higher than that of the British, and considerably e ore train that ot the German pilots. Group-Captain Payne .described the Morane fartor.v, engaged in the production of the new 800 m p n. fighters, as a modern factory in every respect, constructed since 1036. At the time of his visit 2500 men weic at v.c-rk, averaging 52 hours a week. He saw no fewer than 200 machines in various stages of construction in tins one factory, and said that under it.a expansion (but not war) pressure an output of 12 planes daily l- d been achieved; that was well over 200 planes from a single factory per month. Both factories were equipped with thd latest machine tools, of foreign as well as French manufacture, including tools and jigs from British, German. Swiss and American makers. Both had extensive underground shelters for their staff against air raiding.