BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17690, 30 July 1919, Page 6

BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE

MARVELLOUS PROGRESS. WHY BERLIN WAS NOT BOMBED. Colonel F. Bottinglon, Ii.F.A., Air Advisor to the Now Government, delivered an address 011 the lloyai Air Force in Wellington last week. Among those prosent were General Sir Alirod Robin, Uonerai-ollicor Commanding tho Now Zealand Forces, mid Colonel G. F. C. Campbell, Commander of tho Coast -Defences. 11l an interesting iuklrcss Colonel Bettington detailed tho liistory and traced tho progress of the Royai Air Forco from the commencement of hostilities in 1914 to tnu signing 01, tile armistice- 111 1918. In 1914, ho said, tho two .'inns (Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service) of tho Air Service consisted of 197 officers and 1647 men, a total of 1844. When tlio armistice was signed the Royal Air Force consisted of 2b,ovJ officers and 264,000 men, a total of 292,000 —a marvellous growth. The inachines numbered 272 in 1914 and 22,171. in 1918. At tho latter date Britain was bunding machines at tho rato of 4000 per month. In France there wore thousands of men and machines—one brigade to each army and tho brigadiers of tho aerial brigado reported direct to tho army commander, while all tho air brigades were under tire Royal Flying Headquarters. Colonel li-ettinirton detailed the duties of tho vario.is wings and brigades in Franco, and spoko of tho squadron (consisting of 18 machines) as the tactical unit. In theso squadrons 22 officers were employed in single seaters and 44 officers in two-£caters. Each squadron had' a squadron commander and three flight commanders. He referred to the murvellous progress made in night-bombing and detailed tho work of tho machines operating_ at night, and described some of tho exciting "strafes" in which they had taken a very prominent part. They had brought down a large number of German machines, and altogether made a splendid showing. He described aerial photography, and said that at 22,0C0ft splendid photos were taken of Ostend, showing tho Gorman railway concentration which proved of great value to the Allied forces. In another caso one man took a series of 77 photos of tho Hindonburg line, and when they were developed it was found that a photographic representation of the various sectors had been secured—complete in every detail. Colonel Bettington spoke of the various operations in Franco in which the Royal Air Force took a prominent part, and said that whiles it- was true that the Allied forces o:tl not bomb Berlin, they were rcadv to do so, and had completed all preparations to bomb the German capital when the armistice was signed. _ As a matter of fact, they had luigo bombing machines ready in Franco, they had machines in Switzerland ready to start for tho German capital, and thero were machines ready to start from Norfolk to accomplish .tho same purpose. Some of these were supor-llandley-Pages. In Switzerland the machine',; stood ready with six "weeks' provisions, plenty of petrol and carrying: SO tons of bombs. It was touch and go, and had the signing of the armistice beon delayed for a few days—aye, for a few hours—the machines would have lett Switzerland for Berlin. Tho bombing raids on tho various industrial centres in Germany, while responsible for considerable damage and many casualties, also had this effect on the plants and men—the output of tho factories was rcduced, and the men were so disturbed by the constant raiding that they could not sleep. He gave many interesting technical details of the mechanical a-ppliances on aeroplanes, of bombs weighing 30001b, of gas bombs, and of secret apparatus for tho more effective use of machines in warfare. -~,J., .'.iggEWi'.y