CRITICISM & REPLY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 May 1938, Page 7

CRITICISM & REPLY

BRITAIN’S AIR DEFENCES OBJECTIONS TO MINISTRY OF SUPPLY CENSURE MOTION HEAVILY DEFEATED (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, May 25. Referring to the new Secretary for Air in the air defence debate in the House of Commons, the Prime Minister (Mr Chamberlain) said he brought the reputation which Sir Kingsley Wood had gained in the various offices he had already held would be some guarantee to the House that his methods would be thorough and that he would spare no pains to carry out the duties expected of him. Mr Chamberlain stoutly defended Lord Swinton, in appreciation of whose services he spoke at length The Prime Minister mentioned three developments of recent years which had necessitated substantial alterations in design, and their cumulative effect on speed and .manoeuvre . even in strategy—the all-metal monoplane, engines of super-efficiency, and the variable pitch airscrew. He went on to refer to a comparison Dr Dalton had drawn between the present-day rate of production and that in tflq Great War, which was as different as chalk from cheese. The first squadron of Bulldog machines, formed in 1919, had a top speed of 120 miles an hour, and the first squadron of Gauntlets, formed in 1925, had a top speed of 230 miles; but now they had passed the 300-mile mark, and the Spitfires were the fastest fighter service squadrons anywhere in the world. Speaking of the bombers, he said he could not disclose the range or bomb loads of the latest types, ‘ but those in service were the fastest bombers in the world, and the new types which were now on order showed such a marked advance that it was very unlikely that their performance would be surpassed by the bombers of any other country. THE SHADOW FACTORIES Mr Chamberlain contended that there was no part of Britain’s air defence which made a deeper impression on foreign visitors than the shadow factories, and in answering advocates of mass production he mentioned that while in an ordinary motorcar engine there were 1700 parts, in the modern bomber there were 11,000 parts to the engine alone, and upward of 70,000 or the rest of the plane. ’ Turning to the suggested Ministry of Supply, he commented on the number of rival proposals before the public, but declared that all of them suffered from the disadvantage that they would dislocate the present machinery, which was working well. “My own view,” he added, “is that although in actual war a Ministry of Supply would be essential —and indeed we have all the plans ready for such a Ministry to be put into operation in such circumstances —I do not believe a Ministry of Supply in peacetime is going to be as effective as the Ministry of Munitions was in the Great War unless you give it the same powers as the Ministry of Munitions had. I doubt whether we would be justified in asking for such powers in peacetime. By setting up a Ministry of Supply you would add nothing to the efficiency of the system. “For the reasons I have: given, the Government is not prepared to set up a Ministry of Supply any more than it is prepared to grant an inquiry. No one must imagine from that that we are not straining every nerve to complete our programme at the earliest moment.”

Dealing with the question of air parity, Mr Chamberlain reiterated his previously expressed view that the first-line strength was only one of the factors to be taken into account. Mr Chamberlain said he very much deprecated taking a single country always for comparison in judging air power He thought such assessments should ba made in a way which implied no challenge to any other country. DR. DALTON’S CRITICISM In proposing the Labour motion, Dr Dalton claimed that the recent political changes at the Air Ministry amounted to an admission by the Prime Minister that all was not well there, and accordingly justified the demand for an inquiry, which in these circumstances, he averred, would strengthen the hands of the new Secretary for Air. Dr Dalton criticised the rate of production of aeroplanes, and compared it with. the country’s capacity There was a disequilibrium in production between engines and air frames, and the shadow scheme had not yet produced results. He also generally supported the proposal for a Ministry of Supply. The state of the ground defences, and particularly delays in the production of 3.7-inch guns and the organisation of the balloon barrage scheme were also points in Dr Dalton’s case. Sir Archibald Sinclair, the Liberal leader, spoke both in favour of a Ministry of Supply and of an inquiry. In Winston Churchill (Conservative) admitted that the appointment of the new Air Ministry altered the situation, and questioned the continued usefulness of an inquiry, but he said he would have preferred the establishment of a Ministry of Supply. He refused to be satisfied with the Prime Mirfister’s ecomium on the existing machinery, which he declared was cumbersome and complex. The censure motion was defeated by 329 votes to 144. MINISTER’S ASSURANCE CRITICISM TO BE EXAMINED LONDON, May 26. In the House of Commons Sir Kingsley Wood, Secretary for Air, promised to examine all criticism of the air defence system. He said Dominion orders for aircraft had been given the highest practicable preference.