WAR EQUIPMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 11 July 1941, Page 6

WAR EQUIPMENT

ALLEGATIONS REGARDING GREECE & CRETE DENIED BY MINISTER IN COMMONS. I SOME PROBLEMS OUTLINED. (British Ofl'icial Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.25 a.m.) RUGBY, July 10. The second day of the House of Commons debate on war production produced further criticism of organisation, both as regards manpower .and output, as well as allegations as to the quality of certain types of war material. The most serious of these, which Lieutenant R. A. Brabner (Con., Hythe) spoke of yesterday, concerned allegations cf inefficiency and insufficiency of tanks and guns in Greece and Crete. These allegations were referred to again today. Replying to the debate, the Minister of Aircraft Production. Lieut.-Col. J. T. C. Brabazon, said he would not accept the imputation relating to lack cf efficiency in the tanks used in Greece and Crete, nor that there were not enough aeroplanes in the Middle East. Regarding suggestions of too many different types of aeroplanes of American manufacture in Britain, he reminded the House that French orders were taken, over and a good deal of alteration was required to make these machines suitable for the R.A.F. They, however, were now being sent to operational centres and were doing great work.

“I am not saying there are not too many types,” the Minister observed; “I should like to see fewer types from the point of view of the manufacturing.” His duty, he added, was to supply the aeroplanes asked for by the Services. As regarded the criticisms as to the' supply of dive-bombers, he said the Army had not yet asked for them. They were not machines they wished to operate at the present time, but on this matter opinions were fluid and it might be that they would be wanted. Speaking of the big bomber, the Minister said this type was a new aeronautical conception altogether. A machine was wanted which would fly to Berlin and back and carry an enormous load of tons of bombs. The Americans thought they had the biggest machine in the world, but they were astonished when they came over and saw that Britain had three models much bigger than anything seen in America. These very big aeroplanes had given trouble which, considering their complexities, was only to be expected. They were, however, now flying, and were getting better every day.

MOUNTING APACE BRITISH AIR STRENGTH. ASSURANCE OF TREMENDOUS STRIKING POWER. .(British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 10.55 a.m.) RUGBY, July 10. The Minister of Aircraft Production, in the course of his reply on the second day in the House of Commons debate on the question of supply and production, said: "I can give this assurance to those of you who were in London on the famous Wednesday and Saturday nights and who remember those raids. “It is an easy thing to raid London from France and it is a more difficult thing to raid Berlin from London, but 1 can assure you that it will not be many months before raids like those on London will be child's play compared with the raids which we will be able to make on Berlin.”

Cn the general question of production of aircraft, Lieut.-Colonel MooreBrabazon said that when he was a private member, at the outbreak of war: “I had in mind a sort of premium figure which I though the British aircraft industry could reach. Never mind what that figure was—but we have very nearly got to it.” As regards aircraft supplies from the United States, the Minister said Britain was not getting at present anything like the full number provided for under the production programme. The material we were, getting at present was what was ordered practically at the beginning of the war. A majority of the aircraft from America were medium and heavy bombers. He hoped before long that every machine from the United States would deliver itself. Cn the technical side, the closest collaboration existed between American and British technicians. We disclosed everything to the Americans and they disclosed everything to us. American technicians were in Britain to maintain and service American-built planes, and British technicians were going over to the United States to become acquainted with their machines. "I can assure the House,” concluded Lieut.-Colonel Moore-Brabazon, “that an attack on one particular town would not stop production of any single machine of the operational type/