AIR POWER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 October 1941, Page 6

AIR POWER

ENEMY’S ONLY SHORTAGE COMMENT ON CHURCHILL STATEMENT. EVIDENCE AT MANY POINTS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.50 p.m.) RUGBY, October 1. One of the statements made by - Mr Churchill, in his speech in the House of Commons yesterday, which has caused great interest, was his reference to Germany’s shortage in the air—“the enemy’s only shortage is in the air and that is a very serious shortage.” The position of Germany’s air resources was further outlined by a competent commentator in London. He pointed out that the Luftwaffe was now extended to its utmost limits and indeed beyond these limits. Hitler required to maintain an air force from the north of Norway to Bordeaux, in Sicily, Crete, North Africa and, above all, on the Russian front. On the latter front his losses undoubtedly were very heavy. There was no doubt that Hitler urgently needed more aircraft on all these fronts. If for instance he' were going either to launch or to defend himself from an offensive in North Africa this winter, he would have liked to make the heaviest possible raids agaihst Tobruk, Mersa Matruh and other British-held ports. He would have liked by the use of an overwhelming number of bombers, to deny the Mediterranean to British ships. At the same time, he would have liked to have built up a very large striking force in Libya during past months and to have protected by air the transport of his supplies. None of these things had he been able to do, owing to his shortage of aircraft. The most striking proof of such a shortage perhaps was the fact that night after night Britain nad been free from enemy raids. No less significant was the urgent endeavour of Nazi propagandists to persuade their people that the German offensive against Britain was being maintained. It had become clear that the quality of the crews which the Luftwaffe was now employing had greatly deteriorated. Hitler was compelled to use crews who had not completed their training, crews which would never have been employed, for instance, in the Battle for Britain. EMPIRE SCHEME EVEN MORE TRAINED MEN THAN PLANES. NEED OF INCREASING FLOW OF BOMBERS. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 12.8 p.m.) RIjJGBY, October 1. An authoritative spokesman stated today that, as a result of the success of the Empire Air Training scheme, Britain would have an even larger number of trained personnel than the number of aircraft it was reasonable to hope we should possess in the near future. The greatest need, therefore, from the United States was an everincreasing flow of bombers.