WAR EQUIPMENT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 February 1942, Page 4

WAR EQUIPMENT

BRITAIN’S PRODUCTION TASKS NEW HEAVY TANK GUN BcffilG MADE. ALL PROMISES TO RUSSIA FULFILLED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.10 a.m.) RUGBY, February 12. In the course of a speech in the House of Lords, Lord Beaverbrook spoke of a new heavy tank gun against which no German or Italian tank would be able to stand up. This gun was being produced a considerable time ago and already the foundations for its production on a very large scale had been laid. We already had a good supply of these guns and he hoped they would shortly come into use. They were for tanks and for anti-tank work. The new gun would give British tanks at least equality with German tanks, which carried 4j pounders. As regards the production of tanks themselves, Lord Beaverbrook said, this was three times greater in January than in the previous January. The production of two pounders had increased to a rate of 33,000 yearly during^’January—an increase of ten per cent over December. Speaking of the efficiency and reliability of British tanks, Lord Beaverbrook stated that a whole brigade of “Waltzing Matildas” travelled five or six hundred miles across the Libyan Desert during the recent fighting and not a single tank dropped out through mechanical trouble. Turning to supplies and equipment Britain had sent abroad to her Allies, the Dominions and her own troops serving’ overseas, the Minister said that in 1941 9,781 aircraft had been sent out of the United Kingdom, while only 2134 had been brought im About three thousand tanks had been sent abroad and only two hundred brought in. British tanks had played a very big part in J the defence of Moscow. “We have fulfilled all our obligations to Russia for munitions of war, all our protocol obligations up to January 31, with the exception of one tank, and that was a misfortune. It is credit we are entitled to take amidst the sacrifices we made and we carried out entirely our bargain with and our pledge and promises to Russia and we created their faith, confidence and trust in us. We have a very great deal more to do. We must send to Russia shortly under terms of the protocol immensely increased shipments of tanks and aircraft. The Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Aircraft are preparing for that additional strain on their resources.”

Concerning the supply of raw materials, Lord Beaverbrook pointed out that many sources of supply had been cut off. Steps had been taken in Washington for the production of over four hundred thousand tons yearly for synthetic rubber. Of this, fifty thousand would be available for Britain. It was proposed to increase United States production to six hundred thousand tons yearly. A vast scheme for the production of octane fuel, sufficient to meet the growing needs of Britain and the United States had also been launched in America. Thus the United States had become the principal source' of supply of raw materials.