AIR CO-OPERATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 April 1942, Page 4

AIR CO-OPERATION

WITH NAVY AND ARMY DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. EXISTING ORGANISATION DEFENDED. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.25 a.m.) RUGBY, April 15. The Air Under-Secretary (Lord Sherwood) replied to a debate in the House of Lords in which certain criticism regarding co-opera-tion between the R.A.F. and the other two services, in particular co-operation with the Navy, had been raised. The criticisms arose largely from the serious losses suffered by the Navy at the hands of Japanese torpedo-bombers in the Far East. It was claimed by critics that only adequate fighter protection could have prevented such losses, and demands were made that such protection in future must be available. Lord Sherwood said it would be idle to set apart now specialised aircraft for the Navy, Army and Air Force, and that to think you could have three totally different services and in that way win the war. Victories which could be achieved by the R.A.F. were such as might be achieved on land. When we knocked out the Renault works, the Air Force destroyed as many tanks as could be destroyed by land forces. He admitted that we must have a limited number of specialised aircraft for working with the Navy and Army, but the main striking and directive force must remain with a centralised R.A.F. Replying to a question, Lord Sherwood said the development of aerodromes in India and Ceylon was being carried on before the Japanese attack on Ceylon. The Hermes was not, as seme people seemed to think, only ten miles from an air base which would would give it support, when it was The Naval commanders-in-chief, continued Lord Sherwood, and their staffs, were also in direct touch with the Fighter Command and the fighter group. Lord Sherwood added that casualties in the R.A.F. were very heavy. He did not think people fully realised' that, and that the flow of replacements must not be checked.

“If you have specialised training,” he said, “there will be a gap in these replacements. If co-operation can be made any closer, the R.A.F. would welcome any suggestions to that end. In the reception centres now, where all pilots go after being trained before they go on their final stage for operational types, they spend a fortnight with the Navy and a fortnight with the Army, so that they have a good idea of the requirements of other services.” Referring to the successes of the Bomber Command, Lord Sherwood said he was certain that the further the war went on, the more ruthless the Germans would find our bombing would be. Over fifty per cent of Fighter Command duties in this country were devoted to the protection of shipping. There was a great deal to be said for a centrally-controlled Air Force as we had it now, said Lord Sherwood, and he had no reason to believe it would be altered.