MIGHT IN THE AIR

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20914, 20 September 1939, Page 2

MIGHT IN THE AIR

BRITAIN LEADS THE WAY

HUQE DISPLAY OF STRENGTH CO-OPERATION WITH FRANCE “No fancy flights these, but close simulations of grim reality", says the latest bulletin uf the Society of British Aircraft Constructors, referring to the Ro>al Air Force training exercises over France a few days before the outbreak of war. Britain s air might was fully demonstrated to European peoples by this remarkable display, and the determination of Britain and France to meet emergencies with determination again expressed. Expert opinion the world over was impressed by the ease and certainty with which these unprecedented exercises were carried out, and the extraordinarily high standard of skill and discipline existing among the bulk of young men who make up the air arm today. Every bomber carried a full war-load, indicating that the relationships of Britain and France with Germany were nearing breaking point. August, 1939 found the air power of Britain incomparably stronger than it was in the autumn of last year. In 12 months the child became a giant, able to hold a sure shield against an invader and to deliver tremendous blows in counter-of Tensive at hostile military objectives. Formidable Fighters Forming the spearhead of the defensive system are lighters armed with guns that spit a whip-lash of lead sufficient to tear the wings or tail-unit from a bomber, and swift enough to catch the raiders in full flight. Bombers able to carry a deadly load over long distances at high speed contribute to the country's attacking contingent. Behind the air force stands a productive machine designed and able to maintain the service at full strength in the lield. The output of war planes before the outbreak of hostilities had multiplied more than four times since the first two months of 1938, but that achievement tells only part of the story. Sources for the alternative manufacture of all the main types of combat aircraft had been tapped. Indications are that in the few months preceding the war Great Britain’s output of military aircraft had reached levels that challenged comparison and probably surpass the achievements of any other nation. Such outstanding success repeats history and ensures the supremacy of the Empire on air as well as on the sea. German Opinion Towards the end of the Great War the head of the German Army Air Service, quoted in the German Olficial history of the war, referred to the utter impossibility of coping with the British programme of construction. What Englishmen have done, Englishmen can do! The outbreak of war coincided with a big step-up in output of military aircraft, and the machines so accurately tested in the past few months moved smoothly into high gear. Even as heartening is the revival in the air arm of France. The astonishing power of recovery inherent in that great nation has never been so clearly shown as in her re-establish-ment as a great aircraft manufacturing country. Day by day her output of high performance military aeroplanes climbs higher. Together the two countries can rely upon their industrial organisation as on the unrivalled skill and morale of their airmen.