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8.
Spotter aircraft of the Coast Artillery Co-operation Unit could be made available at instant notice, but existing conditions demand that a fighter escort should be provided. Inder present arrangements, 24 hours' notice must normally be given, but in case of necessity, a minimum of four hours is accepted. For bombardment of targets on the French coast, this is no great disadvantage, but in the case of anti-ship engagements, it must be possible to engage targets whenever they are within range. This will require air spotting aircraft with fighter protection at very short notice.
9.
Apart from the problem of obtaining fighter protection at short notice, other difficulties which present themselves are:-
(a) The danger that aircraft sent up near the German-held
coast may bring about a fighter battle out of proportion to the problem concerned.
(b) Diversion of fighter aircraft from their role of
defending Great Britain from air attack.
A possible solution of the problem might be the employment of one fighter as a spotter aircraft and a second as escort. It is sugested that an experiment on these lines might be well worth carrying out.
10.
11.
In conclusion, it will be seen that:-
(a) The guns will not carry out the task of denying the
Straits to the enemy, unless some means is found of obtaining the requisite air co-operation together with fighter protection at very short notice. (b) The task of bombarding targets on the French coast is
impossible without air co-operation, but this is not necessarily required at such short notice.
The Chiefs of Staff are therefore asked to decide whether, in view of the tasks assigned to these guns, arrangements should now be made to enable special aircraft for reconnaissance duties together with the necessary fighter protection to be available at short notice.
War Office,
14TH JANUARY, 1941.
-3-
(Signed) R. H. HAINING.
V.C.I.G.S.
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