1937-02-04 — Page 11

Air

THE

THE wings of fear have spread although remarkable refinements and range of bombardment aviation fait accompli to some

above Europe. In the past and improvements have been made are such that they cannot be pre- Europe. year, since Stanley Baldwin an- which have vastly increased their vented from reaching their tar- nounced that the British frontier deadliness, basically the weapons gets.”. was on the Rhine, coming, events are the same have cast ever

alarm.

非

more sombre

In Germany and Siberia the de fence reportedly has taken another

Even during the World War the form the construction - of under- shadows before them. The march Why then, in view of the obvious most thorough precautions could ground hangars for planes--though there has been no complete verifica- of the Old World's history has been limitations of the plane and its at not stop the German air raids on a steady procession from alarm to present definitely circumscribed London until the closing months of tion of this. All that this means, radius of action, did Stanley Bald- the war; to-day the dangers of such of course, is that if the defending win in a speech in Parliament as raids are magnified by the increase bombers cannot find suitable mili- Each new political predicament long ago as 1932 issue this warn in number and bomb-carrying cap- tary targets for their raids, they will conduct retaliatory raids German rearmament; the Italian ing about the new "instrument"? acity of the planes available for invasion of Ethiopia; the Italian

participation. During the whole against industrial objectives and challenge to British domination of "If the conscience of the young of the war Germany dropped about cities. the Mediterranean; German reoccu- men should ever come to feel," he 280 tons of bombs on England, pation of the Rhineland-each has said, "with regard to this one in which killed 1,413 persons and in- been accompanied (of late preced- strument, that it is evil and should jured 3,408 others. In one sudden The so-called "ground-air team' ed) by feverish and universal re- go, the thing will be done. But if attack to-day a fraction of an is the next and most important of

Spinning lathes have they do not feel like that, well, as enemy's air fleet could drop the same the defensive measures. It invol sung a whirring tune of future war; I say, the future is in their hands. amount in a few hours, with what ves the establishment of a wide in- from the chimneys of great muni- But when the next war comes and consequences to a nation's morale, no telligence net, with observers on the tions factories-Vickers, Creusot, Krupp's, Bofors clouds of smoke European civilisation is wiped out, one can estimate. have bellied out above the Contin- as it will be and by no force more

than by that force, then do not let Many people have said they can-

armament.

ent

•

them lay the blame on the old men; not believe that any enemy would But it is not so much the rifling of let them remember that they prin- deliberately and intentionally com-

ground spread in a great spider- web to the borders" of the nation

and ranged in far-flung circles be- yond the centres of population and industrial areas. France has such

new guns, the rumble of fast tanks cipally, or they alone, are respon- mence such a campaign against a system; England a smaller one.

or the tramp of marching millions sible for the terrors that have fal- civilians,against the men that has brought the dread of a new len upon the earth-

and more terrible. Schrecklichkeit to Europe and the world. It is the roar of motors, the shrill whine of wind on struts and guy wires

* *

come

behind

The observers note progress of the guns, against a nation's will to resistance. Others think that the enemy planes overhead; report to a central plotting and warning sta- first warning of the next war will

from the air; that bombs tion, where all reports are charted and anti-aircraft and air defence Despite improvements and re hurtling through roof-tops and ex-

are coordinated. the fear of wings above the world. finements in military and naval ploding with frightful havoc in For the dream of Daedalus has be- aviation, the basic principles gov- crowded streets will be the only de come the nightmare of the twenti- erning the employment of planes in claration of war. tieth century. The invention and two of their missions -assisting development of the plane have made other arms (such as infantry, artil- possible the extension of warfare to lery, battleships, cruisers) in com- practically every city and hamlet bat and assisting in the defence of in Western Europe; the theatre of critical areas have not materially it is certain that bombing raids ful anti-aircraft equipment 3-inch war has been broadened to include changed since the last days of the against cities and civilians will be and 5-inch guns, 50 calibre machine entire civilian populations; the em- World War and the rapid develop an integral part of future conflicts.

guns, multiple-barrelled rapid-firers, ployment of flying fleets in modern ment of serial tactics that follow The raids may not be ostensibly searchlights and listening "ears. warfare presents possibilities that

ed it. Strafing of ground troops directed against cities and civilians, sometimes stagger the imagination and anti-aircraft gunners and sur- but against industrial objectives,

* * *

Europe's fear is real and its ten- sion growing, and there can be no doubt that much of it is cansed by the threat of the plane as an im- plement of war and an instrument of terror, a threat which is all the more perturbing because the plane's exact wartime capabilities. are unknown.

Pursuit planes at various aero- dromes are notified and take off to intercept and harry the bombers, and to force the enemy into close protective formation, in which they No matter how war is started, will make good targets for power-

* *

*

face ships; aerial observation for such as factories, oil refineries, artillery on land and men-of-war at power stations, railroads, bridges Anti-aircraft guns have become a sea; scouting and reconnoissance and docks, but the cities and their respected part of every nation's de- and mapping are all accepted func populations will probably suffer as fence against the aerial armadas of

Since last Autumn Europe's aerial fleets have been growing rapidly; it is probably no exaggera- tion to say that every aeroplane fac tory in Europe as well as others that could be readily utilised for: the production of aircraft motors- has been working at maximum peacetime capacity. The numerical increase has been so rapid and the consequent possibilities so harrow-

tions of the flying squadrons to much as or more than the so-called to-morrow's war. ing that some of the experts seem to be frightened at their own figures. day, just as they were a decade and objectives of the serial attack.

more ago.

Frightened

It is doubtful if any one person really knows the exact air strength of the principal powers of Europe Europe to-day. But conservative estimates indicate that the Continent possesses probably close to 12,000 military planes of all types in cluding in the count training and obsolescent ships.

Warring By Baldwin

A modern type bomber ready to go off on a mission of deat

Defence By Offence

The best defence is a good offence In those two missions the assis- tance of other arms in combat, the is, of course, still an axiomatic Certainly the assistance in the defence of critical principle of war. areas-military aviation has been best defence against aerial raids is largely stabilised. But in its third a smashing attack against the aero- and perhaps its most important mis- sion-the employment of the so-call-

Even as long

ago as 1918 the closing year of the World War when anti-aircraft technique was crude compared to modern practice, German gums brought down 748 Allied planes, and during the closing months of the war London's “AA” defence was so perfected that the Germans con- cluded the game was not worth the

candle.

Notwithstanding all these precau- tions some enemy planes will "go through to their objectives and against the heads of civilians will

<ed "super-bombers" beyond the im- By H. W. Baldwin be hurled the new thunderbolts of

The principal weapon of the plane

is still the high explosive, gas or

incendiary bombs, with the familiar

mediate theatre of war-it is still

in its infancy.

It is this employment of aviation dromes and flying fields against industrial areas, against enemy, accomplished, if possib

ant

30 and 50 calibre machine guns cities and civilians, in attempts to fore the enemy planes have and the new 1.1-inch automatie as cut the arteries of industry, to secondary weapons for use in straf- alyze the nerve

ing attacks or against other planes the will of

or ground defences. Most of these Europe. For the

plane weapons were in use in the no sure defence latter days of the World War, and words of one

off. Such attacks however, and “defend sion" the estab erous air fields ov berritory, to avoid eggs one bask

war. Passive defence measures, be ing studied in great detail by Eng- an land France, Italy, Germany and be Russia, are being devised to guard.

the civilian populations; gas-masks protective clothing have been out, bomb-proof and gas- shelters are undergoing ex

and the education of. to the horrid discipline

gressing rapidly.