THE AIR WAR HAS NOT YET STARTED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 13, 16 January 1940, Page 7

THE AIR WAR HAS NOT YET STARTED.

S4YS OFFICIAL.

Lessons Of Preliminary

Skirmishes.

BRITAIN STILL CONFIDENT.

United Press Association.^-Copyright.

(Received 11 a.m.)

LONDON, January 15.

A highly-placed official says the air war has not yet started, and, therefore, little more is known of the respective merits of the opposing forces than before the outbreak.

The results of the preliminary skirmishes, in some respects, are impressive. Our bombers have sustained losses, but for every one casualty two or three of the enemy lighters have been shot down. Not a single lighter has been lost by Britain, and the number ef bullet strikes lias been surprisingly small. it has been found that the German bombers take a surprising amount of lead and are rather more difficult to bring down than was expected, Britain was still confident that she could bring to a standstill a large-scale air offensive in a comparatively short time, hut not without some casualties to industrial output and - the pivil population. The German machines in some respects were* inferior owing to a false impression gained in tbe Spanish war, It*was concluded that bombers" greatest safeguard was speed, and as a result the original Ueinkeis aud Dorniers were practically defenceless. Germany was now doing her utmost to overcome tlie deficiency. German raiders on Britain were flying at great heights. it was understood bombers attacking from 30,000 ft on a clear day could achieve 50 per cent accuracy. The greatest surprise of tlie air war had been the effectiveness of the German 'planes* self-sealing tanks. The prospect of the raiders being forced down without petrol after the tanks had been punctured was now almost non-existent.