THE AIR MENACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 70, 23 March 1940, Page 8

THE AIR MENACE.

DEFENCE MEASURES

GAUNTLET FOR BOMBERS

DEADLY ENTERCEFTOR CRAFT.

In the last war the air menace to the United Kingdom was mastered, says Mr. J. M. Spaight, in an article in the "Nineteenth Century," and there are good grounds for expecting that it will be mastered again, and probably in a much shorter time. Mr. Spaight has been principal assistant secretary at the Air Ministry since 1034. After giving an account of the air defence achievement of 1915-18, a defence which "started from scratch," Mr. Spaight says that since then the attack has been strengthened enormously and the weight of bombs which could be dropped is far beyond anything imagined in 101 S. But the defence has been stiffened, too, probably to a still greater degree. The development of wireless telephony aids the bomber, but it aids the interceptor still more. It was only in the summer of 191S that wireless control of defending aircraft began to be used. The system was not actually in operation while the raiding was in progress. Countering the Raiders. Xow it is practicable, from the operational room on the ground, to switch a powerful concentration of fighters in the briefest space of time against any given bombing formation and thus to make it possible for the defence to have the necessary superiority at the decisive point. The means of delecting and reporting the approach and movements of hostile aircraft have also been improved almost beyond recognition. Xight flying, flying in bad visibilitv, blind landing after a patrol have all been perfected by practice, aided by the adoption of devices unknown 20 years ago. The task of the interceptor pilots lias been made much easier, and the bringing of the raider to action much less a matter of chance'. It is true that the Junkers and Heinkels of to-day arc far faster and more formidable machines than the Gotha? and Giants of 191 S. The advance which the new bombers represent upon their predecessors is not, however, so great as the gap between the fighters of the last war and those of to-day. After all, the German Giant and our Handler Page were each able to load nearly "a ton of bombs: we dropped bomb's of 10501b in Germany in 1018. Scorching Blast of Flame. On the other hand, the volume of fire which a modern lighter can bring to bear on an enemy aircraft is a scorching blast of Oame which far surpasses anything known in 101 S. The Hurricane, the Spitfire and the Morane 40GC would have shot the Snipe, the SESA, and the Spad to pieces in a fewseconds. The latter had two machineguns firing through the air-Screw. Our new fighters have eight machine.guns in their wings, firing 25 rounds a second, that is, 200 rounds from the battery of eight guns. The Morane has a." cannon as well as two machineguns, bomber could live against the attack of a well-handled lightencoming upon it from behind. A few years ago it was confidently asserted that "the bomber will always get through." of our misfortunes of the last four or five years are traceable to the too-ready acceptance of that assertion. It is certainly not true to-day. Restricted Range of Escort. Experience in Spain has led some observers to the conclusion that unless the bomber is escorted by lighters it is doomed. The pilot of the fast, singleseater fighter is protected by the whole mass of his engine from the machinegun fire of the bomber, which lie attacks from the rear, then swinging sharply away out of fire. Though the range of bombers may be ever-increasing, that of lighters remains small, and can only be increased at the expense of lighting efficiency. If. then, an enemy cannot establish aerodromes close to England. the danger is immensely reduced, since his bombers must come unescorted,'with the certainty of heavy casualties. The interceptor in the air is not the onlv lion in the path of the invading bomber. It will also have to pass the den of the anti-aircraft artillery. Even in the last war the British :lin had their occasional successes. '■£'3 present anti-aircraft weapons —of and 4.0111 bore—arc far more formidable; and the Bofors gun, of about 1 -Gin, for use against dive-bombing attack, is also a very effective weapon. The larger guns owe their effectiveness largely to the use of the predictor, a separate instrument which enables its "crew" to track with great precision the course of an aircraft Hying at a great height, and transmits to the gun crew electrically the information necessary for aiming the gun. The predictor was unknown in iniS. The height-finder is another essential instrument which has ■been perfected since that date. "Can We Take It?" The British 3.7 in.is the counterpart of the German SSmm. gun, which was very successful in Spain. Until it arrived in Spain the losses of the Republican bombers had been practically nil. After its arrival they could venture only at their grave peril over the Nationalist lines. Indeed, one French expert holds that no aircraft whose ceiling is of the order of Hi.500 feet will be able to survive the fire of the modern anti-aircraft gun in clear weather. It mav pass unnoticed in the clouds at altitudes about 20,000 feet. "But the instant it is seen within range its destruction is assured, 'flic progress already made in artillery is such that bombing aircraft will have to resort to stratospheric flying." That, other experts would say, is claiming too much for anti-aircraft artillery, but there is no doubt that the strides made by it ■ since IPIS have been immense.

If tlio full fury of the ficrman air attack i* directed a&ninst this country —tlic writer concludes—can we ''take it"': Most assuredly «•« can. Our defences are magnificent, but a proportion of the"raiders are certain to come through. They will give us a battering, but it will not be as catastrophic as the pessimists forbodc. It will not endure for lonpr. Gradually and surcly the defence will master the attack. The losses indicted on the bombers will become heavier. The morale of their pilots will suffer. Just as in IM4-1S we were able to bring each of the three successive stages of Germany's air attack to a. standstill, to we shall be able to sraas.h the worst that she can do now. Wc are in an immeasurably better position to do so now than we were then.