THE ONLY CHANCE

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 144, 19 June 1940, Page 5

THE ONLY CHANCE

GREATER AIR POWER.

GOERING'S PREGNANT WORDS.

- NAZI CONQUEST PATTERN.

(By IRA WOLFERT.)

NEW YORK, May 20.

It ie only the overture to the terrifying drama of the second world war that ie being played along the Meuse River to-day, in the opinion of Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker.

"The all-out war by Germany has not yet begun," he said. "It will begin in the air over England proper and France and Germany proper when both •idee make systematic, and large-ecale efforts with thoueands of 'planes at once to bomb airports, factories and supply depots."

Captain Rickenbacker wae America's leading ace in the world war and has been a leader in civil aviation since. He Jβ now president and general manager of Eastern Airlinee. He was asked to discuss the aerial leeeons the European conflict has taught thus far.

"What seems to be going on at the moment," he eaid, "ie that Germany is getting into position for such an allout war, in which her currently tremendous air superiority will give her the advantage, and the Allies are etriving to Iblock her out of position. It is. all the Allies can do since they are admittedly inferior in the air tend, as Poland proved, there is no payoff in war on a second-place air force. Replacement Advantage. %a,\ for position appears to be going Germany's way now. They have a straight shoot on England from Norway, and Holland and Belgium seem

about to yield them the eame advantage. Northern and eastern France has been under the wheels of German 'planes for a long time. If Italy goes iri on the German side soon, then southern and western France will become readily available to Fascist bombs.

"The major factor working for the Allies is time. Time will eventually give them parity with the German Air Force, but it does not seem logical to believe the Germans will hold off that long. However, there is an appalling mortality rate on pilots and 'planes in this war. It is infinitely greater than in the last war. The Allies, with their colonies and control of the sea lanes to lands where pilots can be trained and aeroplanes built have it all over the Germans in the matter of replacement. The Germans have to do all rebuilding of men and machines in their own country, which is an easy target for enemy 'planes."

Captain Eickenbacker said that, contrary to popular belief, the Germans have been preparing for the day of total war from the air since long before Hitler.

"It is significant," he declared, "that the men who are running , the air show for Germany now are the men who learned the value of the aeroplane in the last war as aviators. When I was in Germany in 1922, before Hitler was known to anyone, I met Goering and Udets and the others, who are in charge of the air now, and they pointed to the eky then and said then, 'That is where Germany's only chance lies. , "I Saw All Right.". "They concentrated on that, and when; I went back to Germany in 1935 theyj said, 'Come and see what we have done. , I saw all right. Last August I flew all over Norway in German passenger | 'planes. The pilots were military men. They knew every fiord and inch of ground better than the Norwegians themselves. j

"Nobody outside the German air staff knows how many aeroplanes the Nazis have. Before the war began, the experts agreed on a figure between 9000 and 10,000. Now they're saying 20,000 and 30,000, and they don't know any better than they did before.

"For their unknown number of "planes they have evolved a pattern of conquest and have followed it religiously wherever needed—in Poland, Holland and Bel-

gium. The first heavy blow from the air is far back of the lines at the enemy air force and the sources of supply for the army. Then they go after the lines of communication. After that the army is nothing. What is an army without either supplies or the possibility of getting any? It is like arms without a body. The army wae that way in all I the countries named.

"In Norway the aeroplane proved that the fleet is almost as powerless against it, as the army. • The British were afraid to risk their ships against the German Air Force. They have learned at last that the only thing that can beat off an aeroplane attack is a better aeroplane."—(N.A.N. A.)