ON EVERY FRONT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 48, 26 February 1941, Page 7

ON EVERY FRONT.

BOMBERS HIT HARD.

Air Minister On Britain's

Offensive Tactics.

British Official Wire)?**. (Reed. 1.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Feb. 25.

The Minister for Air, Sir Archibald Sinclair, in a speech, emphasised that in every theatre the Royal Air Force has in recent months been waging an offensive war. The Libyan campaign he described as a pattern of an effective air offensive, in support of a brilliant land offensive.

Fighter squadrons were carrying the war across the Channel with offensive sweeps over northern F ranee and Flanders. Ceaseless attacks were being made on naval units and supply ships, and on submarines attempting to molest convovs.

In Fast Africa the Italians knew to their cost the power of the squadrons <>f the South African Air Force and of Rhodesia.

In the Greek theatre of war the British squadrons, with the assistance of the Greek Air Force, had pounded the enemy's ports, broken up his concentrations. and blasted him from his stronghold*.

Sir Archibald Sinclair stressed that the superior instrument of offensive warfaro was a l>oml><>r force, "that force which «i\es us the principal means of hitting at the Germans in Germany. The most careful planning of the air staff and the most cherished operations of the commander-in-chief aimed at the destruction in Germany of the sources of XazF power. Thia wa* part of the blockade.

The Navy had cut off the enemy from all that came by sea. and the bomber squadrons had set out to destroy the stocks of munitions, oil and material* which the enemy was husbanding in his stores. Planned Destruction. "Wo will destroy not only his stocks, but liiK moan* of replenishing them, his arsenals, munition* factories and oil plants."* said the Minister. "We aim as well at dislocating his movements. The docks, inland ports, canal junctions, marshalling yards and all the arteries which go to nourish his war sinews have received our studied attention."

The cruelty of air bombardments was hateful, but Sir Archibald Sinclair added: '"We never wanted war, with all its horrors and destruction. The Nazis brought it on the world. They spared no horror to Coventry, Birmingham and London—and we must 'be a copy now to men of grosser blood and teach them how to war.'"