AFRICA'S AIR WAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 92, 19 April 1941, Page 7

AFRICA'S AIR WAR

PLANES FROM U.S.A.

MANY FLOWN ACROSS.j AMERICA'S GROWING AID. (By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.) WASHINGTON, March 13. Hidden in the cold, unemotional figures •f th e Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, covering the "dollar value" of aircraft exports, i- nno of tlie stirring dramas of the world war in the air. A careful analysis of theee figures by •viation experts shows an entirely new "end m the trnr. Jt i-jvenis that a preponderant number of the new high•pf«d American pursuit aeroplanes is going, not to England, but to Africa. The this stream of hard-hit-l'f"S fighters across the South Atlantic •id through de GauHfet Africa and «ro?e the British-held Sahara is growing "itoa flood, which i, lapping against the Balkan battlefroiit. Behind the precise columns of figures *" the bureau's statistics is, perhaps, Iγ stor .v of just what happened to the yerman Stukas which have ventured into the Mediterranean keep of the er 'ti»h lion. Jt has been only too •PParent to the world that the first JiHoiis drive of the German dive "ombers against the British Mediter-I njpean Fleet and its strongholds at J 'alta ami elsewhere has been rudely decked. There can l>e little doubt that American lighting planes have played s °nie part in beating on" the onslaught 01 the Luftwaffe, and that they will wake the Mediterranean skies increasmS>}' unsafe for Nazi air squadrons as production grow?. 419 For Empire In January. It is revealing no military confidence m> disclose, where American warplanes "avp been going. The rame type of analysis which shows their destination,l Pi the ba-is of published information,'

Such an analysis showe, for example, that of the 419 aeroplanes exported from the United States to the British Empire during January, only 102 actually went to England. An analysis of the cost figures discloses that virtually all were big bombardment aeroplanes, and it is i known that most of them went across

the Atlantic under their own piwer. Continuing the analysis of the "dollar value" figures againet unit figures which have been made public separately, it become* evident that the 120 aeroplanes which went across the South Atlantic to the African Gold Coast were of the pursuit or fighter type. It is probable that all, or practically all of these 120 aeroplanes were the new Ciirties P4O, which the British call the "Tomahawk," type. P4o"s now are rolling off the production line at Buffalo at a rate of ten a day, five days a week.] with Saturday and Sunday production! increasing. j

In addition, there were nineteen aeroplanes which went to the Union of South Africa, or a total of 139 aeroplanes in all routed from American factories to the African Continent.

The next greatest single group of air-| craft went to Canada, which received] 135 of all types, many of them trainers to 'be used in preparing fighting pilots from many parts of the British Empire and Allies from Norway, Czechoslovakia,| Poland and other victims'of Nazi con-! quest. Forty-three aeroplanes whichi went to British Malaya were predominantly of the fighter type.

Evidence of British Confidence. | The British Empire received 93 perl cent, hy dollar value, of all aircraft exported from the United Stages during January. The actual total is 27 per cent greater than the deliveries during December. 60 per cent greater than those during January, 1940, and 9 per cent greater than those during , August, the highest monthly total in 1940. In January, 1940, only 83 aeroplanes went from the United States to all parts of the British Empire. increased' to 321 in Decemlber and 419 during January of this year. The routing of the American combat I aeroplanes, as disclosed, perhaps unwittingly, in the Commerce Department figure?, iri highly significant. The fact that most of the pursuits are going else]

can be made by any enemy agent with where than to England indicates an any sort of background or knowledge of I increasing confidence on the part of Hip American production. I British that they are safe from an

invasion at Home and .are ready and able to carry the war against the Axis to other fronts. It also is evidence that production of pursuit or fighter aeroplanes in England has not been seriously injured by German bombardments and that the English feel this domestic production is suffi-

cient to keep up -wi'th English and American production of bombardment aeroplanes for operation from English aerodromes.—"Auckland Star' , and N.A.N.A.