FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17452, 12 May 1922, Page 12

FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE.

FUTURE OF THE AIR FORCE.

lEIFYING BOMBING EXPERIMENTS.

(rBOX OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, Marct 24. In the debate on the Air Estimates, Captain Guest (Secretary of State for Air) made a powerful statement which set the tone to an instructive discussion. Its whole trend was to show that if further reductions are to be made in defence services, they might be made in the Navy or in the Army, but not, with any reasonable safety, in what Colonel Moore Brabazon described as our "first line of defence." Previous to the economies effected under the recommendations _ of the Geddes Committee, said Captain Guest, the Air Force consisted of fighting units. The reductions in service strength effected under those recom-mendations-were the equivalent of two squadrons, and . the reductions in the training schools might also be considered to be equivalent to two more service units. So that they were the equivalent of four service units weaker- than they wero before the Government went into the- question of economies. They had still at their disposal 31$ service units, and of these 194 were abroad, allocated thus': India, 6; Irak, 8; Egypt, 3; Palestine, 1; and the Mediterranean, doing naval co-operation work, IJ. There were 12 at Home, of which one was doing excellent work—that was the communication _ squadron at Kenley; one- was practically permanently allocated to Army co-operation, three were in reserve, and three would be under the scheme ,he would outline, their first modest contribution for _ home defence. The work, done by-the Air Force in'different parts of the Empire, such as the N.W. Frontier and Somaliland, illustrated the fact that Air Force action was less temporary than Army action, and proved two things-r-one, that under certain conditions, such as the patrolling and policing of semi-civilised portions of the Empire, the Air Force was quicker in- action, cost far le6S, and, m its power to take life, more humane j and (2) that the effects were certainly not less lasting than thoße which were obtained by military expeditions,.

' Research Work. Turning; to developments in the realm of research during the last twelve months; Captain Guest said their activities had been largely directed to securing greater safety and comfort in travelling by aeroplane. A most important number of instruments for safer navigation of aircraft had been invented, and brought into use. Great advance had been made in fire precautions. .They had also developed air-cooled engines/ which. were a great advantage from the viewpoint of safety. Advance had been made •in the direction of silencing engineß, i and study was gow being directed to silencing the propellor. The new types of machines brought out this year were not many, but one was very important, and it was hard to determine what place exactly the amphibian would play in aerial performances in the future. He was trying to arrange for scientific research to be. carried ,on continuously chiefly by the scientific bodies outside the Air Minis-' try, with financial assistance from the Government.

War Is the Air. After giving the prosaic facts of the Air Service, Captain Guest took a Jules Verne -flight into the future. With aeroplanes doing 200 miles an hour as "a normal speed," with 560-miles flights as "an ordinary performnce," and with "no mechanical limit to the size ahd carrying capacity of aircraft," he thought it quite justifiable to look into the problems of national defence as they would present themselves in the future. Aeroplanes, if possessed iij sufficient numbers, will, he maintain*, be powerful enougih to defend these shores against invasion. In the next few years powerful aircraft will pro-, gregsively expand the areas in wnicfc enemy ships cannot move with impunitv and in which protection can be afforded to British snips. As these patrolled sea areas increase in size and number, the remaining sea areas in which fleet actions can take place will become more and more restricted, and this will bring in a prospect of further economies in ships of war.^ The possibilities of bombing are only partially explored. For the first, titne feince the war, a bombing school, had been started, and. the riesults were terrifying. It had already been plroved that one bomb could sink a battleship" in a few minutes.. Even though a direct hit were guarded against, the vessel could not -bo protected from the explosion of a bomb under the water. The bomb was proving its superiority over the shell. Its accuracy was bound to be greater, and the range of a bombdroppiiig aeroplane far exceeded that of a gun. In Ten Tears' Time.

"In ten years' time I believe oombat between the forces of the air and tihe forces of the sea will become a grotesquely one-sided affair; and in the field of transportation I can see the aeroplanes conveying small forces of artillery and infantry to take part in niinor operations, dispensing with vulnerable and extensive communications." The next most interesting part of Captain Guest's speech was devoted to the preparations for home de fence in tho air. Great Britain had 19 air squadrons abroad and 12 at home and three of these would be devoted to "our first modest preparations for home defence." It was the decision of the Cabinet to hand over to the Air Ministry the responsibility for air defence against air attack. This was a ""serious responsibility" and one wihich i;would give them all "much to think .about."

Looking round at the air armament of. other countries, Captain Guest said the United States liad 27 squadrons; Italy, which is beginning to rebuild her air. force, has 400 machines; Japan, top, shows considerable development; but the biggest development is in Fiance. France, which had in the last fifty years experienced two invasions, was determined that it should not occur again. Th 6 French air force available for home defence varied between 60 and 70 squadrons. There were reports of a largely increased programme on the part of France. Touching on civil aviation, lie. strongly stressed the importance of maintaining the cross-Channel services, which he regarded as tho initial stage of the Empire services. Another item mentioned was that men tiom the non-commis-sioned ranks are to be trained as pilots and given the rank of pilot-sergeant.

Prance's Strength. Colonel Moore-Brabazoh, a distinguished air officer, said that for 100 years' the Navy had been the spoiled darlings of the nation, because the Navy was looked to for the defence of these islands, but to-day the Navy was obsolescent. (Laughter.) France could put 240 squadrons of aeroplanes on the coast, and what could our present first line of defence do against that? A famous admiral once said that we could sleep soundly in our beds o' nights, but witn England in possession oi only 12 squadrons as against France's 240,, dare Captain Guest maintain that doctrine now?

Mr Churchill thought there would be no difficulty in adj&Bting the relations between the Air Ministry and the Army. The Air Ministry would supply the Army wth the number of air squadrons required, and in the field they would be absolutely under the orders of the military commanders conducting the operations. ' In the same way the Air Ministry would cater for the Navy. "The vital part of a great sea battle must Jte fought by aeroplanes out of ships; and after all the Navy still retains ' prime responsibility for the safety of this country." On the question of the creation of a Defence Ministry, he said a committee had been set up to formulate a scheme for the creation of a common brain for tne three Services by means of a staff college* or system of training, which_ would unite officers of middle ranks in_ the three Services. Another committee had been appointed to make proposals for pooling tho administrative services common to the three Services. That was enough for ono year. When these committees had reported, then the question of creating a Ministry of Defence might bo said to have retched the threshold of practical politics.