INDIAN OCEAN AIR LINE PROJECTED

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23810, 2 December 1942, Page 2

INDIAN OCEAN AIR LINE PROJECTED

A USTRA LI A’S OPPORTUNITY

SYDNEY, November 24. For strategic and Imperial reasons Australian air transport interests are Dressing the Federal Government to Sfllsh a regular flying-boat service across the Indian Ocean-the last of the great oceans to be bridged by Since the United Stales came into the war air transports have spanned miles of ocean wastes in lh ® The Atlantic, even before America s entry, was bridged by the now tampus Atlantic Air Ferry Servicc bnnging American aid by air to Great Britain over 3000 miles of sea. The Indian Ocean alone remains un-conquered-a vast gap m the wartime chain of aerial communications. Before Japan seized Malaya we used to maintain a bi-weekly service between Sydney and Singapore, connecting with Imperial Airways’ service from London. That allred air link with Britain is now broken. Disruptive Losses Since January a few Australian fly-ing-boats have been destroyed by Japanese action or logt while engaged o military errands. , „ We cannot get flying-boats from Britain to replace our losses because Britain, battling alone in 1940 ag ai jist the whole weight of the Luftwaffe, was forced to abandon the construction of big air transports and concentrate entirely upon the building of fighters and bombers. All these circumstances meant disorganisation of British and Australian oversea air transport. They effectively eliminated Australia as an active partner in the scheme of Empire air communication. . . . It is pertinent, therefore, to ask at this stage what steps the Federal Government proposes to take to replace these disrupted services. Has the Government attempted to secure from the United States the release of even half a dozen flying-boats which would permit the inauguration of an Indian Ocean service? Is there a plan for the re-entry of Australia into the all-important field of oversea air communication? No Plan If there is no plan, and civil pilots in close touch with these matters say there is not, there would seem to be little time to lose. The United States because of her vast productive capacity is able to supply sufficient numbers of long-dis-tance land and trans-ocean aircraft to operate chain after chain of oversea air services virtually spanning the globe. „ . : , Hundreds of American flying-boats, carrying in the mass a staggering volume of freight, are already engaged in the Atlantic. Two American airline companies alone fly aeroplanes from New York to London almost every day. Australia’s non-participation in this vast programme of oceanic air transport is a matter for grave concern to far-seeing airmen, who urge that we must show an active interest in the preservation of our air links with Britain in the Indian Ocean, America has not yei entered this ocean in a big way. It is a sphere in which Australia has unrivalled opportunities to play her rightful share and relieve the United States of some portion of the burden now pressing heavily upon her shoulders. In the Indian Ocean we have an enormous cruising field partly surveyed by Captain P. G. Taylor in 1939.

(By EDWARD AXFORD in the "Sydney Morning Herald. )

We have an interest there vital for the security of our western seaboard. We have a pool of Australian civil pilots schooled and experienced in the very kind of safe trans-ocean navigation which such a service demands. And we have in the Qantas organisation the operational and maintenance facilities upon which such a service would have to rely. Few people have yet grasped the freight-carrying potentialities of the long-distance flying-boat. Four-engined flying-boats of the„t>. Consolidated type can carry a 4RU payload non-stop for a distance' eartt 5000 miles. They can for exanr“«{« travel with a full load from Australia to Africa without stopping, though, to ensure a safe fuel margin, they would ■ not do so in practice. But they could easily fly non-stop two-thirds of the way across the Indian Ocean, say. to the British-owned islands of Diego Garcia (2850 miles from Australia) or Rodriquez (3100 miles). In other words, they could safely cross the Indian Ocean in two hops. Even if Australia could not replace her flying-boat losses entirely at this stage the provision of at least two such ’aircraft would permit an immediate start. By Air to India Additionally, Australia could open up a service to India, linking with connexions to the Middle East. Civil pilots envisage non-stop flights from north-west Australia to Ceylon, a distance of 2800 miles, well within the range of many types of American fly-ing-boats and land aeroplanes. The distance could be covered in a matter of hours. A direct war-time air service to India is of very great importance. Its absence adds appreciably to our present insular difficulties. It would:— (1) Restore the communications link between Australia and the Middle East. (2) Furnish a means for the quick exchange of military dispatches and diplomatic mail between Australia and Delhi, Cairo, and London. (3) Permit the speedy transport of high-ranking Service officers and Government officials. It is of the greatest national importance that Britain and Australia should not relinquish completely the grip they once had on the air communications link in the north Indian Ocean. This ocean is completely ringed by British Dominions and possessions. In fact, the Empire has greater land masses there than surround any other ocean in the world. It is a proper sphere for British transport activity, and no stone should be left unturned to consolidate our interests there. America’s Example The example of America in this re--spect deserves to be taken to heart. The growing routes of air communication which she is throwing out to the very corners of the,earth are designed to implement her global war and increase the hitting power of her armed forces. In short, America will have the aeroplanes, the crews, the ground personnel, and the aerodromes to do the air carrying business of the world. In furthering these aims, the United States will receive the active support and encouragement of Australia. But, authorities point out, in her own limited way, Australia must play her part too. She should offer to operate services that are well within, her province and capacity, and should purchase the necessary from- the i United States without delay. \utjn