AIR DEFENCE OF U.S.

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26261, 4 November 1950, Page 5

AIR DEFENCE OF U.S.

PACIFIC COAST PRECAUTIONS

JET PLANES HUNT ALL INTRUDERS (By a Reuter Correspondent) SAN FRANCISCO. November 30. United States Air Force units on the Pacific Coast are poised for defence. “We’re not taking any chances on another Pearl Harbour,’’ explained Brigadier-General William H. Morgan, Vice-Commaftder of the Western Air Defence Force with headquarters at a fighter base near San Francisco. He revealed that jet fighters at stations on the Pacific Coast, extending from Canada to Mexico, are now operating according to war-time standards in a combat zone..

Fighters, fully armed, are in the air continually. Aircraft approaching the San Fransisco Bay region and other major Pacific Coast cities arc required to be properly identified or be subject to assertive action—“shooting.” A particularly strong air guard is maintained near the atomic bomb works at Hanford. Washington, and the Los Alamos, New Mexico. Atomic Installation. The Air Force units charged with defence of the Pacific Coast are vitally concerned with the possibility that an attempt may be made with an atomic sneak attack similar to the action with which the Japanese started their war against the United States. Australia and New Zealand by raiding southward toward Singapore and attacking Pearl Harbour on December 7,194 J. For that reason, control and restricted zones have been established the length of the coast and over the atomic bomb production centres. Hunt By Jets Every unidentified aircraft that approaches the coast or factories Is the object of a hunt by two jq| fighters, General Morgan revealed. As only friendly aircraft operating according to flight plans are permitted to be in the ateas. any reported not meeting the requirements of a transit order is considered unidentified and potentially an enemy. “We are making as many as 20 identifications a day in the San Francisco Bay region alone,” General Morgan said. “Each one of these jobs costs us about 1000 dollars but we can't afford to permit any unfriendly aircraft to slip through.” Commercial airline flight crews have in the past been lax about following their flight plans without deviations of less than five minutes in time and within 20 miles of the pre-determined course. General Morgan said. The United States Civil Aeronautics Administration has warned that lax navigation and operation must halt, the General said. “I hope none of them get cute and take evasive action or try to hide behind cloud cover, for we’ll shoot them down,’’ he said. One Intrader A Day The intrusions in the Hanford and Los Alamos areas have averaged one a day, the General said. “We haven’t shot any of them down yet becuse of the public outcry that would result,” he said. Disposition of Air Force Fighter Units indicates that the military planners consider the Pacific northwest the most valuable area from the standpoint of attack and also the most vulnerable. The region, the first stop on a great circle course flight from Russian territory, includes the Boeing Aircraft Company factories (turning out heavy bombers) and the Hanford atomic works. In that region the Air Force has stationed its most efficient jet fighters, capable of operating day or night in al! types of weather. In Southern California, the greatest distance from Russian bases, but including the Los Alamos area and the major aircraft factories, the Air Force has stationed its second line fighters. San Francisco, with its transport and shipping facilities, and a middle distant target, is defended by fighters in the third category of efficiency.

Because of the scarcity of “time and dollars,” the Air Force is maintaining only an “Island” defence of potential Pacific Coast targets. General Morgan said, but plans provide for establishment of a “perimeter” defence. “Dollars are more ituporfant than time,” the General said.