BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 112, 12 May 1923, Page 8

BRITAIN'S AIR FORCE

PERILOUSLY INADEQUATE

.WEAKNESS THAT THREATENS

THE EMPIRE

FRANCE'S OBJECTIVE.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 28th March.

Growing earnestness seems to mark the discussions on our obvious" weakness in air defence. Since the actual position was revealed during the discussion on the Air Estimates there has been a distinct uneasiness, which culminated in the Earl of Birkenhead's speecli in the House of Lords a few days ago. The comparisons he made of oar Air Force with that of the French were '■ rather startling, and though he attributed to the French no designs upon Great Britain, he pointed out that the power of their armaments' must and ■would be felt in all diplomatic negotiations. . "The Daily Express," which, "from the dawn of flight," according to its own allowing, "has not ceased to urge the vital importance of this subject," has taken up- the matter with renewed vigour. The . "Daily Mail" has had' a long and honourable record in the encouragement of: aviation, both civil and military, biit on this occasion its advocacy of the correctness of all things Preach and its policy of curtailment of expenditure overseas had led the journal to hit out in a new direction. In as article headed "The Truth About the Air Scare," there are statements which provide food for thought, whatever the degree of their correctness.

i-'France is building and maintaining lugs numbers of aircraft," it is said, tin view of the threatened development of,air-forces by Germany and Russia, acting either separately or in combination. France is doing, in fact, what Great Britain ought to be doing. There U a great deal of queer German constructional activity beyond the Russian border juat now, and in that direction what is politely known as 'civil aviation' veils some sinister proceedings. The nervous people who fear that some dark night French air squadrons may lay London in ashes do an injustice to our Allies which would be grave if it were not ridiculous. To put the question on I the lowest ground, what would it benefit France, who now confronts the Germans almost single-handed, to strike a foul blow at Britain?" '■'ROYAL GROUND FORCE." "The Mail" maintains that the principal reason why the air defences of London are weak is that the bulk of our fighting squadrons are away defending Bagdad and Jerusalem and Chanak and Mosul." "Before asking for another fifteen squadrons for home defence, the Government should bring back the eighteen squadrons now in the Near and Middle East, in lands which are not ours." . "The official figures aye that at the pre«ent moment we have 371 aeroplanes, for which wo maintain 3071 officers and 27,----499 'airmen,' a large proportion of whom have never risen a foot in the air. Reckoning the relative strength in machines we employ nearly three men to every one employed by the French.. The French Air Force is the most powerful in the world, but relatively it only costs a tithe of our own. It is not disfigured by such pretentdonus titles as 'Marshal of the Air' and 'Air Vice-Marshal,' nor would it stoop to such absurdities as the rank of 'Dental Squadron Leader,' which is again repeated in the latest Air Estimates. A clue to the false position which, has been created for our Royal Ground Force-is traceable in the amount spent on the Air Ministry, which maintains a huge staff at an annual coat of £618,000 to control a net expenditure of £12,000,000."

NO REMEDY FOR UNPREPARED

NESS.

Amongst contributors to "The Daily Express" on the subject os Admiral Mark Kerr. . "The cry that arose from some foreign nations when we increased our Navy," he writes, "did not deter us from making our sea communications safe. Now we have a greater perii, a peril that can come in the night after a. peaceful Kimse.t, and before a desolate dawn. The 3iew power of the air can strike the heart of the Empire and paralyse it ■within a few hours if a.-country within air distance makes .up its mind to hit first and strike home. It is a greater peril than has ever before menaced this country. In all other forms of warfare there has been time to recover from initial reverses by the self-sacrifice of those men who bore the brunt of the enemy's attack/"They have died in thousands to repair the fault of unpreparedness, but in this new warfare, where the enemy starts from his own country, delivers his Wow, and returns to his base, all-with-in a few hours of darkness, there is no chance of staying him while we make up for bur unpreparedness." Captain Wedgwood Benn, M.P., is another who expresses his opinion in "The Mpress." .Captain Benn gained the D.S.Cvand D.XC. for air service during tV? ™a, r- .-" ls to contemplate the beginning of a race in aerial armaments," he says. "Such a policy would be lunacy. We should make every effort to secure an international policy of aerial disarmament, but until that is obtained our object must be an ample air service and an adequate defence. POWER. TO STRIKE FIRST. "There must be an end to Imperialistic adventures. Mesopotamia,. Egypt, Palestine, and Constantinople are monopolisi'ii" air squadrons which should be brought back to England and maintained for home defence.. And defence in the air is no(; a passive flying- over our own borders awaiting a possible enemy, but thepower to-strike first. Every effort must be. made, to. encourage mercantile flying The civil air branch should be to the fighting.service as the Royal Naval Reserve'is'to the Navy. Half the secret oi-a sufficient air arm in times of peril h. es. v .m °UF having properly organised civilian flying services, not only in EmrJand, out. overseas. ' There must be sonTo authority—it may be the Committee of Imperial Defence—who shall have tho power of saying to the older services, the Isavy and the Army, 'So much monoy which has been allocated to you is wanted now for the Air Force ' It is natural that the other'resources will not forego funds without compulsion, and this compulsion'is lacking. Some authority should be in a position to differentiate between the needs of the three seryicos.as.. necessity presents itself. The cost of two capital naval ships would if diverted to the Air Force, provide madunes to place on an equality with I'ranee. The money which the Air Service needs for immediate development could, without much difficulty, be, pruned finm the expenditure of the other services."