AERIAL BLACKMAIL

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 94, 22 April 1935, Page 6

AERIAL BLACKMAIL

A LONDON PEEIL

GRAVE WARNINGS

That the young men of Britain are keenly appreciative of the growing danger which is overshadowing the peace of the country was demonstrated in striking fashion by the remarkably successful meeting of the National League of Airmen held recently, states the "Daily Mail." I The hall was so full that many people stood at the back throughout the meeting anxious to hear what expert airmen had to tell them of the perils of Britain's defenceless situation. More than three-quarters of the audience were young men under thirty, and they listened intently as the chairman, the Marquess of Donegall, said:— "At present Great Britain is in great danger. Our statesmen are too slow, They are thinking too much about other things and are not doing anything to protect us. "PROTECT YOUR HOMES.'' "It is the object of the National League of Airmen to wake up the people of Britain'and to get them to help—in their own interests—to. protect the women, children, and homes of this country." Dr. Arthur Fisher, official photographer of the Houston-Everest expedition, spoke of the use of infra-red photography for observation from the air, and said the. value of this .branch of photography as a 1 means of reconnaissance in warfare was limitless. No expense should be spared to develop it along those lines. "We must become. air-minded," he added. Colonel H. W. Hill, D.5.0., who for some years commanded half of London's anti-aircraft defences, in a speech which literally startled the audience, said: — "The Air Minister of the time said in 1926, 'Whereas in the last war 300 tons of bombs were dropped in Britain, there are air forces today which could j drop the same amount in 24 hours and continue at the same scale of attack

indefinitely. { "During the last war 30 tons of bombs were dropped on London alone, causing 2500 casualties. A, simple calculation will show that if 300, tons are dropped daily, 25,000 casualties will result in each raid. ' . . • "In addition, four or five times more casualties than that number would probably be caused by the panic which would inevitably follow.

WORLD'S BEST TARGET. "And you must realise that this figure of b.omb-dropping was given in 1926. Perhaps there are enemy air forces which can do better than that now.

"London is on the danger list. If a foreign Power has an ■ overwhejming air force, we ban be blackmailed to any extent. s. . "A foreign Power could issue an ultimatum saying that it-would bomb London out of existence unless we relieved it of its tariffs and made other concessions. "If a strong foreign air Power struck us in the solar plexus, we would merely be able to stamp on their shins. That is what our reprisals would amount to." Air Commodore P. F. M. Fellowes, leader of the Houston-Everest expedition, said: "England has a magnificent Navy, a magnificent Army—and an Air Force. "The latter is much too small, ana without sufficient strength in the air our Navy and Army would be quite useless. We are probably the most vulnerable country in the world—the,most tempting target for another nation to attack. . . .. "The apathy with regard to the air is an evil growth, and if it is not cured it will get worse and we shall eventualy rue the day." .■ Captain Norman Macmillan, president of the league, who, like the other speakers, had a very enthusiastic reception, said:— • "There are bombing aeroplanes m Continental countries which can reach a speed of 237 miles an hour. Our fast est fighting machines can only reacft 230 miles an hour, and of those we have only one squadron. "The league says that this, is n©t good enough." ■ , Many questions were asked and answered, and afterwards a numberof people enrolled as-members.