AIR DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 84, 8 April 1936, Page 9

AIR DEFENCE

AUSTRALIAN ORDERS'

PROGRAMME UNDER WAX

(From "The; Post's" Representative.)

SYDNEY, April 1. )

. Australia is looking at her defences She'has almost completed a second. year of a three years programme, and another three years programme is being prepared to begin in July, 1937, This may cost considerably more'than the £20,000,000 which is being spent on the current programme. The Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons) said recently that this extra expenditure' ort defence was preventing a reduction oi the heavy Federal taxation.

Large additions to the Air Force have been approved, and in the last year orders have been placed iv Great Britain for additional fighting mai chines at a cost of about £1,067,000, These will include 33 Avro-Anson! twin-engine bombers, to form thq nucleus of a reconnaissance squadron, which will be stationed at various depots throughout Australia. Tha new, machines will also be used io> form a, complete new army co-opera-tion squadron, a fleet co-operatioxt squadron/ and a squadron for co-opera-tion with coast defences. The total number-of machines ordered is being kept a: close.: secret, as it is consid* ered that >in the interests of the coun* try the exact figures should not be disclosed. . ■'

: Although considerable delay • ha^ been caused by the rapid programme; of expansion embarked on.by the British Government, it is hoped that thS first of the Australian orders will ba delivered before the end of the year. Delivery, of some of the1 machines is already overdue, and it is feared theyj will, not all arrive in Australia for at) least eighteen months. The' possi4 bility of establishing an aircraft manu-« factoring industry in Australia is no\vf being investigated, but it could not bej made productive in time to .remedy] the temporary deficiency in the ae'ria^ arm of the'defence.' The fost of thet new aeroplanes is included in the( amount of about £7,000,000 which is* being spent this financial year on .de-< fence purposes.

.The Ayro-Arisons. are intended fot( defence against coastal raids. ' They}; will carry a crew of three, and have* a full-load range of 760 miles.' They; have a cruising speed of 160 miles aid hour, and a maximum speed of ISBJ miles an hour. Fitted ■ with twq machine-guns—one of them mounted! in a rotating turret—the, aeroplanes! can carry two 1001b bombs in the) wings and four 201b bombs in the fuse-* lage. The Cabinet has ordered thenn< in anticipation of Parliament adopting the Estimates which will be contained] in the 1936-37 Budget to be submitted} next September. It was decided that} because of the delay of British fac* tories in fulfilling orders as a result ofl the greatly-increased expansion oi? the Royal Air Force, Australia's require-* ments should be cabled immediately* so that the machines would arriv«j here according to schedule.

The establishment of' reconnaissance squadrons of land aeroplanes is a de-< parture from the recommendations inj_ the report made in 1928 to the Com-, monwealth Government by Air-Mar-shal Sir John Salmorid. He recom* mended the provision of four units, each of four flying-boats, but the Air? Board considered these numbers wera not sufficient to cover the area o-ve* which it would be necessary to reconnoitre for the. protection, of shipping. To complete Sir John Salmond's .reconnaissance plan, purchase of thre* Squadrons, in. addition to the thirtythree aeroplanes now. on order, will have to be financed in the following} years. ___■_' ' •