BRITAIN'S AIR ARM

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 24, 28 July 1939, Page 6

BRITAIN'S AIR ARM

SOMETHING TO FEAR

ITS RAPID EXPANSION

NOTE OF CONFIDENCE

(By Air Mail, from "The Post's"

London Representative.)

LONDON, July 6,

Primary importance of attack in aerial warfare was emphasised by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Viscount Trenchard, Chief of Air Staff from 1918-1929, when he spoke at the opening of the new Central Scotland airport, Grangemouth.

"I look back," he said, "to the day when Britain had the greatest air force in the world—more than 300,000 officers and men towards the end of 1918 ... We now see the service gradually regaining the strength it had then. A type of pilot and man is coming forward second to none in the world.

"This country must be the terror of all aggressors. It is my firm belief that we must be strong with the attacking.: weapon and not place too mucb> reliance on the defending weapon. If we rely on defensive measures, only for the protection of this country the enemy will' always be round choosing foggy days, dark days and bad weather to paralyse the life of the nation. But if we can attack the enemy's goal harder we.can draw back some of the attackers in order to defend their goal. I by no means want to do away with the defences, but I do say that the greater proportion of our strength and our resources should be devoted to that weapon which will win a war." A BALANCED FORCE Sir Kingsley Wood, speaking almost simultaneously, declared that the Air Ministry was building a "balanced force," not only with aircraft for defensive purposes, but with due regard to what is equally necessary—the counter-offensive."

The Royal Air Force expansion programme "provides for substantial increases in first-line strength both at Home and abroad," he said. "In addition to augmenting the number of squadrons, the establishment, or firstline strength, of individual squadrons is being considerably increased." The Air Minister added that the effect of expansion was not assessable in firstline strength alone; also to be taken into account were the strengthening of the reserves, the broadening of the basis of production, and, in general terms, the organisation of the entire Force in a manner which would make possible sustained and formidable operations in war.

Sir Kingsley repeated his recent statement that the country was spending nearly £2,000,000 a week on aircraft. He said that the aircraft firms had become, with others of our big industrial organisations which had recently been enlisted, a great industry whose output today—and here camel a characteristically English under- \ statement —"had already reached con-' siderable proportions." Few would guess from those words at the magnitude of Britain's present output of fully-equipped, warplanes, which has more than quadrupled since the early months of 1938, actually doubled between January and May this year, and is still "showing a marked upward trend." THE WOMEN'S PART Women will serve in war-time withj the Royal Air Force- as cooks, messi orderlies, equipment assistants, drivers, i clerks, and fabric workers.

A new service called the Women's Auxiliary Air Force will have a special uniform of Royal Air Force blue. It will be directed at the Air Ministry by Miss J. Trefusis Forbes, formerly an officer in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. Each company will be associated with a flying squadron, or balloon squadron of the Auxiliary Air Force or, in districts where such units do not exist, to Royal Air Force squadrons. '