GROWING POWER

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 135, 10 June 1942, Page 5

GROWING POWER

ALLIED AIR FORCE IN PACIFIC

(0.C.) SYDNEY. June 3. A high officer of the United States Air Corps at General Headquarters has revealed that 16 types of American aircraft are now being used against the Japanese in the South-wesf Pacific The exact types could not be disclosed, he said, but they ranged from fighters to heavy and medium bombers, and included transport and observa-* tion aircraft —"the nucleus of a wellbalanced striking force." These planes, he said, were being used from Australian aerodromes and other points in the area under General- Mac Arthur's command. The officer emphasised that, while aircraft now in the Allied sphere of operations in the South-west Pacific had reached a material figure, the strength of the air arm could be judged only on the relative strength of the enemy. For that reason, the giving of a mere total would not present a true appraisal of the position. American authorities claim toat some of the fighter planes that have come to Australia give better performance than similar types used by the Japanese. At the same time, they do not underestimate the enemy's capacity or his equipment. There has been considerable progress in the construction of aerodromes and land installations, and the organisation of ground crews has been advancedReports that have reached the Air Command bear out the statement which Mr. McEwen, a member of the War Council, made after his visit to northern bases that the morale of the Allied airmen is high.