SINGAPORE IS READY

Evening Star, Issue 23817, 22 February 1941, Page 9

SINGAPORE IS READY

LAND, AiR, AND SEA POWER EMPIRE TROOPS During the last six months I he defences ul Singapore amt .Ualaya June been greatly strengthened by reinloreements from the liitliau Army, Australia, and .New Zealand, and by mechanised equipment (writes the Singapore correspondent of the Sydney ' Morning Herald’ on February tij. The sea approaches to Singapore bristle with giant coastal guns wnich can unt-rango any capital ship afloat, mobile artillery to annihilate lauding parties before they reach the shore, scores of pill-boxes of machine-guns to sweep; the barbed wire beach traps, and anti-aircraft batteries to keep aircraft at a height which would make bombing inaccurate. There are concrete machine-gun prillboxes in Bailies Square—tlie Martin Place of Singapore—at traffic intersections, and round tho municipal airport. Barbed wire stretches in front of the famous Bea View Hotel, whose swimming pool has been demolished, like other structures on the foreshores, to give the gun crews unrestricted vision. On both sides of this hotel are maehineguu pill-boxes ivhich are dashed with spray at high tide. Because of recent developments in Indo-Ohina and Thailand, the back-door defences of Singapore have been strengthened with large troop and Air Force reinforcements. Tho Cominandor-iu-Chicf in the Far Fast, Air Chief-Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham, at present visiting Australia, is generally 1 credited with welding tho three services within what is considered to bo an impregnable fortress. From it formidable aid can come to neighbouring Empire units or to an ally who is attacked. THE MEN BEHIND THE ARMS. Tho war lias made Singapore the melting-pot of the Fmphrc. On this small island are troops from all corners of the British Empire—Highland regiments, English regiments of the line, Sepoys, Sikhs, Punjabis, the new Anzaes, and Malay forces. In jungle fighting the Malays should bo unexcelled. Many of them have lived in tho jungle all their lives. When they take cover they merge almost completely with the scrub. If the security of Singapore/is over threatened, the artillery' and anti-air-craft regiments will doubtless pda.v a prominent part. They are furnished with the most modern equipment, and are trained to the pitch of perfection for which British artillery units are noted. Perhaps the, most spectacular of all Indian regiments is an Indian mountain battery. The men of this unit are Sikhs anil Punjabis. Many of them are more than 6ft tall, and they handle giant howitzers with ridiculous ease. Apart from the barbed-wire round the beaches and the big guns and pillboxes at every strategic point, which all can see, there are constantly manned heavy batteries, searchlight positions, and other anti-aircraft and sea defences whose whereabouts cannot be disclosed. Tho strength of the array is supported by numerous squadrons of the R.A.F. and the R.A.A.E., and the groat poten-

tial power of the naval base and patrol vessels. R.A.F. PREPARES. I visited an R.A.F. station “ somewhere in Malaya.” Its workshops, hangars, power-houses, and barrack blocks are scattered over a large area, so that they are not vulnerable to air attack, but they are accessible to each other. Every building is specially protected against air attack, and all important points are considered proof against a direct hit by a heavy bomb. Every part of the station has an airraid shelter for personnel. The torpedo section of the R.A.F. station was interesting. It is one of the many responsible for maintaining, repairing, and storing the hundreds of torpedoes required by the squadrons of torpedo bombers operating from bases throughout Malaya. These aircraft are flown by men from all parts of the Empire. If used against an enemy fleet or transports moving to attack any British or Allied possessions in the Far East, they would prove to be one of the most deadly striking forces with which the attackers would have to contend. The workshop equipment includes facilities for the complete overhaul ami repair of tho largest and most modern types of aircraft. In those workshops all metal main planes, fuselages, aircraft instruments, aero engines, and can be repaired. Hundreds of skilled men are employed. Some technical work is carried out by the Asiatic Technical Corps under the supervision of R.A.F. personnel. Experienced R.A.F. technical officers apeak highly of tho skill of these Asiatic mechanics, and say that they compare favourably with R.A.F. tradesmen. Some of 'the Asiatics have been appointed sergeants. MALAYS IN NAVY. The newest unit of the Empire’s Elect, the Royal Malayan Navy, has developed efficiently. About 600 men have already passed through the training depot, H.M.S. Polamiok, and several hundred more are undergoing a three months’ course. The training of tho Malays has shown that they rapidly develop qualities of leadership. Several have qualified as leading hands, and the first two Malay petty officers were appointed recently. Many of the ships patrolling the Malayan coast are wholly or partly manned by Malays who a year ago had never thought of a seafaring career. The naval base is more efficient and better equipped than when I visited it six months ago. The function of the base is to ensure that units of the fleet or fleets, and the largest warship afloat or likely to be built during tho next 10 years, will be as much at homo at Singapore as at Devonport, Portsmouth, or Scapa Flow. It is officially stated that the Admiralty harbour extends all tho way from the Johore Causeway down the Straits to Changi Point, and includes the mouth of tho Johore River, which is protected by the islands of Palau Tekong and Pulai Übin. “Altogether,” it is stated, “ there is over 20 square miles of deep water anchorage, more than enough to accommodate the entire British Fleet.” In tho armament depot arc magazines holding stocks of all typos of naval shells, mines, and torpedoes.

These magazines are modern, and designed to withstand a direct hit by a heavy bomb. To handle naval stores there are more than 17 miles of railway, _ and many locomotives, cranes, trucks, lighters, and motor vehicles. The workshops beside the graving dock are equipped with the latest types of machinery, and can make apy naval repair. One crane can lift the largest gun or boiler from a warship. High-power wireless stations ensure the maintenance of naval communications around the world. All tho naval buildings are constructed to give the maximum safety against air attack. If high-explosive bombs fell in the base the damage from living splinters would be negligible. Vital points arc proof against even direct hits. Thousands of Asiatic artisans work in the buildings under European engineers. Malay syces, Chinese tukans, Tamils, and Sikh policemen are working together in a common cause.