AUSTRALIA’S STRENGTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 5 June 1942, Page 5

AUSTRALIA’S STRENGTH

MR. CURTIN’S REVIEW CONFIDENCE IN OUTCOME (N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent) SYDNEY, June 4. “I publicly acknowledge the wholehearted manner in which General MacArthur is co-operating with the Government, and I have no doubt that he is equally appreciative of the way in which this Government is working with him,” said the Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, in reviewing the war generally. Mr. Curtin said: “The Allied air attacks on the enemy s advanced bases in the north have established a sufficient superiority to deny their use to the Japanese as a safe place for a more southward move. The enemy air attacks on the Australian outposts have been costly to him, and the air fighting has shown a definite balance in Australia’s favour. Our land forces have grown daily stronger, better trained, and more fully equipped. “On the industrial front, the production of munitions and supplies is steadily progressing towards the peak of our capacity as new factories come into production. The prototype of a new class of aircraft recently did its initial trials satisfactorily, and the range as well as the volume of our production is being extended as rapidly as possible. “There is a rising spirit of aggression among the Allied Nations. It is based on the growing strength of the Allied arms.” Mr. Curtain stated that the Australian Government had taken an active part in urging activity in Madagascar, and the Government was pleased Britain had forestalled the enemy.

DR. EVATT’S RETURN

WASHINGTON, June 3

The Australian Minister for External Affairs (Dr. Evatt), who is on his way back from London, answering questions, said he did not doubt the outcome of the war. in view of potential Allied production, but this potential must be realised. There must not be complacency. Dr. Evatt said there was an Australian force, under Lieutenant-Col-onel A. S. Blackburn, believed _ still to be operating in Java in the vicinity of Bandoeng. Dr. Evatt said he would be returning relatively soon to Australia. MR BRUCKS^NEW POST.

CANBERRA, June 4. Unique appointments announced by Mr Curtin followed Dr. Evatt s visit to London. They are those ol Mr Bruce as Australian represemafive on the British War Cabinet and Pacific War Council at Washington. Mr Curtin added: Probably the greatest service Dr. Evatt has rendered was in the winning of a sympathetic understanding, for the Australian viewpoint in Washington and London. Any traces of a misunderstanding have now completely disappeared. Dr. Evatt also, has received promises of material aid, a practical gesture of great signincance. RABAUL AGAIN BOMBED. CANBERRA, June 4. A communique, as follows, was issued from General Headquarters today. . Noon: In one sector of New Britain and Rabaul, our Air Force attacked at dawn, starting large fires in the wharf and military area.

MORE AIRCRAFT NEEDED

SYDNEY, June 4

“In spite of the unquestioned success we have achieved in pinning the enemy down to the bases he already holds in New Britain and New Guinea it would be unwise and dangerous to close our eyes to certain factors in the situation,” says the war correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald.” “A stage has been reached at which some earlier overoptimistic conclusions must be revised.

“Until the flow of American aircraft to Australia becomes far greater it will be futile to think in terms of launching, much less of sustaining a large-scale aerial offensive against the Japanese north of Australia. Moreover, some types of American fighter aircraft are unsuitable for carrying out long-range bomber escort duty. There is no question about the superiority of the Japanese Zero fighters in operations of that character. It is true that we are maintaining a three to one advantage over the enemy in losses on the ground and in the air. It is also true that we have continued to hammer the enemy wherever he has tried to establish himself, but it would be well for the people to realise that something more is required before the situation can be regarded with any degree of complacency. “The question of ensuring adequate reserves of aircraft is now of first rate importance. Lord Trenchard estimated the number of reserves necessary as being in the ratio of four in reserve to one in the fighting line. Our operations against the Japanese are proving this to be correct. “The fact is that in Australia at present we do not possess a fighter capable of meeting the Japanese fighters on equal terms as far as range is concerned. In fire power the latest Allied machines are superior to the enemy’s. Many of our losses have occurred because the pilots of fighter aircraft engaged on escort duty have had to fight longer than they wanted to, with the result that they have not had sufficient fuel for the journey home. “In spite of this drawback we are continuing operations against enemy bases in the hope of demoralising the Japanese and making those bases untenable. In these raids American and Australian airmen are doing a magnificent job. and are working together with the utmost cordiality and efficiency." .

COMPARATIVE STRENGTHS

(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent)

(Rec. 10.20 a.m.) SYDNEY, June 5. Men who have had to fight in the air war against the Japanese have been the first to emphasise both the skill of the Japanese pilots and the high performance of their aircraft. No Pood can be achieved by failure to reveal to the public that plane for plane is needed if we are to retain and extend our air superiority in the south-west Pacific. Moreover, our planes must be the latest and best tvpes. The need for rapid and substantial air reinforcements in Australia has been widely stressed by Government Ministers and military experts. Replacemani capacity is the key to all war success. Though the Allied air forces still score a favourable ratio of combat victories over the Japanese, there has never been any evidence that the enemy is unable to replace his losses, that he is short of aircraft, or that he is unwilling to employ them. Allied operations have been hampered for lack of long-range fighters. The newest Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros can fly 1400 miles. The only Allied fighter with a range comparable with the Zero is the deadly British Beaufighter. American Tomahawks, Kittyhawks, and the newer Airacobra form the basis of Australia’s fighter plane strength. The Japanese "Zero is reckoned as their superior in ceiling and manoeuvrability,

as well as range. However, our planes are perhaps faster, and are certainly more heavily gunned than the Zeros. “The essential value of aerial operations lies in their offensive character,” says a “Sydney Herald” commentator. “We cannot pass from the defensive to the offensive until aircraft reinforcements arrive in much greater quantities than is the case at present. Long-range fighters to protect our bombers are the prime need. An American pilot who has had experience against the Japanese since the outbreak of war in the Philippines gives your correspondent his opinion that the Allies must build a new type of plane to match the Zero. Our fighters to-day are built for the primary purpose of destroying bombers. He says that the Japanese have sacrificed armour and armament to give the Zero range, ceiling, and manoeuvrability. We need a fighter built to destroy fighters —and I don’t doubt we will build one. Allied fighter pilots in all theatres have agreed that the Zeros cannot stand up to punishment, but their manoeuvrability makes them extremely difficult targets. Whether the latest Spitfires could defeat the Zeros is a much-debated point among Allied pilots. The opinion is given that, while the Spitfire would be superior under European conditions, it is doubtful if this superority would be maintained in tropic humidity.” Meanwhile, the initiative in the south-west Pacific war stays with the Allies, but the probability of an all-out enemy air offensive is generally stressed. Plane reinforcements continue to arrive, including new high-speed American bombers and fighters, but it is widely argued that the flow must be quickened if Australia is speedily to achieve a safely margin. Two hundred modern planes in the air would almost certainly have saved Singapore, and a similar force would probably have made possible a continuance of the fight in Burma, says the “Sydney Herald’s” war correspondent in India, commenting upon the Indian reaction to the great British bombing raids on Germany. Australia has a very natural desire to avoid the tedious repetition of the epitaph, “Too little and too late.” HUGE EXPENDITURE. (Rec. 2 p.m.) SYDNEY, June 5. In 1942/3, the war will probably cost Australia more than four hundred million pounds—£l,o9s,ooo a day. The magnitude of this sum can be grasped from the fact that to raise it, every man, woman and child in Australia would need to set aside about 3/11 every day of the year. These figures are based on figures given by the Federal Treasurer (Mr. Chieflev) in a liberty loan broadcast, and emphasise his insistence that Australia “must doggedly keep at the task of ensuring that the Government is supplied with the necessary funds for the war.”

Mr. Chiefley said: Our total expenditure in 1941/42 will be about three hundred million for war purposes, and one hundred million for civilian purposes. “By the end of this month, the war will have cost Australia, in monev, since the outbreak, about 525 million pounds. Of this, 253 million had been found by way of public loans, interest free loans, and subscriptions to war savings certificates. Two hundred million will come from revenue, and the balance of seventytwo million by way of temporary loan from the Commonwealth Bank. With non-war production being heavily curtailed, our dependence on credit extension is strictly limited. The Government therefore places increasing reliance upon the willingness of the people to subscribe fully to the loans which will require to be floated in the next 12 months.”