AIR WARFARE

Grey River Argus, 20 March 1940, Page 7

AIR WARFARE

GERMAN CLAIMS Becoming a Joke [Aus & N.Z. Cable Assn.] BERLIN, March IS. The gh Command says that the Air Force reconnoitred England ana ? France, attacked armed merchant--3 men, and sank an outpost boat. SCAPA RAID. - ' ENEMY’S CLAIM RIDICULED. (Received March 19, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, March 18. The interest caused by the German > High Command’s claims to successes 1 in last Saturday evening’s Scapa Flow . raid is deepening into amusement, I after a reported broadcast by the . commander of the Nazi raiders, Major ; Albert Doensch, who is said to have . claimed that his force made “direct , hits, with larger bombs on the “Hood,” “Repulse” and “Renown.” Although this is the first time that ! the Germans claim to have damaged , the “Renown,” the “Hood”, according to their former claims, must have been too much damaged by previous successful Nazi assaults to be sea- . worthy yet; while the “Repulse” has been almost perpetually included as “severely damaged” whenever the Nazi propagandists have considered the time ripe for a little heartening news. The wide divergence of the German claims from the actual facts is thought to lend colour to a suggestion from neutral countries that the raid was specially ordered by Herr Hitler in an endeavour to impress Signor Mussolini with the superiority of the German Air Force. CHRISTCHURCH MAN KILLED. LONDON. March 18. Pilot Officer Arthur James Skidmore of Christchurch, was killed on active, service. ACCIDENT RATIO. LONDON, March IS. It is revealed that there has bee.i no increase in the ratio of R.A.F. accidents during f//ing hours since the outbreak of the war despite high- | pressure training and the increased , number of aerodromes, at which there ; is greater congestion. SALE OF U.S. PLANES. NEGOTIATIONS WITH ALLIES. WASHINGTON, March 18. Mr Morgenthau (Treasurer) denied that; the Allies had suspended negotiations for war planes. The Acting-Secretary of the Navy : (Mr Edison), in a letter to Mr Vin- i son, said that the sale of aircraft to . the Allies did not interfere with the Navy’s procurement. On the contrary, it tended to reduce costs, and to ex- ; pedite deliveries for export. Manu- ’ facture was valuable economically and from the point of view of nation- ■ al defence. Enlarged plants would in- < sure the execution of future United States programmes.