RELIABLE BRITISH FIGURES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 225, 21 August 1940, Page 7

RELIABLE BRITISH FIGURES

GAINS OVER NAZI AIR FORCE NEUTRALS REFUTE ENEMY LIES (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph— Copyright.) (British Official Wireless.) Received August 21, 10.5 a.m. RUGBY, Aug. 20. The truth Ms already overtaken the. absurd German falsehoods which have gained temporary currency in certain neutral countries regarding the results of the recent mass German air attacks. The accuracy of the British official reports is' now freely accepted. ' - ’* Mr H. R. Knickerbocker, writing in the Hcarst newspapers, declares: .“The fact is that the R.A.F. reports of the Nazi and British losses are not only as accurate as man can make tlierp, but they understate the advantage the British are gaining over the Germans.” Mr Gault McGowan, in the New York Sun, writes:— “The British reputation for under-statement'.' should,;, not be allowed to becloud our judgment. There is no fear or panic.”

BRITISH MORALE UNSHAKEN. Mr James Macdonald, in the New York 'limes, writes:' “the British reports arc about as correct as it is possible to make them.” . The German propaganda directed to proving to the wond that the air blitzkrieg had broken British morale has failed even more completely. The London correspondent of the Swiss newspaper Basler Nachrichten says: “As an eye-witness, 1 can confirm that the German attempts to undermine the morale and nerves of the British population are futile. Last week enabled a check to be made on tho German broadcasts. (People easily recognise fairy tales. Visiting the London suburbs and southern counties, I saw with my own eyes',’that, everything was normal and work was continuing as usual.” , '

Further confirmation of the accuracy of the British communiques dealing with enemy losses in -recent, raids was provided by a broadcast talk by an Australian, Mr R. W. G. McKay, who has been in England only a week. Mr McKay said that only a few weeks ago he was dismissing with friends in Sydney the threatened invasion of England. He had . also gathered the impression then that the public accepted the figures' of German losses with reserve. V ACCURATELY CHECKED. “I had that idea, too, but now I know they are true,” said Mr McKay. He added that he had been particularly interested to know whether the figures were, exaggerated. An opportunity was afforded him of obtaining first-hand knowledge of the manner in which the losses were compiled by the Air Ministry, and from this he had concluded that the system adopted was most thorough. Previous to the recent large-scale attacks, corroboration ol successes against the enemy was demanded. Such corroboration was hardly possible in the present large-scale raids, but even so the greatest care was taken to ensure accuracy. Thus, when a single pilot reported his successes they were carefully checked. The squadron-leader would, for example, know the locality in which he fought, the disposition of the enemy and whether they were routed. Further, a pilot had ammunition for only about, 20 minutes of fighting, and it would he impossible for him to build up a “cock-and-bull” story. Losses were computed as follows. Those known to have been destroyed; those possibly destroyed; those damaged. Mr McKay added that the Air Ministry published only the first list, namely, those known to have been destroyed. Mr McKay also_ stated that he had had the opportunity to see the numbers and types of enemy pianos destroyed. This had served to confirm further that the British figures were not only accurate, but a great underestimate of the total German losses.