SKILL AND COURAGE

Manawatu Standard, Volume LXI, Issue 267, 13 October 1941, Page 6

SKILL AND COURAGE

ADMIRATION FOR RUSSIANS. (Rec. 12.30 p.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 12. ‘‘He is short of stature. Well dressed —very well dressed —there is nothing slovenly about him.” This description ol M. Stalin was given by Lord Beaverbrook in his address to-night. “The Russians have most skilfully developed two new types of aircraft,” said the iMinister. “One is the *1.1.G. 3 tighter, which corresponds in excellence ot design and performance to our Hurricanes and Spitfires. Just as these machines are superior to the German fighters in the West, so the Messerschmitts on the Eastern Front met their match in the M.I.G. 3's. “There is another new type. It is the Stormovik dive-bomber. Heavily armoured, this aircraft has proved an outstanding success in attacking troop concentrations and breaking up enemy formations.

“Colonel Lyon—of the American air force—tells of the decision to construct an airfield lor the reception of the British and American aircraft we have been sending to Russia. A forest was cleared, a swamp was drained, and a road was driven. Two long and wide runways were constructed, yet that field was completed within 30 days. “Now, you may ask, can the Russians use to the best advantage the weapons made for them at home and abroad, in Britain and the United States? Yes I Their pilots are of the very best—just as much experienced as any pilots anywhere. And the mechanics who service their aircraft compare in all respects with the mechanics of Britain and the United States. Indeed, the Russians have a

genius for mechanisation. “The Russian Prime Minister knows the people of Britain will see this job through. He knows they mean to fight to a conclusion, to carry on till victory is won. And it is my belief that the people of Russia are possessed of the same determination. They bear at present the full brunt of the fire and burden of the enemy’s attack, and their courage and determination in the face of adversity, their abiding faith in Russia, their love of country which prompts them to destroy their heritage rather than let it fall into the hands of the barbarian invader have commanded the mounting admiration alike of the Old World and the New.” Lord Beaverbrook concluded with the pledge: “We will forgo food from abroad if ships are needed for Russia. We will give up all our pleasure if munitions are required to defend their cities. We will endure the shadows with them, and the sunshine we will share with them. Stalin must be sustained and the Soviet Union must be enabled to enter the spring campaign with adequate supplies oi all munitions of war.” ,

Sec “Delivering the Goods.” —Page