Dramatic Parade of The Soviet Army

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 114, 17 May 1939, Page 9

Dramatic Parade of The Soviet Army

MANY ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS MOSCOW, May 5. The outstanding conclusion of spectators of Russia’s impressive May Day parade was that infantry conscripts marched as smartly as those in 1937, before the purge of the Red Army began. It was one of the most dramatic parades ever held. Infantry, cavalry, cadets, bluejackets and various kinds of artillery anil tanks took part, and 600 warplanes roared over Red Square. M. Stalin, standing on the roof of Lenin’s tomb, took the salute. German, Italian and Japanese military attaches attended. Rank and File Impressive The Commissar for Defence, Marshal Voroshiloff, reviewed the Moscow garrison in the grand Napoleonic manner He cantered along in front of the troops marshalled in the vast Red Square, and smartly reined in a light chestnut charger to hail each unit. Then he picturesquely galloped off to Lenin’s tomb as if winning a race. The conscripts marched as well as the sailors, who are always good, and the Military School cadets. In fact, the rank and file impressed some observers more than the officers. The feature of the parade was not the new types of equipment shown to the public, but the large number of anti-aircraft guns. The heavy motorised artillery was particularly noted. Old, but Efficient A most interesting ract aDoufc the aeroplanes was that 81 heavy all-metal twin-engined low-winged monoplanes of the CKB 26 type were paraded. This represents five times as many bombers as appeared in the grand parade last November on the 21st anniversary of the Revolution. The cfeß 26 ia much the same a* the machine which has just flown non-stop from Moscow to Canada, by way of Iceland and Greenland. By British standards, it is not a very fast bomber, with a speed approximately of 215 miles an hour, but is regarded as a most useful type. Nearly all the aeroplanes were old, but of efficient, highly-manoeuvrable types, which has been shpwu by their general usefulness in practice in recent years. They have been in mass production in Russia for several years.