The Air Arm’s Superiority

Northern Advocate, 11 June 1942, Page 2

The Air Arm’s Superiority

WHILE there is ample evidence of the destructiveness of the submarine as an instrument of war—our cable messages today. report attacks by underwater craft at widely separated points—there seems to be a consensus of opinion that the air arm possesses overwhelming power in sea warfare. The New York “Herald-Tribune” declares editorially that the Midway Battle provides another overwhelming confirmation of this fact, and at the same time demonstrates the relatively uselessness of heavy battleships in a first line attack. The paper points to the sinking of the Bismarck, the Prince of Wales and the Repulse, and the neutralisation of the Tirpitz, and goes on to say that clearly air supremacy has become an absolutely critical tactoi in sea warfare as well as in land warfare. It is-therefore argued that the terrific destruction wrought upon the Japanese carrier fleet is far more important than the damage the Japanese did to the United States battle line at Pearl Harbour. Next to sea-based planes, land-based planes are definitely the targets of the United Nations. The destruction of eight Japanese Zero planes and the serious damage done to fqur others off the coast of New Guinea, when read in conjunction with the Allied successes in the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, are hip’hly encouraging. There is little doubt that both America and Britain have_ been increasing their carrier strength very considerably and it is possible that already they hold supremacy in carrier strength m the Pacific. If they do not, they will when the United States huge building programme is in full swing. Then Japan will be presented with an insoluble problem.