CONQUEST OF THE AIR

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIV, 12 January 1921, Page 8

CONQUEST OF THE AIR

The'most intersting features of the final sittings of the Air Conference at the Guildhall, London,were expert glimpses of what a futurfe war will mean to civilians and Germany's plans for an airship service to America. Air-Marshal Sir H. M. Trenchard., dealing with war tactics, said that bombing to be effective must be continuous, and it was from the accumulative moral effect of attacks carried out day after day for a week* or ten days that the best results might be expected. Sir W- Joynson-Hicks drew a lurid picture of future warfare. The aeroplane would be the longrange auillery, and war in the air would be won by the longrange fast flying artillery scouting machine, guarding the long-range bombing machine, which would be able- to orop almost from an invisible heaven vast masses of explosives The first people who would suffer in the next war would be the civilians rather than the armies. Vast armies of aeroplanes would dash over into the enemy’s country, and the first attack would be on some of the great cities, in order to destroy their moral almost before the War began. Sir Tre\or Dawson, vice-chair-man of Vickers, Ltd/, described w hat was Hung done in the development of commercial airships. If w r as on the world's ocean routes that the airship wmuld have its great opportunity, particularly f.,r direct communication between Europe and America, South* Africa India, Australia, and the East. _ There, would be no difficulty in obtaining the necessary support for running a weekly or bi-weekly passenger service from Europe to South Africa, India, Australia, or South Africa once the reliability and saying l of time had been, practically demonstrated, i yigid airship of at least four: million cubic feci gas capacity 1 would be re<iaired, winch ■would enable suitable provision being l made for carrying’ about : (JO passengers. The largest ,'h'ship yet built \vas not much two million cubic feet. Germanywith her unparallled experience in’ airship conUnotion,, was in a position to : ahead’. A recent report, rom Berlin stated that the -jcppelin Cpmpany was contem--jating building airship liters a the United States, so as to vade the prohibition of the Aims. The scheme was to build wo super-Zeppelins for use in Teight and passenger services letween Berlin and San Fran;isco, calling. at Paris, New fork, and Chicago, the scheTiled time for the entire trip Tom Berlin San Francihco o be less than four days. It was understood that the airships would he, capable of carrying’ loads of 30 tons.