INTERNED PLANES

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 78, 1 June 1943, Page 6

INTERNED PLANES

NO NEUTRAL TERRITORY IXTERNATIOXAL CUSTOM Any ship of a belligerent nation, whether it be a merchant vessel or a man-of-war, is legally privileged to enter a neutral harbour and remain there lor a certain length of time to take shelter from a storm or for essential repairs. But the civil and military aeroplanes of a nation at war do not enjoy this liberty. In view of changing conditions and recent incidents involving aeroplanes, possibly the rules governing neutrals and air warfare need re-examining, states a writer in the “Christian Science Monitor/’ Some of General Doolittle’s planes, landing in Siberia after the Tokio raid, were interned. Early this year severe storms forced eleven Airacobra P-39 fighter planes, en route to North Africa, to land in Portugal, and the machines were interned by the Portuguese authorities. Anti-aircraft batteries in Spanish Morocco have opened up against United States planes that have crossed that territory. The practice of barring military aircraft from landing or crossing neutral territory goes back to the precedent established during the first World War. At that time the neutral nations individually decided that although they would permit belligerent ships to enter their harbour, they would not grant military aircraft the right to land on their territory or liy across their borders. It was the consensus of neutral nations that if belligerent planes were permitted to cross their territories, too great a possibility existed that two opposing aircraft might engage in battle and crash on neutral land, causing a great deal of damage. CIVIL TRANSPORT Neutrals decided that they wanted to know the routes of foreign planes before permitting them to fly over their lands. This enabled them to grant franchises to the aeroplane companies of belligerent nations to have their civilian transport planes land at neutral aerodromes after having followed a prescribed route. At Portugal’s Cintra airport, German, British, and Italian planes, their national flags prominently displayed, daily land side by side, and this practice has never given rise to any difficulty. Not only are belligerent aircraft forbidden to land in countries at peace, but precedent established during the first World War provides that the neutral nation may become a belligerent in order to force a foreign plane to land. Reports, therefore, are frequently received that the anti-aircraft guns of Switzerland, Spain, or Turkey have gone into action against “unidentified aircraft.” It is, of course, true that planes sometimes attempt to save time en route to an objective by flying over non-belligerent territory, but more often than not the planes have lost their way or have to effect a landing due to force majeure. Forced landings, due to distress, do not alter the situation, however, and planes and aviators are usually interned. PRESERVATION OF SECRETS In addition to the plane and crew, passengers and freight are also interned. The plane and its : nstruments are supposed to be kept .in a safe are supposed to be kept in a safe place, free from the spies of any Government, until the end of the war. The nation that owns the plane must pay all expenses incurred by the neutral in connection with the matter. Aviators however, are not always certain that the interning nation will prevent important papers and inventions falling into hostile hands, and they usually attempt to destroy their machines. When the American planes landed in Portugal, one pilot attempted to demolish his ship by hurling a hand grenade against <t, and he acted within his rights in accordance with international law. It is interesting to note that a rule of land warfare provides that land troops are exempt from internment after entering a neutral nation, if they can prove that they did so in error. This rule, however, was not included in the Air Warfare Rules drawn up at The Hague in 1923. Aeroplane carriers, loaded with planes, are permitted to enter neutral ports and the planes are free from internment as long as they remain on the ship. In the case of a plane carrier, it is felt that the planes are a part of the ship, just as a cruiser carries one or two aircraft for scouting purposes. Authorities seem to agree, however, that a seaplane that lands in the water and taxies into a harbour is subject .to internment together with its crew. Even aviators of a belligerent nation who are picked up at sea and landed on a neutral shore are likely to be interned. The laws governing the attitude of a neutral towards foreign military planes and warships are brsed on custom, for the Air Warfare Rules were never finally adopted, and each country interprets precedent as it sees fit.