BRITISH AIR POLICY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 20088, 27 October 1928, Page 13

BRITISH AIR POLICY.

ADDRESS BY MINISTER. DEFENCE OF BRITAIN. NEED FOR STRONG FORCE. [AIRSHIPS AND DOMINIONS. RAPID PROGRESS MADE. By Teleßinph—•Press Association—Copyright. British Wireless. RUGB\. Oct. '25. Tho Secretary of State for Air, Sir Samuel Hoare, this evening delivered an address on aviation in tho British Empire before the members of the Royal Geographical Society of Scotland. Dealing with the prohlem which the invention of aviation had created for the British Km pi re, he said that Britain went into tho war in wealth and power, and completely immune from invasion. She came out of it. victorious, indeed, but with her capital city more open, by reason of this new invention, to foreign attack than any of tho great capitals of Western Europe. Year by year they must give their minds and money to tho building up of an Air Forco strong enough to deter any •would-be enemy from attacking. He was glad to think that while five years ago there were practically no Air Force squadrons availablo in this country for home defence, there were now 30 squadrons out of 52 that were being formed. Aviation had, however, imposed upon the British taxpayers a new item in expenditure upon armaments at tho very time when they wished to reduce, over the whole world, the burden of armaments. llow could they find some advantage from flying to set off against this liability ? Mobility ol Air Force. Five yesirs of experience of this in the Air Ministry had impressed upon him, ■with a continuous force, that the only way in which that liability could be counterbalanced was by making the fullest pos sible use of the unique power of mobility of tho aeroplane for effecting economies in Imperial defence, and developing the communications and resources of the scattered Empire. There were certain fields of Imperial defence where the Air Force wing could be economically u.-od as a substitute for the older military forces, rather than as a supplement to them. A conspicuous instance of this policy was the case of Irak, where Britain had been able to reduce a garrison which in 1921 was comprised of 33 Imperial battalions, costing over £20.000,003 yearly, to five squadrons of the Royal Air Force, without a single Imperial battalion in support, costing less than £2,000,000. A single squadron of the Air Forco had compelled the Imam of A 1 Muhammad Hamid-ud-din, who had for years encroached upon the Aden protectorate, to leave it and release the sheiks friendly to the British, whom he had kidnapped. Strategy lor Empire Defence. In Somaliland tho aeroplanes had, in a few weeks, removed the constant danger of risings by the Mullah, and on the northwest frontier of India, with practically no casualties on either side, peace had been imposed upon unruly tribes by British airmen. Sir Samuel said he loresaw the time when air power. like sea power, would be concentrated upon two or three strategic points cf the Empire and when the units, instead of being uneconomic-ally tied down to local defence, virould be freely moved from one threatened point to another. Such a policy pro-supposed the closest possible liaison between the Air Forces of the Empire. Dealing with aviation as a means of improving Imperial communications. Sir Samuel said that early next year a regular aeroplane service would be running every week between London and Karachi. Another great trunk aeroplane service was projected between London and Capetown. Ho was daily expecting detailed proposals which would enable him to judge whether the creation of this service was possible. Construction of Airships. In regard to airships, he believed that they could be used for eliminating twothirds of the time now spent in journeys between London and the capitals of the Empire. That was the justification of the piogramme under which, for the last three years, tho Air Ministry had been engaged upon the design and construction of two great airships. Ho anticipated the success of tho experiment, and the Dominion Governments were co-operating, as they also believed in its success. A 1 Yemen is the south-west corner of Arabia, between Asir and the Aden Protectorate. It has an area of 7'1,000 square miles, and a population of 3,500,000. The chief port is Hodcida. Its trade is equal to that of all the rest of Arabia. The Imam is tlie head of the Zeidi sect, and his people are Mahoniniedan Zeidix. Up to 1925 the Imam gradually encroached upon the Aden Protectorate. The capital of A 1 Yemen is Sana.