SECRETS OF WAR ACE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21118, 27 February 1932, Page 3 (Supplement)

SECRETS OF WAR ACE.

" PERFECT " AIR DEFENCE. FRENCH INVENTOR'S SCHEME. A sensation lias been caused in Paris by the disclosure that after many experiments, carried out with the co-operation of the French Army authorities, Rene Fonck, the famous wartime " ace," has perfected what is claimed to be an invulnerable system of defence against which enemy machines are helpless. Naturally the details of the scheme are a closely-guarded secret, but it can be stated, says a correspondent of the Sunday Chronicle, that it is entirely independent of ground defences, the whole of the machinery being in the air, and therefore capable of rapid transference from one threatened point to another. While refusing to enter into details, Fonck admits the truth of the story, and adds: —"I defy any enemy machines to get through. They must either be forced down or destroyed. There is no choice for them, and I believe that the invention will revolutionise our ideas regarding the use of aeroplanes in warfare." Fonck lias been working on his scheme for some years, but until recently he had difficulty in obtaining the machines necessary to make his experiments. It was only when Marshal Petain docided to take the risk of ignoring the Air Ministry and gave Fonck an opportunity to try out his scheme during the recent Army manoeuvres that the chance came.