AIR FORCE CHANGES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23818, 20 November 1940, Page 8

AIR FORCE CHANGES

Changes in the high command of the Royal Air Force and at least one new appointment suggest that the British Government considers that increasing power will shortly enable the strategic emphasis to be placed less on the defensive and more on the offensive. The first indication of the new outlook was probably given by the appointment as Chief of the Air Staff of Sir Charles Portal, an officer reputed to examine problems from the positive angle and to embody the spirit of attack. Now comes the announcement of the creation of an Army Co-operation Command to be equipped and trained for close operation with the Army. Such , a new formation would, of course, be as vital in defence as in attack. The implication cannot be missed, nevertheless, that the new command has been conceived as part of the organisation required when the British Army again takes the field in that offensive campaign that will finally overthrow the enemy. Here is a conception inspiring and heartening because it suggests once again that Britain is putting aside those ideas of passive and defensive warfare which debilitated . Allied counsels until the debacle in the West. Thoso battles in Flanders and' France also proved that Army co-operation was not the strong point of the Allied air command. The efforts, of the R.A.F. were devoted chiefly to attacking the communications and supply bases of the enemy, while the Luftwaffe specialised in active support of the Army on the battlefield itself. Which air arm was the more effective relative to the force expended has been much disputed but the tonic value to the German Army of the visible presence of the Luftwaffe has been generally conceded. The move to ensure closer contact and co-operation between land and air forces is therefore a wise one. A message from Athens published this morning suggests, indeed, that the lessons of last May and June are again being taught in the latest phase of the battles on the Albanian frontier.