MIMIC AIR WAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22053, 8 September 1933, Page 11

MIMIC AIR WAR

318 AEROPLANES ENGAGED NO SERIOUS ACCIDENTS. (From Our Own Correspondent.) LONDON, July 27. In the mimic "air war" which occupied the greater part of four days last week, 318 R.A.F. aeroplanes were engaged. Flying was restricted to the hours between G p.m. and 9 a.m., which means that much of it was done at night. Weather conditions in the earlier stages of the operations were extremely bad, with low cloud and rain over the whole area. In the aggregate the aero planes flew thousands of hours and several thousands of miles. Yet, a? in 1930, 1931, and 1932, no serious accident marred the course of the exercises.

There could be no higher tribute to the skill of the R.A.F. personnel, 5400 of whom participated in the " war," to the flying qualities of their aeroplanes and to the dependability of the engines employed. Such achievement means success in the acid test of intensive operations, where failure of man or machine is the penalty of imperfect training and organisation or of the' employment of material which is not up to the work. Actually only one " incident" is chalked up in the re'eords of the 1933 "war"— once a pilot inadvertently steered his machine into the slipstream thrown back by the airscrew of his leader's craft and his engine choked, obliging him to make an immediate, but sale, landing. The Air Staff will be engaged for some time on detailed 6tudy of the tactical and strategical results of. the exercises. Conditions were inevitably artificial to some extent. Consideration for the safety of the personnel and delimitation of the areas within which the aeroplanes must move restricted the activities -of the rival commanders. In one respect the " war " possessed interest bearing on a question of topical moment. The mythical country of "Southland" was equipped with a bombing force of 1G planes; "Northland" was furnished only with fighting machines. The situation corresponded, therefore, to that which might arise if bombing aeroplanoa were abolished by international agreement. Many strategists hold that the abolition of bombing craft would provide opportunity for an aggressive Power, to use civil aircraft for bombing purposes. Against such improvised bombing craft the attacked nation could only send defending fighters. It would be unable to employ the deterrent effect of counterraids, except by mobilising its own iicet of civil machines. And it must be remembered that large weight-pa "rying civil craft which are likely to be available for use in such emergency in a land located like Great Britain, on the outskirts of a Continent, are certain always to be much inferior in numbers to tiiose that could be thrown into , military use by a Continental Power.