ROYAL AIR FORCE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22068, 26 September 1933, Page 7

ROYAL AIR FORCE

SUCCESSFUL MANCEUVRES ATTACKERS FOILED (United Press Association.) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright.) LONDON; September 24. The Royal Air Force held successful manoeuvres at the Firth of Forth on September 20. Within three hours tho planes located every ship scattered over a wide area hundreds of miles in extent. They foiled for the moment an attempt to bombard the coastal cities. CO-OPERATION WITH NAVY. VALUABLE LESSONS- LEARNED. LONDON, September 25. (Received Sept. 25, at 11.30 p.m.) The Daily Telegraph's naval correspondent says: " Valuable lessons were learned in the North Sea " war" between the naval base, defended only by aeroplanes, and a combined raid by ships and aeroplanes, this being the first manoeuvres of the navy in which the Royal Air Force co-operated. When the attackers tried to bombard the Elie, on the Firth of Forth, the Warspite was hit by six aerial torpedoes and the Malaya one, the Renown being the only capital ship escaping aerial torpedoes. The attacking planes dived steeply from several thousand feet and flattened out only 20 feet from the water in order to descharge missiles. Forty-eight bombs were also dropped upon the very vulnerable exposed landing decks of the aircraft carriers Furious and Courageous." Though the conditions were abnormally favourable the defenders' attack showed the deadliness of aircraft against warships. Other expert witnesses of the manoeuvres state that the whole of the attacking ships ought to be at the bottom of the sea, and they consider that the navy's seaplane could not upset an attack upon the fleet. The verdict' of prominent naval men has not yet been announced, but it is understood that their attitude will be that had the ships really come to shell the coast of Scotland they could have come at night instead of the daytime, attacking at dawn and steaming away on a zigzag course the instant'the attack waß over. The manoeuvres did not allow of these precautions. ; ;<