ALLIES MAY BOMB BERLIN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14712, 18 September 1918, Page 6

ALLIES MAY BOMB BERLIN

NEW YOBK, July 29. An aerial offensive • to; cities of Germany including Berlin, is possible, m tho opinion of Major-General W. S. Brackrier, controller-general' of equipment of the British Air Ministry. Major-General Brancker, m a statement, laid emphasis on organisation of the air forces on, a basis quite independent of land and sea.

General Brancker believes, eventually the United States will be \ obliged to create a Secretary of Air Forces. For tho success of the Allied cause, he feels 'strongly that the quicker air independence' J is established m this country the better."'

"W> simply had to come to an Air Ministry m England," said General Brancker. ,"The Zeppelins and the Gothas, coupled with the experience gained' when aviation was controlled by the army and iiayy^ forced it upon us. You have had ho Hun air raids m this country to arouse you, but it is hoped that, lacking this stimulus, you will profit by our experience. "Are 'not the advantages of independent control obvious? Here, you have one branch of aviation under the administration of the Secretary of War ; another under the Secretary of the Navy. r These Ministers Kayo many other affairs to attend to m addition to aviation.

"It is within the realm of certainty that wo can bomb Berlin m the spring if not m the fall, with airplanes we nave_building, as we have already bombed/ Cologne. and the Rhine cities, but we have not the numbers- for a really big offensive m my understanding of thQ term W e have plenty of planes and can build plenty more, but we lack engines, and we have about reached th c limit _of capacity for cn b -me production. We have built up a big airplane pro. gramme^ to take the Liberty motor and bomb Germany, but America cannot mow spare these motors, and so, I fear our airplanes may be wasted and the • »mi IVe from th< * air seriously delayed Itie delivery of certain types of planes by flying >them across the Atlantic » feasible. If w« can fly to Berlin aftd back, which is more than 800 mUes, we can fly from Newfoundland to the Azores (the longest lap o r the journey), which is 1280 miles. This means a big orgamsaton, airdromes and repair Plant* -m New Foundlajid and the Azores. '