Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 5, 1933. BRITAIN’S AIR DEFENCES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18263, 5 December 1933, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, DEC. 5, 1933. BRITAIN’S AIR DEFENCES

The recent debate in both British Houses of Parliament on the question of air defences are significant of the general public apprehension regarding the inadequacy of the present forces, and much satisfaction is to be derived from the Air Minister’s emphatic statement that the Government is determined to secure parity with other Powers one way or another —either by reductions elsewhere or by an increase in Britain, la this direction, as in others, the Mother Country has set an example of disarmament to the whole world. With no motive other than an earnest desire to indicate her, willingness to reduce all classes of j armaments, she has allowed her air j .force to decline in numbers almost to' the point of impotence. When the, war ended, Britain had the largest fleet of aeroplanes in the world, but, acting on the. assumption that the peace for which war was fought would become a reality, she dispersed i the greater part of the force, and the subsequent, additions that have been made have never kept pace with those of other nations. The result to-day is that Britain ranks only fifth among the aerial Bowers, notwithstanding her more extensive defence requirements; while she has practised disarmament, others, who have preached it, have been continually increasing their strengths. The British Air Force to day comprises 81300 machines, little more than half the number possessed by France, which it the only other country to make official figures available. Of the other important countries, it is reported that Russia has between 1400 and 1500 aeroplanes, and the United States and Italy each between 3000 and .1100. The figures toll eloquently of the failure to respond to Britain’s example, and ideally dictate the imperative need for a change in policy. The British contention has always been that there should be the same standard of aerial forces for all countries, although she could, with reason, claim the right to greater strength than some other countries —-a principle which is freely conceded in regard to naval forces. She has offered, in fact, to completely abolish all military or naval aircraft on condition that such action is universal and that some effective form of control can be devised to prevent the possibility of civil aircraft being used for military purposes. Whether the latter condition is possible of fulfilment is open to question, certainly, but (lie fact remains that up to the present the other Powers have not agreed to the principle, so that it is useless to attempt to discuss details. Some countries insist on retaining air forces, and this leaves Britain no alternative but to do likewise, and it follows automatically that her strength must be at least equal to that of other nations. Since it. is impossible to obtain an agreement for a general reduction, Britain must start and build upwards, and it is to be feared that, this presages the commencement of another armaments race. For this Britain cannot be held responsible, because, already she has weakened herself to such an extent as to seriously jeopardise, not only her own safety but also that of the Empire. la view of the part the Mother Country has played in international! affairs in recent years no one can

question her intentions. Her whole .’imminent policy has been regarded solely from (lie viewpoint of defence, and so anxious has she been to avum anything that might be construed as competitive action that her situation to-day, from a purely defensive aspect, is little short of dangerous; and the weakness of Britain, it must he remembered, is not a danger to her alone, but to the whole world. As

was pointed out in the House of Lords, Britain is particularly vulnerable to attack from the air, and, when the immense possibilities of future aerial warfare are considered, it will immediately be realised what this might mean. That, there is no sug-

gestion that panic measures should be adopted is made clear from the sober tones of the debates in both Houses, and evidence of the wide appreciation of the need for action is contain od in the fact that even Ihe Labor 'Party supported drawing attention to tho inadequacy of the present provisions for air defence. How far Britain now intends to go remains to be seen, but if the Minister's speech is to be construed as meaning that: the country will build to a parity with the largest existing force, that of Franco, then the air force must lie increased from 850 machines to 1050. This represents a gigantic task, but, Laving regard to all the circumstances, it is one that cannot be avoided, unless, as it is possible to hope even at this late stage, the clear indication that Britain will no longer accept a position of inferiority has tho effect of bringing other mil ions to their senses before a real race is under way.