MENACE OF AIR FORCES

Taranaki Daily News, 30 November 1934, Page 12

MENACE OF AIR FORCES

GERMANY'S POINT OF VIEW RESTRICTIONS OF THE TREATY, SUPERIOR FRENCH STRENGTH. (By Maire M. Arthur.) In recent European Picks news there has been an attempt to spread panic rumours of Germany's huge air force. The French Air Minister, General Derain, protests against these rumours. He states that Germany at the beginning of 1935 would possess between 1000 and 1100 military machines. It may come as a surprise to the general public to realise that France has for a number of years possessed the greatest military air force in the world. It has been so developed that the French air arm can now be regarded as the best in the world. This is a soqrce of constant uneasiness in Germany, and the German point of view has been candidly set forth in a recent copy of the Volkerbund, the journal of the German Association for League of Nations Questions. Germany points out that the destruction of her air force after the war set the seal on her defencelessness, that the destruction of harmless accessories such as chronometers, thermometers, barometers, etc., did not even stop short at civil aviation. She had to submit to a ban of unlimited duration on the construction of civilian aircraft. The aviation industry in Germany was severely handicapped; the people lost their builders and contractors. These men went abroad to find scope for their activities in other countries. COMMERCIAL RESTRICTIONS. Commercial restrictions even laid bans in the sphere of civil aviation, and young Germans were deprived of one of the finest of modern ideals—that of aviation. Air sport in Germany with certain exceptions was not to be promoted out of public funds. Aircraft for racing purposes might be built only with special permission. No aviation aircraft was to be built in such a way that it could be armed or protected with armour plating. An official record of material, personnel and members of the army who engage in private flying has to be kept. Such persons require a special permit and the numbers are limited by the conferences of ambassadors. In the face of all these statements it is ridiculous to credit the recent statements referring to the huge air force that Germany has hidden away. Fourteen years have elapsed since the publication of Article 198 of the Treaty of Versailles, which states that "The armed forces of Germany must, not include any military or naval air forces. No change has yet been made in the Article. The Germans inquire if there is anyone in the world who would blame the inhabitants of a country, in the conditions described, if tlrny found themselves unable to understand the demands of their well armed neighbours for security if they would not take all possible and legitimate ways of claiming the same right to defensive power as their neighbours; if they do not insist on the disarmament of neighbours who are under a treaty obligation to this effect; finally, if they consider it as an insult that their commercial aircraft are represented to be a threat or a danger to peace. FRENCH AIR ARM.

Now that the French air arm has been re-organised it is concentrated to an even greater extent than formerly on the trontier zones in N.E. France, adjacent to Germany. Half of all the air force craft belonging to the independent air forces are collected here. Behind the 545 aeroplanes of the first air district (Metz, Nancy, Dijon) stand the 290 machines of the second air district (Paris-Rheims). The third air district of Tours and Lyons has 350 machines. The significance of the menace according to Germany lies in the fact that there are four bombing regiments with 110 light bombers and 180 heavy bombers. The 110 light bombers carry a total weight in bombs of 66 tons and the 180 heavy bombers a total of 180 tons for long distances. France can no longer, in the light of recent air force statistics, urge a claim for security. Any propaganda in this direction only confirms the German suspicions, namely, that the French policy consists of maintaining hegemony over Europe. Germany makes no secret of her claim to be entitled to protection in the air; she points out that the claim of the biggest nation in Europe occupying a central position needs no justification; the claim of a modest system of air defence. In view of the air armaments possessed by other countries, no country has a better right to appeal for security. Germany has the longest line of frontier tp defend, and is left without any defence from sudden air attacks. That all air attacks will be sudden is a foregone conclusion. Every German city, every village, every factory, could be reached and destroyed in a few hours. Germany’s vulnerability to attacks from the air is not only due to her central position, but also to the extreme density of her population and the concentration of her industries on the frontier, and the large number of cities.

The German people state that the position in which they find themselves can ho longer be tolerated or regarded as compatible with their security. Either all states must resolve and undertake immediately and within the time limit necessary for the purpose to abolish military aircraft and destroy their material or Germany must claim the same rights as other states to maintain an air arm for the defence of the country. If we examine these claims impartially and dispassionately we cannot deny the justice of Germany’s case.