BID FOR AERIAL SUPREMACY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 20098, 3 May 1935, Page 9

BID FOR AERIAL SUPREMACY

POWERFUL ’PLANES FOR AIR FORCE JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN PACIFIC British Official Wireless (Received May 2, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, May 1. Six squadrons of the Royal Air Force have been equipped with new machines in the last few weeks, and ten others are in the course of re-equipment. Some of these are stationed overseas. Particular interest lies in the provision to coastal defences air forces of the new Gloster Gauntlet fighting ’plane, which is claimed to be the fastest war craft in the world, and first with an air cooled engine to reach 230 miles an hour fully loaded. The machine can climb 10,000 ft in four minutes. The present re-equipment is normal and is not due to any expansion programme, but it is proceeding on a somewhat more extensive scale than has been the practice of recent years. JAPANS AIR ADVANCE TRANSPORT SERVICE ACROSS PACIFIC \ United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received May 2, 7.50 p.m.) TOKIO, May 2. “Asahi” says: The Japanese Air Transport Company projects an aeroplane service from Tokio to Singapore in two days, via Taiheku and Hong Kong, to link up with the services to Australia, Dutch Indies and Europe.

TOLL OF THE AIR FATAL MID-AIR COLLISION United Press Association—By Electric Telegra Dh —Copyrigh t (Received May 2, 10.20 p.m.) LONDON, May 2. The Paris correspondent of “The Daily Mail” says: The dead body of the French airman, floated gently to earth in a parachute, after an aeroplane, in which he was flying over Chqteauroux at a heightt of 3500 ft, was cut in two in a collision with another machine. He was killed as the machines met. His companion leapt out unhurt, but was killed when he crashed into the ground owing to his parachute not opening. The occupant of the other machine, flying solo, was thrown out of the cockpit and parachuted safely to the ground.