NEW COMMAND

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21815, 19 November 1940, Page 5

NEW COMMAND

Air Co-operation With Army British Official Wireless RUGBY, November 17. The importance of co-operation between air and land forces is one of the lessons learned in the present war, and an Air Ministry and War Office announcement which states that these service departments have "to consider how best to secure the most effective basis of co-operation between the Army and the Royal Air Force” is an important contribution to present-day tactics. The announcement continues: “The principal feature of the new arrangements is a decision to set up a command of the Royal Air Force to be called the Army Co-operation Command, which will comprise all the squadrons allotted to the Army formations in the United Kingdom, together with associated training units. The primary function of this command will be to organise—experimental in all forms—co-operation between the two services. “The operational employment of the

Dual Representation The Army Co-operation Command will be under the Air Officer command-ing-in-Chief, and a senior Army Officer is being appointed as head of the Air Staffs. The Air Staffs of the Command and the subordinate formations will consist of Army and Royal Air Force officers in roughly equal proportions. The formation of this Command is the outcome of a system of co-opera-tion which has been steadily built up between the two services over a long period, and the new organisation is designed to accord with the lessons of recent operational experience. The Army Co-operation Command with the joint staff will work in constant association with the Army and Air Force Commands concerned. It will be a rigid development of Army co-operation. Young Men Appointed Air-Marshal Sir A. Barratt will be officer commanding the new Command. He has had many years’ experience in the Army, and was in command of the Royal Air Force in France. A number of new Royal Air Force appointments are announced by the Au Ministry. At the request of the Minister of Aircraft Production, Sir Hugh

Dowding has been seconded for special duty in the United States. He has been in command of the Fighter lOxumand since 1936, and has been responsible for the magnificent success )f the Royal Air Force in beating off the German attacks on Britain. On account of his experience in this respect he will be able to make valuable suggestions to American aeroplane designers. He will be succeeded by Air-Vice-Mar-shal W. F. Douglas, Deputy-Chief of the Air Staff, whose place will be taken by Air-Vice-Marshal A. P. Harris. Air-Vice-Marshal P. Barrington will be officer in charge of personnel. All the new appointees are under 50 years of age.