The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1942 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIGHTER

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 62, 14 March 1942, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 1942 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIGHTER

| HE iiiiporlance of the fighter plane is becoming increasingly clear. In England Hie aviation “umbrella” is probably the most, elfieieul in the world; so efficient, indeed, that the Germans have abandoned air raid operations over the British Isles. In Greece, and again in Crete, the “umbrella” was inadequate to the needs of the Allies and defeat ensued. In Libya the “umbrella'’ was sufficient to assure ascendancy in the air and tin: results were again satisfactory. In Malaya the number of fighter aeroplanes available was inadequate and again disaster was tin: result. Conditions in .Malaya, however, were not helpful to the lighters which were stationed there. They would have had to fly i hundreds of miles to find the enemy or, alternatively, they would I be compelled to operate from forward aerodromes which were ] little more than improvised landing grounds. The aeroplanes that I were available to the Royal Air Force appear, too, to have been of I an obsolete class. i It is easy to understand why the original landings were not I more strenuously opposed, but. it is not yet easy to understand I how it became necessary for the Imperial Forces at Singapore to | j capitulate after such a short stand. It appears from a distance i : reasonable to assume that: an adequate “umbrella” could not be ' . maintained over the fortress area, and it will, in due time, be : necessary to enquire concerning this failure. In the meantime it I I would be discreet for all to suspend judgment until fuller informalion concerning the whole campaign is made available: the gossip | of even highly-placed ladies may prove to be less enlightening than ; a lull survey of all the factors in the campaign. flic problem connected with the fighter plane is how to get it : I to its operation area. The bomber can get there on its own power, : but the fighter, with lower fuel capacity and greater consumption > i of fuel, must be conveyed there. Then it must he serviced at a i minimum of three-quarters of an hour Hying time to a maximum : i of t wo and a-half hours of cruising. The fighter must therefore b< operated near to enemy lines and that implies the pre since oj ' adequate ground defences and alternative landing grounds, Th. i fightir's importance cannot he denied, but the attendant opera- , lions to put it into action should not be Inst from sight.