CHINA’S PLANES.

Western Star, 8 March 1938, Page 4

CHINA’S PLANES.

| » | LOSSES DUE TO PILOTS j Four times u s many Chinese planes crashed from poor piloting as Japanese guns shot down. That tells the story of what happened to China’ s air fores, says an Associated Press message from Shanghai to the New York ‘Times.’ Most of China's Americau-ma.de planes have been cracked up. Take-off and landing errors and uso of planes for puiposes to which they were not suited cost China fully 100 planes. Of six expensive Americanmade heavy assembled just liefore the war, five were cracked up within a month because of faulty handling. Thirty speedy American attack ships for ground strafing and light bombing were lost when they were misused for heavy bombing and as pursuit ships. More than 50 American pui’suit planes were sent to j,imk heap s and repair shops because the Chinese airmen could, not learn to use their retractable landing gear. Not one American flyer took to the, air in action against the Japanese. Rusvv sian airmen, who flew fifty plane s the Soviet, were the only fighter s to' join the Chinese air force in action. Late in November, several Russian planes were brought down around Nanking, and two injured Russian aviators were treated at the American hospital. China’s Italian air advisers ended their services when hostilities began because of political co-operation between Japan and Italy. Furthermore, the Chinese were in constant fear that the Italians might aid the Japanese. When the Government moved from Nanking, its air force flew off, leaving the capital’ s defenders entirely without aerial support during th e Japanese siege. Anti-aircraft batteries, which fired hundreds of rounds every day, shot down only one enemy plane during the attack, leaving Japanese wing s over Nanking ‘ the freedom of the skies to bomb, power-dive, and strafe within a few hundred feet of the ground. American advisers stilL are at Hankow, \yliere the Chinese Government has shifted, fulfilling contracts. They still are trying desperately to teach Chinese pilots to avoid the tactical error s that have cost China a fighting chance in the air.