The Waikato Times MONDAY, JULY 22, 1935. AERIAL WARFARE

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19634, 22 July 1935, Page 6

The Waikato Times MONDAY, JULY 22, 1935. AERIAL WARFARE

A cable message states that the British Secretary of State fo • Air (Sir Philip Cunliffc Lister) has brought down supplementary estimates for the Air Force, involving a very largo sum °* . riding additional aircraft, equipment, and personne . re ne for such expenditure ill be regretted, but under t e circums c > and the prevailing state of Europe, Britain has no op ron r “ be prepared ” for threatened contingencies for winch she car no way be held responsible. ~ There is a difference of opinion amongst experts as probable effect of aerial warfare. Some declare that war fro ® clouds will mean a concentration of all conceivable oiroii» r ® ‘ from the razing of cities and the spreading of deat . er that thu picture is greatly ovorpainted, and that aircraft wrl, event of another cataclysm, prove to have many limitations. Amongst those who are disposed to largely discoun e P° SSI bilitics of aerial warfare is Lieutenant J. E. Hogg, a S American authority. He pointed out recently that during t e War the 'plane sank no battleship, destroyed no city, and failed in every attempt to bomb or gas an enemy out of a military position It lias certainly, ho admits, been improved since; it can fly faster and farther; it can go higher, and carry slightly heavier lo but nevertheless it retains its inherent limitations. Dealing with the hazards of military aviation, Lieutenant Ho e g declares that the first 30 days of any major war will see the complete elimination of the air forces of the belligerent Powers. Improvements in anti-aircraft guns and gunnery have advanced in recent years beyond any improvements in aircraft. and fire directors have been developed to perform feats of apparent magic instantly and accurately beyond the average human imagmatloll'Lieutenant Hogg points out that during the war the damage to London and Paris from raids was not more than £1,000,000 and fewer than 700 civilians were killed. These raids, however, cos Germany over 500 trained airmen killed and millions of pounds m money. Large modern bombing 'planes can carry two tons ot bombs, but they cannot be effective unless they get within reasonablo range, and anti-aircraft machine-guns throwing a ventab e hailstorm of 50-calibre bullets are effective to a height of 'SOO feet and will piece a quarter of an inch of boiler plate at that heig . would take 5000 of the largest modern bombing ’planes.to carry the potential load of destruction represented by the shellsim zines of a battleship Avith a cruising range of 15,000 miles to t 'plane's 500 miles. . ~ The American authority minimises ‘gas terrors, declaring them to be myths. He discounts the allegations that a city could be iviped out by gas, declaring it an impossibility. To destroy, a town of e size of New York would require fully 28,000,0001 b of phosgenes, the transport of which would require 14,000 large bombers. He winds up with the assurance that “ there are not in existence a sufficient number of bombing 'planes to destroy London in a month, even if the British would ‘sit and take it.while bombs and gas were rained upon them' ‘—an inconceivable thing. Whilst it will no doubt bring comfort to many to have the American authority’s assurance that aerial warfare will not prove such a terrible thing as is by many believed, it will be doubly so to know that the powers that be in Britain are not disposed to take chances, but are determined to bring their defences up to date and to make all possible provision against the evil day, which it is devoutly hoped will never daivn. ...... , . The large scale operations over Lor/lon, to be staged this week, will probably supply additional data on this most important question.