AIR FORCE EXPANSION.

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20230, 26 June 1937, Page 28 (Supplement)

AIR FORCE EXPANSION.

NEW SQUADRONS FOR BOMBING. CRUISER’S THREE AMPHIBIANS. Formation of five new squadrons, announced in the latest Air Ministry Orders, will within the next few days increase the strength of the Metropolitan Air Force—home defence, coastal command and army co-operation units —to 113 squadrons, or only ten below the number scheduled for completion under the Royal Air Force expansion programme. Once the 123 squadrons are in being, individual squadron aircraft armament will be increased to augment aggregate first-line strength of the Metropolitan Force to 1750 aeroplanes. Present first-line strength is approximately 1400. Four of the five new units will be armed with bombing aeroplanes, three with medium* bombers and one with “heavies.” The fifth is the seventh of the general reconnaissance squadrons, units created during the past two years to meet peculiarly urgent difficulties of defenoe of Great Britain against aerial attaok. They are armed with fast twin-engined landplanes. Flying well beyond the ooastal frontier, general reconnaissance airoraft would seek to establish oontact with enemy raiding formations when they were yet distant from British territory and keep defence headquarters informed by radio of their movements in good time to ooncert effective defensive measures. The preponderance of bomber squadrons in the latest list conforms with general make-up of the Royal Air Foroe for some years past. Although the efiloaoy of well planned protective schemes, employing fighter aeroplanes, searchlight, sound-locators, balloon aprons, and other forms of defence is, in considered expert opinion, likely to prove extremely high, adequate defence against air raids must depend largely on suooessful counter-attack. If the raider be affected in his own territory by heavy bombing attacks on aerodromes and other military objectives his own bombing activities are severely handicapped, and he must eventually withdraw forces to meet the threat to his own territory. Hence the insistence of the expansion programme on increasing the striking power of the Royal Air Force, as well as its numbers in personnel and aircraft. Bquadrons for Counter-Attack. Forty-two of the squadrons formed sinoe the beginning of the expansion period have been bombing units. The remainder oomprise eleven new fighter squadrons, two flying-boat squadrons, of which, one has been transferred overseas, and seven “general reconnaissance” squadrons. One new squadron has been formed overseas, in Kenya; It Is at present on a flight basis only. Including the Fleet Air Arm and overseas squadrons, the total flrstline strength of the Service Is now approaching 1900 aircraft. It is a matter of historical interest to recall that the first of the three programmes of expansion of the Servioe, announced to Parliament in July, 1934, provided for building up total first-line strength to 1460 airoraft (Including 130 with nonregular squadrons) by March 31, 1939 The difference between that figure and the present first-line strength—whioh has still to be augmented by many hundreds—gives some measure of the change for the worse in the international -situation since since 1934.