Salamanca, July 26.
A claim that 106 aeroplanes belonging to the Valencia Government were shot down on the Madrid front in the last three weeks was made here to-day.
The announcement is said to demonstrate the present superiority of the Nationalists in the all-important air arm. Most of the machines were fighter aircraft and 31 were shot down in aerial combat.
The Boeing aircraft used by the Republican Government, a high officer in Gen. Franco's Nationalist "Ministry told Reuter to-day were constructed in Russia after the American model but were of inferior design. They were very fast with a cruising speed of 240 miles per hour, but were difficult to manoeuvre at high speed. The Curtiss fighters were slower and easier to control, but the armament was badly placed, leaving a wide blind spot.
The big Republican bombers, the newest of which carry seven machine-guns, now seldom attempt raids unless accompanied by an escort of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.