The British public has been very exercised over the appalling results of bombing in Shanghai and Nanking, and it is not surprising therefore that the question of the accuracy of modern air bombing has been vigorously d: s-cussed. Commander Canyon Bellairs, who formerly lectured at the Royal Naval College, has contributed to the "Daily Sketch" some illuminating comments, He takes the view that the public is misled by the accuracy of bombing in such demonstrations as at Hendon where the Royal Navy with ships going only 22 knots under wireless control Commander Bellairs says:
Out of 337 bombs there were only 10 hits heights of 5000 feet to 12000 fect Be it res peace practice will be duplicated in war in regard to the gun, the torpedo, or the bomb.
He also adds that peace practice has been much exaggerated and official reports have sometimes been in error. Reasons for these inaccuracies lie particularly in oscillations which may be as much as five degrees, producing an error of about 600 feet in the fall of a bomb from a height of 8,000 feet. This does not take into account the pitchings and rollings of the' bomber and the effect of the current of the wind of which the aeroplane has no knowledge. Commander Bellairs says: considerate explain.
Greek planes all failed to hit the old ships of lorations go to
their navy when the rebellion broke out, ani why the obsolete Dutch rebel ship was hit once when the planes had the strictest orders to drop their bombs at least 400 yards ahead or astern, so as to intimidate the mutineers "without damaging the ship.
This expert opinion goes to show how really impossible it is to pretend that the can achieve a reasonable accuracy in its attempts to bomb. It proves that there is all the more ground for arguing that bombing in urban areas is itself a clear invitation to that war on civilians which theoretically civilized airmen intend to avoid.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.