In connection with British proposal to seek permission to purchase aeroplanes said to number as many as one thousand in the United States; the question has been asked why this should be necessary in view of the present success of Mr, Neville Chamberlain's policy directed towards the appeasement of Europe. On the face of it the situation does appear to be paradoxical, but on closer examination the necessity for this step becomes apparent. The belated programme of rearmament has undoubtedly made great progress, but there have been signs that this has not been so rapid as it was originally thought it would be. The proposed scheme for the purpose of speeding up the aequi ion of the air strength considered neces: to afford the not yet been removed.
the best way of looking a the matter is to regard the contemplated penditure in the United States in the nature of a capital investment immediately tending to bring Britain's air force up to the desired strength, after which the aeroplane factories in Great Britain itself may be depended upon for the purpose of maintaining that strength and adding to it at their own slower rate. The immediate acquisition of the necessary means for adequate self-defence will add considerably to the growing authority of Great Britain's voice in the matter of world politics. That is heartily to be welcomed, for at one of the reasons for the failure of British foreign policy in the past has been the fact at the policy of disarmament at a rate ich was not being followed by other Pow vatly prejudiced the British position regarding them, If then the decision to purchase these aeroplanes from the United States is regarded in that light the apparent paradox disappears, and in its place is to be found the taking of a very necessary step towards securing immediately the strength originally contemplated in the British five-year rearmament plan. This journal has already pointed out that the highly technical ability of the American aeroplane manufacturers and their mass production capacity make the United States the only source from which such material can be obtained.
It was only to be expected that a certain amount of dissatisfaction should be expressed by some groups of American politicians, especially by the isolationist group. It is understood that the Administration will place no obstacle in the way of Great Britain in this manner, and a telegram elsewhere reports what types of machines will be available to the purchaser. On the face of all that has come to hand it would seem that Great Britain will be able to secure what she wants. It would be somewhat illogical if she could not. The policy followed by the United States has enabled other countries in the past, and notably China, to purchase aeroplanes as well as other types of war material. That precedent having been established it would amount to discrimination against Great Britain if the same privilege were denied her, and it is difficult to believe that the US.
Government would countenance any such action. It is but natural that the United States should refuse to sell certain of her more advanced types of a war aircraft, for every country naturally desires to keep her most important secrets to herself, but from the list of machines which it is said will be available, there appears to be much which would commend itself to the choice of the commission preceding to the United States for the purposes of investigating the possibility of purchase. What should prove an important factor in arriving at whatever decision which may ultimately be made is the statement published by the "Wall Street Journal" that the supplying of Great Britain with U.S. $75,000,000 worth of aircraft within a year could be done without in any way conflicting with orders on hand or the requirements of the expanded American rearmament programme. The figure quoted, the journal said, was a conservative one, based upon the estimates of the various aircraft authorities.
That being the position there appears to be no sound reason for refusing to grant that assistance to Great Britain for which she is perfectly willing to pay. To refuse would, in fact not only be an act of discrimination, but might have a very unfortunate effect upon European politics, and even react unfavourably upon the very cordial relations which at present exist between the two countries.
The immensity of the sums which Great Britain is spending upon her air force is indicated by the report of the Air Services Appropriation Account for the year ended March 31, 1937, prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The figures for the year ended last month are not yet available, but in all probability it exceeds that sum, while, il to that is added what it is proposed to spend in the United States, it is apparent that by the time the rearmament programme will have been completed an enormous sum will have been spent on the air Force. There is one consoling feature about this enormous outlay. Itis to be found in the fact that whereas some other countries have air forces accumulated over many years, and consequently contain a proportion of machines which have already been out-dated, the present British air force, being of comparatively recent expansion, will have a decidedly small minority of older models. That. is as it should be, for the best, and only the best should be found in a force upon whose efficiency the protection in the air of the thickly populated British Isles has to depend. The policy of providing Great Britain with means of defence which will make any potential enemy think twice before attacking her is the only one which can commend itself to those who regard the existing situation with a realistic eye. At the moment there are indications that the tendency towards the appeasement of Europe is making progress. But accidents do happen in the best laid schemes. There are certain imponderables which have always to be taken into consideration, and the British Government would be highly neglectful of its responsibilities if it did not take such steps as would ensure that it will never be caught napping and unprepared. There is one hideous thought which arises from a consideration of the subject, and that concerns the fact that of these contemplated purchases a large quantity of the machines will be bombers. It is one of the worst aspects of any future war in the air that one means of defence will be by reprisal. That accounts for the nightmare in which Europe is at present living, but the facts have to be met and this American purchase scheme is one way of doing so.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.