No conclusions can yet be laid down on the worth of ihe plane in war, says the "Evening Standard" expert. So far we have seen the plane at work (a) against Abyssinia (b) against China (c) against the Spanish Republic (d) against the Poles. In varying degree all these Powers were outmatched by their enemy-
Now what are the two results so far observable? (1) The civil population stood up to the limited terror to which they were subjected, (2) The attacked armies broke down under the dual impact of land forces, and especially of artillery, and the pounding they received from the skies. In no event did the airplane alone achieve a decision.
Now we add to this data our own experience in Britain since September 1. The bombers have paid a terrific price whenever they went off on a more or less individual strafe. Only when they were accompanied by their escort of fighters or when the enemy air power had been smashed—as in Poland—did the bombers have any fun.
But the only way in which the bomber can get its escort of fighters ig by flying the short range which the fighter can command, or by confining its function even more narrowly to acting as an adjunct to land artillery. Since anti-aircraft gunnery shows surprisingly good results, we must conclude that if we have plenty of fighters the raiding air force can hope for no more than a restricted success effect in the field heavy shells to bomb blast away at the Allied fortresses, besiege ing them by destroying all attempts to supply or reinforce them. But he must pay heavily and here again to punch effectively at the British he must stand in much closer.
Therefore, once more, if the British Army is to be assailed the Germans must get into the Low Countries. The only alternative is to hit at Britain herself by the distant and still more wasteful assault on our ships and ports, varied perhaps by a gigantic air terror against our cities. For political reasons I think we can rule out this last possibility.
The projected air route, which would connect with the existing Japanese and Manchoukuo airways systems either at the border city of Manchouli or. in Hsinking would be 4,000 kilometres shorter tham the existing southern route from the Far East to Europe, German four-engined—24-passenger Focke-Wulf machines would be used, it was understood. The Tokyo-Berlin journey could be made in four days—Domei.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.