London, May 31.
Fortresses of the air, four or more 21-ton Sunderland seaplanes will shortly make a test squadron flight from Seletar, near Singapore, to Australia via the Netherlands Indies and the South Seas.
The craft are all-metal and can cruise at a speed of 210 miles an hour. They will carry out the long Might to Australia to find out the true strategic value of long-range seaplanes.
'A Sunderland squadron has already carried out one long-distance flight. That was over 1400 miles, non-stop from Singapore to Ceylon last summer.
These Kuge planes, when fury armed, carry seven machine-guns and are equipped with apparatus to detec: submarines in waters below them.
They àre especially built for tropical conditions and to stave off attacks against naval bases by planes from enemy aircraft-carrier:
A number of these British fying fortresses was recently ordered by the Australian Government. Australian officers will be trained. in England before taking over charge of the craft in their homeland.—
Havas.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.