Britain has not lost sight of the passibility of 2 German attempt at invasion from the air. The reception given to German raiders over the British Isles during the last two weeks, with the heavy loss they have suffered, is undoubtedly a deterrent to the Nazi Genefal Staff. They realize that no air invasion can be successful in the face of such a terrific cost. There is a possibility, however, that an invasion attempt might be made with gliders, which are sound-ess and "could defy the detector apparatus which is proving so effective in spotting Nazi bombers. The idea is that the Germans would tow troop-carrying gliders to a great height, and allow them then to glide down on the developed glider planes for the land, but also have produced an adequate glider plane for the sea. These planes can be made to lake off by being towed by-a fast machine, and several of them linked together by cables, can be made into'a glider train. The Russians are probably! the most advanced army in experimenting with this type of machine, and they: have evolved a form of braked drum' which solves the diMeulty of having a large space for the take-off, The pilot plane and: its gliders can thus be grouped fagotter on the ground in a. very small space. The pilot plane takes off, and the glider immediately behind it pays out enough cable to allow the pilot machine to get off the ground. It then puls brakes on the cable drum and is In its turn carried off the: ground, 'The same thing happens with other machings in the train. 'This has been proved to work in Soviet Russia, and it Is known that, the scheme has been 'Adopted and' probably improved upon: in Ger many. A quick release gear has been devised by which it can be assured that, if anything: hap. opens to any.one glider in the train, the rest of the train can separate themselves and that the whole train need not be wrecked. A glider which can carry at least fourteen men weighs about 6,000 1b, it can be, towed by, the ordinary medium bomber without any appreciable loss of speed by the bomber. The Germans have gone a long way in research into the possibili. ties of glider trains. Before the war, the oficial glider organization, the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegercorps had 5,000 sailplanes and training gliders. 1t also controlled 405 camps and twenty five fully-equipped gliding schools, The RAF. have also not overlooked. the potentialities of this type of flying and, while their experiments have not received the same publicity as those conducted in Russia and Germany, great, progress has been made. It" is unlikely that the RAF, could be taken by surprise in the event of a Nazi attempt at glider invasion, It is known, that the Nazis have transported a large number of gliders to Norway, and the RAF. are keep-Inga close watch on them. The glider is, a8 can easily be understood, very vulnerable when opposed "by an engined machine, and there should be, little chance of any getting through, once it wis known that they "had taken the air, The New Bombs News despatches have been emphasizing recently the destructive power of the new bombs which have, been dropped by the RAF, over Germany. This is no idle boast, These new bombs are about the most deadly thing which has yet come out of the inventive genius of those who are prosecuting this war. They beat anything the Germans have hitherto discovered, If the most recent accounts from Home are: bbe believed, the importance of these new bombs divided equally between the fact that they fare more destructive, and the fact that they fare lighter, than the old bombs. This means that aeroplane can carry more of them than it could of the old type. This is a grim prospect for those who must be on the receiving end of British raids. Not only cana British plane carry more bombs, but these bombs are me Ginitely more destructive than anything which had previously been carried. With these new bombs, planes can now reach parts of Germany which were previously out of range of machines cartying the old, heavier type. The Air Ministry estimates that the destructive value of the bomb-load of the average plane has been me creased by fifty per cent. Whereas a plane formerly could carry a load of 10,000. 1b. of bombs which id a limited amount' of dams can now carry the same load which can more than half as much damage as before. The new bombs are made from a formula which is one of Britain's most strictly guarded secrets, They are a result. of long experimentation throughout last winter by British experts, and fare now being produced in quantities which should give the Nazis some serious thought during the next few months.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.