The New York herald., 1922-03-26
CAPTAIN GUEST SAYS
NEXT WAR Will Be
FOUGHT IN THE AIR
Tells Commons Aerial
Force Must Be Ready to
Meet First Clash.
ABLE TO REPEL INVASION
Makes Plea for Maintenance
and Development of Pres
ent Units.
ABLE TO REPEL INVASION

Special Gable to THE NEW YORK HERALD.
Copyright, f9ee, By THE New YORK HERALD.
New York Herald Bureau.
London, March 25.
The next war "if it comes" will be
mainly matter of giant airplanes
speeding through the air at incredible
speed, scattering bombs of incredible
power and rendering navies and armies
practically obsolete, in the opinion Of
the Air Ministry.
Capt F. E. Guest, secretary Of the
Air Ministry, in submitting the de-
partmeuts estimates to the House Of
Commons, said the air force must be
prepared to meet the first clash Of
war. "Airmen will be 200 miles away
in the first action before the first
reservist has caught a train or the
first battleshp has got up steam" he
said.
In the picture he painted were pilot
less machines filled with explosives and
controlled either from the air or the
ground. bombs more terrifying than any
yet. developed, areas of action so ex-
tended by the speed and carrying ca
pacity of planes that ocean fleets will
be correspondingly limited.
Capt. Guest said a school for de-
veloping bombs had been established
here and had succeeded in making one
which when directed TO hit battleship
beneath the water line will sink the
vessel in few minutes. He added that
il was merely n matter of practice and
experiment in order to make il possible
for such things to occur with consider
able regularity.
Bombing Radius 200 Miles.
lie sketched the probability of air.
planes carrying small forces of artillery
and infantry and added: In ten years
time combats between the forces of the
air and the forces of the sea win be rtrJ='
tesdueiy and pathetically one sided
affairs He compared the twenty mile
radius of a she'll fire from battleship
with che 200 mile radius of an airplane
dropping bombs, thus bringing forward
the possibility Of further economies in
ships for war;
Capt. Guest spoke eloquently for
the airplane and warned the House Of
Commons that the British policy Of es-
t2bishing a separate Ministry for Air
is being closely watched by other coun-
tries. especially France and America. He
urged the use Of airplanes in controlling
and policing the semi-civilized portions
Of the empire, saying that an air force
would not only be quicker in its action,
but far less costly and more humane.
lie gave an instance in Somaliland
recently when two airplanes suppressed
dangerous revolt by one tribe within
two days while preparations were being
made to move large body of men to do
the work. lie urged that the policing
oe Mesopotamia. Egypt Palestine and
India should be undertaken by the Air
Ministry. Airplanes, he said. avoided
the risk that dctachments of men had to
take OF being cut off from their bases.
and this meant untold economies.
The Cabinet already has decided to
give the Air Ministry the responsibility
for defense against air attacks. Capt
Guest said, and added that the only pos
sble defense against air raids was fight
ing from the air. He urged the de-
velopment of the continental service and
said that the present cross channel COM
mercial service was a sort Of practice
ground for the development of further
links in the chain Of imperial posses
sons He expressed the belief that the
Air Ministry already was able to defend
the country's shores against invasion
and naval bombardments.
Capt. Guest argued against the recon-
mendation OF the Geddcs commission
for the reduction of air service and
made a plea for the maintenance and
development of the present units instead
of reducing them.
Winston Churchill. Colonial Secretary.
in backing up Capt. Guest said that had
the war lasted a few months longer
operations against Berlin would have
been conducted by Great Britain and
that fun development had never been
reached lowing to our running short OF
enemies AIR. Churchill added that In
the future Great Britain must make sure
that she held the leadership in the
science Of aviation and said that there
must be no catering by the air force TO
tho army or the navy. but that there
must be a harmonious relationship be-
tween all Of these branches. He said he
believed the establishment % "A Ministry
Of Defense was the only solution OF the
problem and that steps were being taken
to formulate such a scheme.