The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1935-07-16
$4,000 PLANES
To WIPE OUT
CAPITALS
Bombers Certain to Pour Out
Explosives, Classes That
Cities Cannot Escape
CONTINUED from Pags -


(Continued from PGge -
of more than 100000 each. Total
residents in these centers number
54,OO0,0O0,
GreaC Britain is geographically
the ,oSt vulnerable. She has al
100000 inhabitants concentrated
in 81 cities. Her capital, London,
IS the finest target Of all.
Greater London has 100000
people scattered over TOO square
miles, but 100000 of them are
jammed into the 100 square miles
in the center of the city. They are
one hour and Is minutes flying
time from the German border.
A German airplane has just
done the London-Berlin flight in
3 hours IL minutes, at an average
speed of 200 miles an hour. The
new German bombers are faster,
Germany as a whole is next most
vulnerable, because so many of her
great industrial cities lie close to
the French or Czech borders. She
has 100000 living in SO cities.
Her capital, Berlin. houses
100000 in a space of 348 square
miles. It lies 80 minutes flying
time from the border Of Czecho-
slovakia, one hour and q minutes
from the French border and two
hours and 30 minutes from the
nearest point in England.
France has only 1900, 900 living
in II cities, but her capital, Paris,
concentrates 100000 people so
minutes flying time from Ger
many.
Rome, Moscow Safe
German planes could reach
Prague in 10 minutes. Czechoslo-
yak planes or Russian planes OPP
Grating out of CZechoslovakia
could reach Dresden in Is min.
utes. It would take the Soviet
planes, avoiding Poland and fly
ing via Rumania and Czechoslo-
vakia, in accord with the recently
concluded and pending military
pactS, about two hours to reach
Prague as take-off to Germany.
Milan, Turin and Padua in
northern Italy are about 80 min
utes' flight from Germany.
OF all the capitals, only Rome
and Moscow are comparatively
safe in the next war. They lie
too far away from their poten-
tial enemies.
What are the available bombing
planes now in the hands of the
future beIligerents or now build.
ing?
Admittedly built or building are
1900 first line" planes Of all
descriptions apiece for France,
Germany England, Italy, 1900 for
the Soviet Union, TOO for Poland,
and 500 for Czechoslovakia.
Behind each first line" plane
must be a minimum of three
reserve" planes. Germany sur.
rendered $4,000 military airplanes
at the close Of the war. Though
she had but 5000 in active service.
28,2OO Planes
Kept up reserves would give
France, Germany, England and
Italy 5000 machines apiece, the
Soviet Union, $500, Poland, 2,100
and Czechoslovakia. $500 or a
total Of 28,200 machines out of
which 9,400 would rank as first
line"
All the emphasis today is on the
bombing lachineS. It is a fair
estimate that the seven countries
named will be able in the near
future to put 5000 bombers in
the air and a great proportion Of
them are capable of carrying ton
or more of bombs.
In other words a destructive
load Of 5000 tons of high explo-
sives and lethal chemicals could
be flung at any moment upon
the heads of the 10000, 900 in
habitants of the capitals Of the
future belligerents.
Marshal Petain records that
"during the great war, in the
course of 112 air raids carried out
by 1876 raiding airships and AL
raiding airplanes, the Germans
discharged on British soil some
800 tons of bombs. These caused
serious damage. as we'll as killing
or wounding 1881 persons.