Evening star., 1940-05-16
Potency of Air Power

Potency Of Air Power
This most terrifying and porten-
tous OF all wars has jolted the world
into fuller realization of the urgent
necessity for making immediate
preparations for defense against the
further spread of the holocaust. The
appearance Of President Roosevelt
today at the Capitol in behalf of
greatly expanded security program
serves to emphasize the seriousness
OF the situation. More particularly,
the developments abroad are focusing
attention on the deadly effectiveness
OF air power and on the appalling
impotency Of armies inadequately
supplied Herewith. Poland's army
was good. but not good enough to
Withstand the waves of bombers
which swept over that ill-fated land.
Finland's soldiers were courageous.
but courage is of but little avail
against the relentless assault of
swarming sky raiders. Britain's
naval superiority over Germany is
enormous, yet German air power
quickly routed the British and French
from Norway. Hollands trained
army of 1000 men was we'll equipped
with everything but warplanes-and
Holland has surrendered after losing
100000 men in five days of aerial
bombardment and vertical envelop-
ment." That it will be Englands
turn next to feel the fury of Hitler's
legions of flying artillery" is vir-
tual certainty.
Since balance Of air power has be-
come so transcendentally important
in the new kind of warfare now
scourging Western Europe, the ques-
tion in nearly every ones mind today
is: How do the combined air forces
OF Britain and France and their allies
compare with the mighty air fleet
which the Nazis have loosed upon
their enemies? Recent estimates by
neutral observers-and the figures
are largely guesswork-credit Ger
many with from 10000 to $4,000
planes. German sources have
claimed the correct figure is $4,000,
but this may be discounted in part.)
Against this strength the allies, ac-
cording to the varying estimates,
have pitted from 5000 to $4,000
planes. One American airplane man.
ufacturer expressed the opinion sew
eral days ago that Britain and
France together can muster nearly
$4,000 planes of all types-which ap-
parently would include training and
other auxiliary types. If Italy casts
her lot with Germany, some five to
eight thousand Italian planes will be
added to the axis scales.
But figures are relatively unim-
portant, for they can distort the
truth. Whatever the actual figures,
the really important thing in this
war is the admission by Winston
Churchill and Neville Chamberlain
that allied air power is woefully
inferior to that of Germany's. If
that admission of weakness had seri-
Gus implications when 1t was made
before the House of Commons after
the Norwegian debacle, its tremen-
dous import now, following the most
recent demonstration of Nazi air
dominance, must be apparent to
every one. Unless the British can
delay for many weeks or months the
threatened German air thrust at
England, she must meet the grim
challenge of Goering's bombers with
a sadly inadequate repelling force.
Britains navy probably would be
able to fight of attacks by surface
ships, but events in Norway indicate
that naval might alone could not
prevent German bombers from straf-
ing the English isles.
Germany's production of replace
ments is about 1000 planes per
month. That of the allies and the
United States combined is said to be
from 1,700 to 1000. Thus, unless
production in Britain, France and
this country is stepped up dras-
tically, the allies cannot hope to do
better than maintain the present
ratio between their joint air force
and that Of the enemy. The allies
have ordered about 1000 planes from
American factories since October
and half of these have been deliv-
cred. More orders are being placed,
and production is stepping up as
plants are expanded. BY December
production will have attained
15,000-a-year basis. It is to the best
interests of this Nation that this
production capacity should be in
creased steadily and that the allies
should be given priority to the out
put. They are keeping the blitzkrieg
front on the other side Of the Allan
tic Ocean. We must do everything
within our power to help them keep