Evening star., 1941-09-01
britain's Defenses
50 PET. Stronger
Than Year Ago
R. A. F. Is Guarantee
Against Invasion on
Pattern of Crete

stronger than those OF September
1910, and certainly 80 per cent
stronger than the pitifully made
quate forces and equipment which
would have awaited the Germans
had they attacked after Dunkerque
Solid rock, the good earth of Eng
land, her forests and beaches have
been utilized in the desperate battle
against time to turn this island into
a defensive position unrivaled in
size and the power of counterat-
tack by Singapore and Pearl Harbor
This Is not to say that certain
definite faults do not exist. They
do. But in the past year of prepa-
ration many problems have been
dealt with successfully.
Invasion today means invasion by
air as much as by sea. Crete threw
scare into hundreds of Britons
who believed the Royal Navy, famed
in song and story, was proof against
invasion.
Here was an island not so large as
Britain, but further from Nazi bases,
taken from the air.
X. A. +. Is BulWark.
The only answer which occurred
to most alarmists was the Home
Guard, born in the dark days of
June, 1910, when two and a half
divisions of the regular army were
all that stood between any sizeable
landing force and victory.
The Home Guard was armed, but
not well armed. The Home Guard
was trained, but not thoroughly
trained.
Sober thought has since con-
vinced the majority of military men
that air invasion is as Impractical
here as it was practical in Crete.
The answer is the Royal Air
Force.
This amazing organization, the
only British fighting service which
has defeated its Nazi opposition in
every major engagement. is today
the strongest bulWark against air.
borne invasion. Its effect on a sea-
borne invasion, if not decisive, would
be tremendous.
The NaZis succeeded in Crete be-
cause there were no fighter planes
to shoot down first their bombers,
the heavy artillery of modern war,
and secondly the transport planes
that dumped thousands of para
chutists and shock infantry into the
island.
Britain Has the Fighters.
Britain has the fighters-Spitfres,
Hurricanes, Beauf1ghters, Typhoons.
Tomahawks. They are flown by
airmen who drove back the Luft-
waite in July and August of 1910.
who in the summer of 1941 domi-
mated the air over the Pas de Calais.
Their numbers are increasing
steadily. 1t would not have been
true last summer, but today, If the
Luftwaffe launched a war of attri-
tion seeking to wear down British
fighter strength before sending over
bombers and troop craft, it wouldn't
succeed.
There are just too many British
fighters, they are too well handled
and, despite the introduction of new
German types, the Spitfire is still
the outstanding aircraft of the war.
The fighters are from two to two
and one-half times as numerous as
in September, 1910.
So much for the planes.
There are other anti-invasion
aids.
These include the uncanny in
telligence of dio-location, the ever
growing observer corps, an organ
ization which includes some of the
wars unsung heroes, and lastly the
anti-aircraft command.
Ack-Acks Block Bombers.
Anti-aircraft guns have one great
function. A sustained barrage from
their muzzles may not bring down
an enemy bomber. But it does stop
the pilot from making his run-the
straight flight toward the target
without which accurate bombing is
impossible.
The "ack-ack" does this and has
been doing it for more than a
year. 1t is quite probable that the
failure of the Nazi bombers in the
fall and winter of 1901 to hit
many important targets was due
as much to the heavy barrages of
anti-aircraft fire as it was to the
inexperience of Nazi bombers, who
were unschooled in night opera
tions.
There are, roughly, three times
as many anti-aircraft guns this
year, compared with 1910, ready
to repel airborne invasion as a
second line of defense after the
fighters.
Last but not least there is radio
location which guides the Beau
fighters and Havocs to enemy
bombers.
Military Opinion Shifts.
These facts have switched mill
tary opinion back to where it was a
year ago. 1t is believed any in
vasion attempt would be a two
way stroke by air and sea, with
the air preparing the way and the
sea forming the avenue of approach.
We have seen what the defenses
against air attack are.
What about landings from sea?
1t must be assumed of course
that the Royal Navy viii Throw
everything it has into this combat.
With this in mind, Britons, whose
faith in their navy equals their
faith in God, will not admit many
ships or barges bearing Nazi troops
will get through. If they do they
will find a most inhospitable shore.
Many strange and devious devices
have been installed along the coasts
of Britain. 1t is of course forbid
den to name or explain them.
In addition. there are of course
the pill boxes. redoubts. tank traps
and observation posts which are the
commonplaces of warfare.
Behind these static defenses Lie
the live and snarling dogs of war
The British were short on all types
of cannon, from mammoth 60
Founders down to small but authori-
tative anti-tank guns, year ago
They are short now.
Army Better Trained.
This is the equipment of the
force on whom the defense of this