Evening star., 1941-07-13
Says American Air Power
Could Rule the World
Bv ODen L. Scott.

| that will decide the presently disputed
| issue of world control. Experience In
Russia is only confirming the lesson
written over Poland and France and
Britain, as well as over the Atlantic and
| the South Pacific.
| Control of the air over Britain will de-
termine whether that island is invaded.
| Control of the air over the Atlantic Will
determine whether Britain will starve.
Air control over the South Pacific will de-
eide whether Japan dares to venture IN
that direction. Given air control, China
could turn the tables on Japan.
These now accepted conclusions pro-
vide the one lesson of the present war
| that cannot be mistaken. The question
| is whether the United States is learning
| the lesson and, II so, whether it is ap-
! plying it in practice. The answer is that
| the United States certainly has learned
the lesson and is beginning to apply 1t
| in practice
The Germans who have led the world
| in development of air strategy and in
airplane development for military pur-
| poses, say there are only two areas in
| the world with the resources adequate
| for development of air dominance Those
| areas are the United States and Russia.
| Germany may be seeking in Russia those
| resources in metals and in lubricants
| and fuel which really vast airplane de-
| velopment requires. The United States
| has everything at hand for development
of its own air power-from the materials
to the skills and abilities.
However, like any nation that is in
| clined to be fairly content with its lot,
| the United States was slow TO turn its
attention to development OF military and
naval aviation on vast scale. This
| fact gave Germany and. to some extent,
Japan, a chance to forge ahead tempo
rarily in the actual building of military
| aircraft.
Now the tables are beginning to turn.
| American airplanes, moving in large
| numbers to the Dutch East Indies and
| to Singapore, as well as to the Philippines
and Hawaii and Alaska, are giving the
| japanese much to think about. The mere
| presence of these planes is enabling this
| country to shift part of its fleet from
The Pacific to the Atlantic, inasmuch as
| Japan Is unlikely to risk her main fleet
| against American bombers in the rather
restricted area of the South Pacific.
| The British now are receiving Ameri-
can planes in a volume that makes
Hitlers problem of attack difficult one
| The German dictator admitted that he
no longer could succeed in knocking the
/ al ho Ill
release the air force he was required to
maintain along the Russian border. Yet
Britain now realizes that the warplanes
that will permit her to survive scarcely
will remove the handicap under which
rising airpower is placing all island
empires where those islands are exposed
to a continent
Both the British and the japanese are
! discovering that the airplane can
| jeopardize their future. If the Chinese
could get sufficient planes they could
do to Japan what the Germans have
done TO the British. The reason is that
the Japanese like the British operate
On an exposed island, which is highly
industrialized and exists on imports of
commodities which can be subjected to
loss through air attack on shipping and
on ports and Industries. The result is
| that the future of exposed islands as
centers Of empire Is very uncertain at
best. The airplane is tending to shift
| power to large continental areas, which
in themselves possess the raw materials
and labor and industry on which to
| operate.
The United States easily could become
| the dominant air power and could main
| tain that dominance even if Hitler does
gain an uneasy hold on all of Europe
Whether this country takes advantage
| OF Its opportunity remains to be seen
| The answer depends on a number of
| factors, the principal one of which is a
desire or lack of desire to assume the
role of leading world power. Certainly a
| start is being made in the direction of
assuming that role.
AS matters now stand the United
States Is far ahead of any other country
IN the design Of long-range aircraft,
capable OF waging war over very long
distances. This advantage now is to be
pressed as the result OF q decision to
emphasize long-range bomber con-
struction IN the period ahead.
This country is far ahead in the build
ing of airplane engines of high per-
formance types. The 1000 horsepower
engine now is standard in American
planes with engines of much higher
power far along in the process of de-
velopment. Other countries are still in
the experimental stage with engines of
this power
| The United States is getting set now
for very large-scale aircraft production.
Building and tooling of plants and ex-
pansion of facilities for producing alumni
mum and magnesium is slow process,
but that process will be completed in a
few more months. After that, Germany's
head start will avail her little.
There remains the question of whether
the American Army and Navy are pre-
pared to get the most that they can out
of the airplanes that American industry
Is equipped to build.
Avlators are almost a unit in arguing
that the potential airpower of this coun-
try never will be developed adequately
until aviation is recognized as separate
military force-as the Army and Navy
now are recognized. At present, develop
ment of aircraft is dependent upon the
desires and prejudices of officials who
often are not flyers Nearly all emphasis
is placed upon design and use of air.