Evening star., 1941-04-12

Greenland Air Bases
May Be Link Breaking
Nazi Blockade
Permits Fighting Planes
To Spring to Life for
Bottling Enemy Petrol
By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

Greenland may result in the OPEN
ing of an aerial highway to Eng
land for American built pursuit air.
planes, now subjected to the haz-
ards of shipment in surface vessels
through the NaZi blockade.
Not only would this ease the bur-
den of imperiled shipping; it would
convert inert, helpless fighting
planes into deadly weapons for
breaking the blockade by sea and
air. 1t would at the same time
break one of the most serious po-
tential bottlenecks in the delivery
of pursuit aircraft to England-the
lack of shipping facilities. 1t was
estimated recently that pursuit air.
craft were piling up on piers in
United States and Canadian har-
bors at rate of so to 100 a month
waiting for ships to carry them
through the blockade.
Although bombers and patrol fly
ing boats of number of types now
are being delivered by air from
American factories to the British
Royal Air Force in England, the
transatlantic hop has been beyond
the range of pursuit and other
short-range aircraft.
Maximum Jump Of SIS Miles.
Use of air bases in Greenland and
Iceland, now British occupied,
would reduce the over-water dis
tances to a maximum of SIS miles
by the most complete air route
from Labrador to Scotland From
Newfoundland the longest over
water jump would be $50 miles.
Landplane bombers now are fly
ing to England directly from Bot
wood, Newfoundland, over a route
involving 1900 miles of over-water
operation. Pursuit aircraft flying the
shortest possible courses from Bot
wood by way Of Greenland and
Iceland would face an over-water
jump of $50 miles to the extreme
southern tip of Greenland, $50 miles
to Iceland and $50 miles to the
northern tip of Scotland.
al c l~o
between Labrador and Greenland,
however. which require only 585 and
SIS miles over water. There also
are two other routes between
Greenland and Iceland. one requir-
ing $50 miles and the other only
375 miles of over-water flying.
There also is shorter over-water
route of SIS miles between Iceland
and Scotland.
Meteorological Assistance.
Intensive meteorological and geo.
graphical studies made in Green
land and Iceland within the past
few years will greatly simplify the
task of establishing bases and fly-
ing routes.
DR.. William H. Hobbs of the Uni
versity of Michigan, one of the au-
thorities on conditions in Green
land, has reported the finding of two
big holes" in the wind barriers
which formerly were thought to
stand in the way of flight over
Greenland. They would make it
possible to take advantage of Green
lands typical centrifugal storms to
aid passage in either direction
across the Atlantic. BY choosing
the right altitude, DR.. Hobbs re-
ported to the American Association
for the Advancement Of Science, it
should be possible most of the time
to make a Greenland flight with
a favoring tail wind. This is par
| ticularly true of the eastbound
fight, which would facilitate air
deliveries of short-range fighters to
England. he said.
| DR.. Hobbs named four possible
bases in Greenland for landplanes
and two for seaplanes. The land
bases are in Arsukfjord and jamie
son Land, on the north shore of
Scoresby Sound, and two on the
southwest coast The Germans al
ready have familiarized themselves
with the Scoresby Sound area,
where they had a meteorological
station until shortly before the out
break of the war. The seaplane
bases are in the Cape Farewell
region, one at Julianehaab, the
othsS at Sangmissok.
Could Menace Nazi Patrols.
The Germans already have
evinced a military interest in the
land bridge" route across the
Northern Atlantic, as was evidenced
recently by an air attack on a
British airdrome in Iceland. Ger
man bombers and patrol planes
have been active for months over
the northern or great circle" ship
ping route, which passes not far
south of both Greenland and Ice
land. The flying of pursuit air.
planes might constitute a serious
menace to these Nazi patrol ac-
| tivitieS.
Operation of longer range patrol.
reconnaissance and bombardment
planes from bases in Greenland and
Iceland also would constitute
grave threat to German submarine
and surface raiders operating along
the strategic great circle route.
Naval and shipping authorities
have pointed out that success of
American aid to England under the
Lease-Lend Act may depend not so
much upon the building of ships
for transporting supplies as upon a
means of breaking the Nazi block
ade. Greenland and Iceland may
prove keys to solution of the anti
blockade problem.