Evening star., 1942-02-09
Growing Air Force

Nothing has demonstrated so we'll
the potency Of air power in modern
warfare-and the perils Of air in
feriority-as the successes thus far
scored by the Japanese In the Far
East. The almost unimpeded path
way Of invasion which Nipponese
naval and land forces have followed
in their simultaneous drives on the
Philippines, Malaga and the Dutch
East Indies were opened for them by
waves Of bombing, torpedo and
fighter planes. Largely because Of
the utter inadequacy Of American,
British and Dutch air forces in the
Far Eastern theater, General Mac
Arthur's men are beleaguered and
deprived of reinforcements, the
Prince of Wales and Repulse are at
the bottom of the China Sea, Sing
apore's once formidable naval base
is abandoned and the whole island
is under siege, and Japan's Navy
continues to pour invading armies
into islands of the Southwest Pacific.
Japan has had things pretty much
her own way up to now because she
has been able to throw a cover OF
aerial protection over the warships
and transports which compose her
invasion fleet. Conversely, the naval
forces of the United Nations, mindful
of what happened to two of Britain's
finest warships off Malaga, have
been forced to follow a policy of ex-
treme caution in pursuing their task
of seeking out and destroying the
enemy. And the Japanese will con-
tinue to enjoy these advantages and
will continue to maintain the in
itiative until Allied air power has
been reinforced at least to point OF
approximate equality with or, better
still, superiority to japanese air
power.
With this critical situation staring
America and her Allies in the face,
the Army'S plan for a 2,000,0O0-man
air force-a goal that would have
seemed utterly fantastic only a few
months ago-attests the fact that
while democracies may be slow in
getting started, they go at things in
big way when finally stirred from
complacency. The objective for 1912
is 100000 pilots, bombardiers and
ground crewmen, with another mil
lion to be added as fast as they can
be trained and provided with planes.
An air strength of 100000 men
would be twice the present size of
the r. A. F. and about three-quarters
of a million more men than are be-
lieved to compose the German air
force. 1t would exceed the current
man power of our land forces by
about half a million men.
These flyers and service crews will
be needed to man our rapidly ex-
panding fleet of bombing and fight
ing aircraft. This fleet, if the Presi-
dents program adheres to schedule,
will be enlarged by $4,000 planes this
year and by 125,OOO next year. AS
further evidence of the new recogni-
ton being given air power by the
War Department, flying is to become
a regular part of the curriculum at
West Points In the past aviation has
played a subordinate role at the
Academy. There is encouragement
in all of this program for a public
which has been shocked by develop
ments in the Pacific. It should be
remembered, however, that this
vastly augmented air force is as yet
only ION order" and that until it
comes into actual being a year or
two hence, any hope of wrestling Pa
cific air supremacy from Japan and
thus taking the offensive against her
and her Axis partners is slim indeed.