Evening star., 1943-12-06

and raises military m1rageS. Such
"dares" betray a sad ignorance Of
modern strategic conditions, as az
fected by the new air-power facts.
They still assume that the function
of navies is to meet somewhere on
the high seas, as in the past, and
slug 1t out for a final showdown.
To begin with, such a slugging
match would not be decisive. The
losing side would not, as in the past,
remain exposed to the enemy's
naval force, since its air power
would still be able to hold the VIC
torious navy at arms length--the
effective range of its land-based
aviation.
Self-Contained Empire.
In the second place, it should be
remembered that the japanese have
now acquired a new empire that is
completely self-contained. Their
strategy can, therefore, remain de-
fensive They will seek to build
roof of land-based aviation, as
nearly impregnable as they can
make it. When we shout. Come
out and fight" the shoe is really
on the other foot. It's the Japa-
nese who dare us to come in and
fght-under their shield Of air
power.
1t seems entirely logical that the
japanese will increasingly put more
Of their resources into air power
and less into sea power. One clear
indication is Premier Tojos recent
designation Of a special minister,
Ginjiro Fujiwara, to stimulate air
plane production. Said Fujiwara:
During the present war situation
the most important matter and the
one requiring the closest attention
is. believe, obviously the increased
production of aircraft"
The japanese Navy, We should
recognize once and for all, will never
come out from under it's roof Of
land-baSed aviation-not the avia-
ton based on pinpoint islands in the
Pacific without enough acreage even
for seagulls, but true land-based air
power operating from Japan proper.
the Philippines, Malaga and other
large areas. Some portion of the
naval forces might be risked in a
surprise move where our own air
power is relatively weak, but the
main forces will not commit suicide
by abandoning adequate aerial
cover
Common Sense Strategy"
This is in no sense "cowardice"
but common sense dictated by the
new strategic conditions. The en-
emy's navy does not stray from the
protection of its air power for the
same reason that our Navy does not
steam boldly into japanese waters.
After all, we could in that way force
a showdown: TOXIC spokesmen can
dare us to come over and fight
with about as good reason as we can
dare them.
Admiral William V. Pratt. retired.
showed a better understanding Of
this fundamental situation than
some unretired naval spokesmen
when he wrote recently. referring to
the japanese failure to attack us in
the Solomons last January from
Iruk, Why should they stage an
attack in waters where we might
hold air superiority?" The Japanese
Navy, he declared is not afraid to
hight and will do so lin its own way
and in its own time"
Control of the sky overhead is
the decisive element in a modern
naval battle. To challenge ths
enemy to desert his cover of land
based air power and enter your
waters is to underestimate his in
teillgence. 1t is no secret to tho
japanese that we are more power
full in battleships and carrier-base
aviation.
Long Range Power Vital.
The only place We can confront
the japanese Navy is in its home
waters, and that we cannot UNDER
take unless We can match or neu-
tralize the air power shielding those
waters. We assuredly cannot amass
the necessary land-based air power
Tor this purpose on tiny, widely
scattered islands. We must think
in terms of major bases and heavy
long-range air power to do the Job.
Laymen do not always realize
that tWo-by-four islands, such as
the Gilberts, are unsuited for major
aerial forces. Liberators, Flying
FortresSes and in particular the
new giant bomber B-29, if based on
fiat beach on one of those atolls,
would be perfect targets even for
submarine that came unexpect-
edly to the surface and used its
deck guns.
If the intention is to cram the
tiny islands with aviation facilities
and planes we shall find that they
are as vulnerable as aircraft car
riers. Like carriers, they would be
defying the basic principle that the
safety of an air base lies in its max
imum dispersement. A single raid
by long-range enemy bombers, or
the surprise appearance Of subs in
foggy weather, could work havoc on
air power concentrated on a small
fiat space.
| distributed by McNaught Syndicate, Inc.)