Evening star., 1945-05-27
Suicide Tactics Held
Sign Of Weakness
Carriers Sealed Fate of Japs,
British Air Expert Declares
By E. c. Shepherd,

By E. c. Shepherd,
London Sunday Times Correspondent.
Reports Of suicide tactics by Japanese
pilots for the past six months reveal the
straits to which the japanese air arm
has been reduced Tried tactics are
abandoned only by a power which has
lost air superiority.
Japan began losing all hope at sea
when she began losing aircraft carriers
three years ago. With so many island
airbases then In her hands, she ap-
parently did not appreciate the magni-
tude OF the loss and evidently took at
face value the oft-repeated statement
that land-based are superior to ship
based aircraft. That statement is still
true IN general. The Japanese failed
to consider another truism-that range
Is more to strategy than speed.
In island warfare, extra range is con-
ferred on aircraft by aircraft carriers.
From the moment when Japan could not
send fighters with her bombers to attack
American aircraft carriers, her air power
was doomed.
|. That is to say, her airbases were more
certain to be damaged than were the
floating airbases of the Americans. The
aircraft carrier is relatively small mov-
ing target.
1t carries fighters for its protection as
well as bombers for offensive work. IT
1t is attacked outside the range of the
enemy's fighters, the raiding bombers
Will be under constant and intense on
slaught Immediately they come within
the range OF the carriers fighter air.
craft. They will suffer losses as they
approach; the survivors still will be
under attack in making their bombing
run and their target will be moving
erratically in the hope of upsetting
their aim.
In the opposite sense, when there is
ship-borne air attack on japanese air.
bases, all these considerations except
the mobility of the target would apply
II the commander of the carrier force
failed to employ his mobility for an
offensive as well as defensive adyan-
tage.
He can launch an offensive from as
many different points of the compass
as he has carriers and at such intervals
as will cause the greatest confusion in
the defensive scheme. He can draw off
the defenders and then put in the main
attack in the certain knowledge that his
target still will be there. His chances of
making hits on the island airbase are
multiplied-and the enemy's hope of
defense is likewise enthusiastically eyery
carrier he can use.
Before the United States had recov-
cred any islands, its carrier-borne air.
craft participated in destroying Japan's
shlp-borne air power and neutralizing
japanese airbases on the islands In
the past five months the carriers have
been able to send squadrons against
JapanS home islands.
To do so they have merely stood lust
out OF range of Japans land-based
f1ghters-about 300 miles-so there
could be no fighter escort for the bomb
ers Japan sent to attack them. The
outcome of this is the japanese suicide
raids that began last October. ~'-
British naval preoccupation in Euro
pean and Atlantic waters at first left
the grand-scale demonstration of this
principle to the American NAVY. The
work has been splendidly done by United
States carrier forces. British naval
forces are applying the same principle
with equal success. Using a single air.
craft carrier, they gave the first modest
demonstration Of the principle at Ia
ranto nearly five years ago.
Sh1p-based air power in the Pacific
was properly used as the thin edge of
the wedge. Its function In the early
days was to deprive the japanese of
local air superiority, whether ship
borne or island-based. Under cover of
the local air superiority thus achieved,
the recovery of island bases was begun.
When Okinawa has been taken, Allied
land-based air forces will be as near
Japan as they can get without seizing
bases on the home islands. Heavy
bombers have come into effective range
under the wing of ship-borne forces.
With their help, Japan's ability to ex-
pand and maintain her air power began
to be crushed just when devices to in
crease the radius of fighter operations
were developing
There may never be another war in
which carriers can be used to such good
purpose, but the Americans and British,
having found the secret, have sealed
Japan's doom with that class of ship.