FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1972.PDF
28 JULY II, 1940 AIR STRATEGY (CONTINUED defence. But she has dissociated herself from the affairs of the Old World. Her outlook is inconsistent. There cannot be one law for the New World and another law for the Old. America cannot live a life apart. What Great Britain fights for to-day America must fight for to-morrow if Britain were to lose. And against the forces that would then be arrayed against her, America could not preserve the New Hemisphere. If every American citizen had flown along parts of the seaboard of the Atlantic coast of South America (as I have), he would realise that enormous lengths of that coast are undefended, and with the man power available are indefensible. This new battle in Europe, which has been dubbed (as far as I know by our own politicians) the Battle of Britain, is falsely named. It should have been called the first stage of the Battle for America. Perhaps that would have aroused Americans to realities. Every successive State has made the same mistake with Hitler; they have allowed him to Concentrate on one target after another, one at a time. By the time they had prepared to intervene, intervention was too late. And America, with every lesson spread before her, is acting as the others have acted. At the present time we have no need for a big expedi- tionary force. Our need is for aircraft fully manned and (even though we have much of the French Fleet) for ships. America could supply both, and they might turn the balance at a small cost if they were supplied now. But I am afraid that the only sights of the American Army and Navy air forces we are likely to get here for the present are celluloid versions from Hollywood. The world's most advertised air forces have gone back-stage. But a friend of mine in South America tells me that news reel shorts depict the victories of U.S. types of aircraft in the R.A.F. ; to South American audiences the Royal Air Force must appear to be equipped almost entirely with American aircraft. So it looks as if John Bull needs to brush up his propaganda machinery in the New World. As Herbert Morrison says, let us "Go to it." EVACUATION of the CHANNEL ISLANDS Good Work by Jersey Airways : DH86s Busy ONE of the few remaining British air transport com-panies will now fly only through the fog of war, forits civil activities have perforce ceased with the German occupation of the Channel Islands, which occurredon Sunday, June 30. Jersey Airways are no longer able to fly this route and the many holiday passengers andothers whom they carried will have heard the news with great regret. However, the general manager, Mr. G. O.Waters, when interviewed at the temporary office of the company in a London hotel (where they are at present"refugees"), said that their plans for the future were encouraging as the company would retain its identity andorganisation and work in conjunction with the Air Force under Air Ministry instructions. The Channel Islands are the only British possession tosuffer German occupation in this war. They involved a diversion of too much naval and air strength to be worth holding, as they are situated so close to the French coast (about 25 miles). The Germans have, of course, seized them for their food-producing value, even though small, and for their aerodromes, which may be useful to them for attacks on Channel shipping. After the suspension under Air Ministry orders of its regular services on June 13, the company's evacuation scheme came into action, and on Friday, June 14, the wives and families of the staff were transported by air to England in the company's fleet. On the Saturday, the aircraft were used to transfer equipment, stores and five spare engines, as it was hoped to keep operating the ser- vices from a base in England. Maintenance personnel went too, except for a skeleton staff, which was to do the Islands end of the maintenance work. This transfer was helped by the arrival of two Ensigns (carrying R.A.F. men) which would otherwise have gone back empty. In fact, the com- Fligr ngni, yuui vtjjapn. Good-bye to Jersey. A DH86 of Jersey Airways circles the aerodrome. Five of these aircraft were used in the evacuation. Opened in March, 1937, the aerodrome was very welcome after three years of beach landings.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
