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Show SECRETARY OF AIR FORGES IS RECOMMENDED Major General Brancker Would Have Organization Quite Independent of the Land and Sea. WOULD BOMB THE GERMAN CITIES Again Advocates Delivery of Certain Types of Planes by Flying Them Across the Atlantic. NEW YORK, July 2S. An aerial offensive offen-sive to cities of Germany, including" Berlin, Ber-lin, is possible, in the opinion of Major General W. S. Brancker, controller general , of equipment of the British air ministry. Major General Brancker in a statement to the Associated Press laid emphasis on the organization of the air forces on a basis quite independent of the land and , sea. General Brancker believes eventually the United States will be obliged to create a secretary of air forces,. For the success of the allied cause, he feels strongly that the quicker air Independence is established estab-lished in this country the better. "We simply had to come to an air ministry min-istry in England," said General Brancker. "The Zeppelins and the Gothas, coupled . with the experience gained when aviation j was controlled by the army and navy, ! forced it upon us. You have had no Hun raids in this country to arouse you, but it is much hoped that, lacking this stimulus, stimu-lus, you will profit by our experience. Independent ' Control. "Are not the advantages of independent control obvious? Here you have one branch of aviation under the administration administra-tion of the secretary of war; another under un-der the secretary of the navy. These ministers min-isters have many other affairs to attend to in addition to aviation. "In Great Britain we have Lord "Weir, the air minister, as the head of a council of seven. "This council controls everything pertaining per-taining to aviation, both for land and sea combat. It supplies the army and fleet with airplanes and pilots, and in addition ad-dition maintains an independent force. This independent ,air force really has the same status as the expeditionary force or the grand fleet. We can formulate policy and strategy, while production, equipment and personnel function 'under one control. We do not have the anomalous situation of one branch of aviation service competing with the other for production and equipment. Such coordination co-ordination as this, obviously, is the only way a great air offensive can be prepared for and conducted. We need your help, your great resources and a similar organization organ-ization In this country to co-operate with us on equal terms. Not Enough Planes. "It is within the realm of certainty that we can bomb Berlin in the spring if not In the fall with airplanes we have building, as we have already bombed Cologne and the Rhine cities, but we have not the numbers num-bers for a really big offensive, in my understanding of the term. We have plenty of planes and can build plenty more, but we lack engines, and we have about reached the limit of capacity for engine production. "We have built up a big airplane program pro-gram to take the liberty motor and bomb Germany, but America cannot now spare these motors, and .so I fear that our airplanes air-planes will be waste and the real offensive offen-sive from the air seriously delayed. "The delivery of certain types of planes In' flying them across the Atlantic Is fcfisible. If we ran fly to Berlin and bark, which is more than miles, we can fly from Newfound land to t he Azores (the longest lap of the journey) which Is 1200 miles. This moans a big organization, airdromes air-dromes and repair plants in Newfoundland Newfound-land and the Azores." |
