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Show In Termi of Men " WE TALK glibly these days about building up great air fleets. We talk in terms of thousands of ships, as though there was nothing to it but to push the button and wait for the ships to come off the production line. What this means in human terms, we do not think. But it means that air armament is taking its toll steadily and relentlessly in picked young men. No exact figures are known, but it is believed that Germany kills about three pilot every two days, England and Franca at least one every three days, Italy perhaps as many, merely incident to flying routine. Does it seem silly to think of this, when a war has just closed In Spain that took a million mil-lion dead, and while the thousands are still being be-ing mowed down daily in China? Perhaps. But in a program of air armament expansion, that is one clement that must be counted in the regular toll of pilots who must die in the course of everyday practice flying, even without with-out any war at all. In the United States such accidents are still rare enough to startle the nation whenever they happen. But we, too, as we expand our air force must psy in blood as well as in dollars fur the arms taw. |