Frederick William Lanchester

“ In fact it is our Navy and defensive aircraft which henceforward will jointly constitute Britain's first line of defence. It is for this reason that the control of our defending air forces falls naturally to the Admiralty rather than the War Office. The most important objectives of an enemy air-raid, apart from attack on our centre of government, will be without doubt our Battle Squadrons, our Naval bases and dockyards, and our aircraft and shipping centres, for it is here that, apart from any question of invasion. Great Britain is most vulnerable. ”

“ We may then disabuse our minds of the popular notion that the raiding or attacking of London by aircraft is to be regarded as something contrary to the established ethics of warfare; we recognise that we are, in the protection of our capital, face to face with a necessary problem of national defence of the first magnitude. ”

“ When, however, the weather conditions are favourable to attack, also in the case of attack by night, there is no means of defence at present known to the author which would prevent the enemy from inflicting enormous damage if he attack in sufficient numerical force and is prepared to act with determination in spite of any losses he may sustain; no reasonable superiority in the defending aircraft, either individually or numerically, can be entirely effective. Neither can we pin our faith to counter-aircraft artillery ”

“ We have so far not witnessed an attack by aircraft on an important city on a grand scale, such as, without doubt, the future has in store. The " raids " which have hitherto been carried out are quite trivial and ineffective affairs compared with what in due course will become possible. The critical point, and the point to be aimed at as an act of war, is that at which the fire-extinguishing appliances of the community are beaten or overcome. ”

“ In the author's opinion it is vitally necessary, both with a view to ensuring speedy victory and to our future as a nation, that our manufacturing resources in the production of aircraft should be developed to the utmost; aeroplanes and still more aeroplanes will be needed, aeroplanes in the maximum possible quantities of every useful type, whether reconnaissance, bmb-dropping, or fighting machines; our total present capacity for production is petty in comparison with what we have evidence the future will demand. ”

“ The Incentive to Attack. The Real Source of Weakness. It is evident that if the administrative headquarters of the Army and Navy were removed to some less accessible position, and in fact if London were to cease to be the centre of Government, the main incentive to attack, as a military operation, would be destroyed, and the danger in question disposed of. Obviously London as a city would be no less vulnerable than before, and it would be open to be wantonly raided unless adequate means of defence were provided. ”

“ There will always be the sentimentalist who has implicit faith (in spite of experience) in the omnipotence of peace conferences and the like and the unalienable rights of humanity, who will decline to believe that after the present war Nation will need to defend itself against Nation by brute force. ”

“ Measures of defence, however, to be effective have always to be proportioned to the incentive to attack, and to reduce the incentive to a minimum is to make the most of such means of protection as are available. ”

“ The Danger to Aircraft Factories and Production. There is a further point in respect of which the position of aircraft is without exact parallel in the other arms of the Services; in a war of any magnitude or duration the manufacture during the period of hostilities is vital to the maintenance of the Arm at its initial strength, and the manufacture is itself threatened if the enemy once obtain, aeronautically, the upper hand. ”

“ The "centre of gravity" of the bases on which the Navy will rely for its support is bound to move northward and still further north as the power of the aeronautical Arm is uncoiled, and eventually the strategic centre of our defences, both Naval and Aeronautical, will perforce be located in the region of the Irish Sea and North Channel; it will then be in the neighbourhood of Belfast on the one hand and the Clyde on the other, that our main Naval building yards, dockyards and important depots will be established, and our largest and most important aircraft factories will be installed. ”

“ As already pointed out there are geographic positions which in no way lend themselves to aeronautical defence, it will be incumbent upon the Naval Authorities to determine when and under what conditions these will need to be abandoned. Generally speaking, a point can only be defended from hostile aircraft when its approach necessitates a considerable length of flight over British territory. Alternatively a point may also be considered defendable if the total distance from hostile territory is sufficient, provided that the intervening sea is effectively patrolled ”

“ The greater and more thorough the precautions, the less probability will there be of the enemy attack being successful, and the larger the scale on which it will have to be conducted to have any hope of success; conversely the easier will be rendered the effective defence. ”

“ It is thus detrimental to the cause of humanity to tie the hands of a belligerent by international convention. Such conventions result in delays whilst law officers are consulted and whilst committees are called and decisions are reached; also they result in no preparations being made for counter measures such as comprehended by the word reprisal. The power of reprisal and the knowledge that the means of reprisal exists will ever be a far greater deterrent than any pseudo-legal document. ”

“ It is not only in its power of offence that the longdistance aeroplane is at a military disadvantage; it is so in respect of all other attributes which are involved in the problem of weight. For example, any machine built expressly for long distance raiding, will be essentially a relatively slow machine, since speed means engine weight; it must be, comparatively speaking, a relatively poor climber for the same reason. ”

“ It is extremely doubtful whether we shall witness during the present war raids extending to anything approaching 300 or 400 miles out and home over enemy territory, so that the recommendation suggested above is probably more drastic than necessitated by present conditions; however, all depends upon the duration of the war, the technical difficulties in the way of the production of suitable machines can be surmounted at any time without great difficulty. ”

“ In other words, our present lead is only in part due to our own effort, it is largely due to the mistake made by the enemy prior to the war in devoting altogether disproportionate attention to the large dirigibles: Germany backed the wrong horse. ”

“ In the present war the position is far more favourable; the Midlands and West of England are reasonably safe from attack. ↑ A given type of aeroplane may not be the best we know how to make, but the same may be said of our small arms, or our field pieces; it does its work, however, and is understood by the men who handle it in the field: these are points worth a great deal. It is not realised by those who are not intimately connected with manufacture the extent to which alterations or improvements during quantity manufacture are detrimental to output ”

“ The author prefers the more benevolent definition that a fool is one to whom the teaching of experience is of no avail. ↑ A reprisal to be effective must be delivered with promptitude like the riposte of a skilled fencer. A reprisal which is too long delayed possesses no moral weight and has every appearance of an independent act of aggression ”

“ Thus a city in which fire-proof or fire-resisting construction is extensively employed, and in which a town-planning scheme has been adopted with a view to the localisation of any conflagration that may get out of hand, will be far safer and more easily defended than one in which these precautions are not taken. ”

“ A point of great importance in the present connection is the radius of action of the aircraft by which attacks such as under discussion will be carried out. Evidently it is the aeroplane or flying machine which chiefly concerns us, and due allowance for possible improvement over existing performance must be admitted. ”

“ That in view of the potentialities of the Aeronautical Arm, a comprehensive scheme of construction should be forthwith prepared, in which provision shall be made for organizing, utilizing, and developing every available source of manufacture and supply.
(2) That if possible certain of our present types of aeroplane be virtually adopted "for the duration of the war," and existing manufacturing facilities should be utilised for their uninterrupted production to the utmost of their capacity. ”

“ That where it is decided that new types are required, new sources of production should so far as possible be tapped or new works equipped, in order that output should not be made to suffer. In other words, the policy should tend in the direction of establishing each new type with the factory for its production as a complete proposition. ”

“ Thus the life of an aeroplane in active service is a matter of only some three or four months, and the manufacturing resources of the country must thus be capable of replacing the whole active force of aeroplanes three or four times over in every year. ”

“ Taking everything into account, the author thinks it improbable that raids over territory held by an enemy exceeding 300 or 400 miles will be found practicable, and in the face of opposition it would be rare for an attempt of this magnitude to succeed unless conducted by a force of overwhelming numerical strength. ”

“ The position of the Aeronautical Arm, however, is unique in the relatively great importance of the daily output of new machines, and in the relative ease with which this may be interfered with by enemy enterprise if due precautions are not taken. ”