Anti-Aircraft Defence The announcement by the Secretary Of State for
War that the anti-aircraft defence force is to be doubled and the command reorganised represents a belated recognition of the over- whelming importance of adequate protection for the great industrial centres of this country. The two existing anti- aircraft divisions will be increased to five, and placed under a Corps Commander with the rank of Lieutenant-General. At the War Office there will be a Lieutenant-General in the position of Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, responsible through the C.I.G.S. to the Secretary of State. That on the personal side is no doubt all to the good, but personnel without adequate equipment is of little use, and despite the reassuring statement given out semi-officially by the War Office on Tuesday there is ground for considerable anxiety on that score. It is no doubt true that the modernised 3-inch anti-aircraft gun is a more serviceable weapon than its critics have admitted, and that prospects for the production (which has, in fact, already begun) of the 3.7 inch gun are better than had been looked for. But not even Mr. Hore- Belisha would claim that the position is satisfactory. What can be claimed is that as the new factories come into full production leeway will be made up with increasing speed- The main value of the new announcements is as evidence of a realisation that if war does come it will be fought out, not indeed on but over, the soil of Britain.
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