We are naturally and rightly told little of the actual
figures of aircraft production in this country. Considerable interest, therefore attaches to an article by the Sunday Times air corre- spondent stating that Germany's present production is esti- mated at 1,800 machines a month, and that our own is in excess of that. The words used are "our production," which implies that American imports, now arriving in steadily in- creasing volume, are over and above that. The estimate of German production must, of course, be taken for what it is worth, but criteria for a reasonably accurate assessment do exist. As to our own figures, Lord Beaverbrook said in his broadcast on Wednesday that our production this month is more than double that of July last year. That, if fairly authori- tative surmises about last year's production may be accepted, would confirm the Sunday Times figures. The German lead in total numbers is, of course, still very substantial, but though neither country has reached its peak production, our capacity for expansion should be considerably the greater, quite apart from the machines which may, in the late Air Minister's words, " accrue " to us from the United States, Canada and elsewhere. And according to Lord Beaverbrook 3,000 planes a month are to accrue from the United States alone. We are not told when.
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