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ve, AMERICA F. TRST COMMITTER © "100-922 :) + “world, and that the changes which take place in one portion * ‘of the world are bound to affect in some degree all other portions. Whatever affects Amerioa affects Burope and Asia; and, conversely, whatever affeots Europe and Asia is bound to have more or less effect on Ameri wi? Possibly we can appreciate the significance of air power better by considering the effect that sea powor has had on the relationship -* and fortunes of nations. The comparison is not exact, but it is enlightening And one must remember that aviation has developed as much in a generation shipping developed over a period of centuries. © . . Now when great changes in methods of warfare take plece, © history shows that empires and nations fall, and other rise instead. The inn portant problem for us in this country to solve, is how to turn the changes of this modern era to our advantage and ow to avold having them used again us. If we use air power intelligently, we can increase our national safety, add to our standard of living, end improve the quality of our civilization. But if we do not use air power intelligently, if we expose ourselves unnoces: sarily, if we fail to understand its limitations as well as its advantages if ‘we allow some foreign nation to turn the developments of modern warfare against us wo may find our national safety in jeopardy, and our standard of living . far lower than it is today. In fact, air power if unintelligently handled, could bring the downfall of the very civilization which created ite 7. : - After a careful study of this problem, both in America and Va Europe, over a period of years, I was forced to the conclusion that France and ; . England were not in a position to win a war against Germany, and that the domi- - nant position in Europe had shifted from England, as a sea power, to Germany ai @ land end eir power, The same study brought me to the conclusion that ~~ wae while aviation greatly strengthened our position in America from the standpoint i “- of defense, it greatly weakened our position from the andpoint of attacking : Europe, | : Z a A : y : foe Nea ane ° conclusions upon many observations and fact: ro there is not time to outline all of them tonight, but I would like to bring : . "Some of the most outstanding to your attentions ~ feet _ 7 It was obvious, even before this war started, that air power: made it costly, if not impossible, for naval forces to operate within effective bombing range of an enemy const adequately protected by aircraft. This meant that 1 troops could not be landed and mainteined on any coast where an eneny had ~~ », Strong supremacy of the air, These facts have been confirmed by the resulte , of naval and air battles off the coast of Morway, in the Skagerrak, in the Worth Sea, off the coast of Greece, and in the vicinity of Sicily and Crete Wherever sea power and air power have clashed during this war, there is not @ skgle instance whore sea power has won. oe, ee . _ It was obvious, before the war started, that Germany had by fer. i the strongest air force in Kurope, and thet air power could strike across the - , 4 English channel and behind the Maginot line, regardless of the strength of the ‘: