China and the West

Hemingway, Ernest. China badly in need of pilots, artillery. In : The Examiner ; 8 July (1941).
Rangoon.—There is much difference of opinion about the Chinese air force. I have seen Chinese pilots fly, visited their training schools, and talked with the Americans and the Russians who have taught them.
Some of the trainers say they are fine. Some say they are terrible. Lately kids from the ordinary Chinese people are being trained as pilots instead of the gentry having a mono- poly. The course of training is inadequate, and there are no planes for them when they graduate, so nothing is really proved. But they are not like the type of air-man who wishes to establish the fact that he is a superior being by flying, and, once he can fly, wishes to go no further. Scattered Recently some two-seater long-range Japanese fighters flew up to one of the Chinese airfields in the northern Szechwan province. Sixteen Chinese pursuit pilots, flying Russian E 15-3 planes. a conversion of America's old Boeing P12, with a new gull wing and re- tractable landing gear, took off to meet them. A few days before these same Chinese pilots had impressed President Roosevelt's representative, Dr. Laughlin Currie, with their formation flying. But when the heat was on it was a different story. The Japanese shot down 16 of 16 that went up. The Chinese broke formation and scattered, and the Japanese, keeping their formation, just went around methodically accounting for the singles after the covey had been flushed. Any real American aid to China in the air would have to include pilots. China can resist indefinitely with the equipment she has if she is financed, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek sees an ultimate chance of victory through Japan being involved in war with Great Britain and America. But the Chinese cannot face the Japanese in any offensive action; in that flat country they must regain to recapture their seaports and restore their lines of communication with the outside world—without plenty of' artillery and a good air corps. There are about 4000 allegedly competent Chinese artillery officers. Most of them are holding staff commands, due to the lack of guns in artillery units. Many of the officers are German trained and very good. Others are of doubtful ability. There are at least two offensive projects which the Chinese could undertake successfully if they were furnished with artillery. No Move South? There is an excellent chance that Japan will not try to move south this year at all, but will try to defeat China by two great final drives. Having lost her chance to make peace with China, she may realise that she can never move south successfully while the bulk of her forces are held in a China which cannot be crushed economically as long as it is receiving periodic financial injections from America. Japan's problem is to cut the main roads into China, by which aid comes in from America and Russia. If she does not attempt a move to the south she will undoubtedly try to drive north toward Sian, the capital of Shensi province, to cut the communications between Russia and China. Japan's other drive must be from Laokai, on the French Indo-China frontier, or somewhat east of there, north again to Kunming, to cut the Burma-road. Cutting these two roads would sever the main lifelines into China from the two countries that are helping her most. At this moment it looks as though Japan would not move south unless there was a German move to invade Britain. It does not look as though a German attack on Suez would provide sufficient confusion for Japan to move. It looks as though Japan will not risk war with Britain and America until she sees a possibility of England and America being so occupied that they cannot oppose her adequately.