DES This telegram must be close1y paraphrased be- LONDON for being communicated to anyone. (SC) Dated April 3, 1941 Rec'd 6:35 p.m. Secretary of State, Washington. RUSH. 1309, April 3, 9 p.m. (SECTION FOUR) I think few people realize the extent to which modern warfare absorbs men in the supporting services. I heard Churchill say that excluding the factory it took 70 men on the ground to support a plane in the air. This came out in a discussion between Churchill and Beaverbrook in which the former was questioning the need of so high a ratio. Collateral services in air warfare are considerably more than they used to be. For example some 40,000 people are employed in the ground-signalling, the radio direction- finder services, and collateral observer corps. The British Air Force numbers approximately 500,000 men. WINANT NPL |