MASS HUGE AIR
FORCE IN EGYPT
ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Oct. 17. OP)
—Military authorities agreed today
that the vast establishment for fighting airplanes, 16 miles east of here,
would be the real British defense base
in the event of a Mediterranean conflict.
This air base, behind the historic
bay of Abukir where Admiral Nelson
sealed the fate of Napoleon's adventure in Egypt, is the greatest in the
Near East and one of the most alert
in the world.
Authorities estimate that mon
than 1200 royal air force planes an
here, but all private observers car
see is a barbed wire fence along t
road which bisects a great field—that, |
and numerous hangars.
In the last few weeks there has
been a continuous arrival of squadrons of seaplanes flying-from Great
Britain by way of Greece and now
anchored in Abukir bay They will be
combined with more than 1^0 planes
borne by the aircraft carriers Courageous and Glorious.
