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importance of this new arm, the great vulnerability of their country to air attack and that the prodigious effort that the United States had put out in aviation would, if kept up, be a deciding element in future war, a definite plan of development was begun.

69. To bring this about, two things were necessary: first, the creation of the tactical units, and, next, the manufacture and production of the necessary material and equipment in Japan, itself. Of personnel suitable for the making of pilots, engineers, and mechanics, Japan had enough; but of factories of all kinds, and of a technical backbone for the development of aircraft and their accessories, Japan had practically nothing. As long as Japan had to depend on the purchase of airplanes and their engines abroad, she could not hope to do anything in war against a power such as the United States because the war might be drawn out over a period of years and would not only necessitate a great expenditure of aircraft but would necessitate the development of entirely new designs to suit the particular conditions confronting the country.

70. As is her custom, Japan sought out what she thought

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