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§ 128 hand and the Clyde on the other, that our main Naval building yards, dockyards and important depots will be established, and our largest and most important aircraft factories will be installed.

If the above conclusions are sound it may be found necessary, for reasons of Naval strategy, to cut a ship canal through from the Clyde to the river Forth. This would be an engineering feat of considerable magnitude, involving, besides the actual cutting itself, the deepening of the Clyde for a distance of some 12 or more miles between Clydebank and Greenock, in addition to extensive dredging of the River Forth. The existing Forth and Clyde Canal is an ordinary inland navigation, with numerous locks, fit only for lighters or barges of length not exceeding 68 feet. The height of the "divide" is about 160 feet.

A real ship canal for the purpose intended—to be navigable by the largest of our battleships—would be an undertaking of the same order of magnitude as the Kaiser Wilhelm or Kiel Canal, and we may assume would involve an expenditure probably not less than forty millions sterling. Such a canal would bring the Naval base at Rosyth within a few hours steaming of the Clyde, or roughly within twelve hours of Belfast Lough.

§ 129. Aeronautical and Naval Defence indissolubly associated. It is evident that the whole scheme for aeronautical defence must and will be closely related to the distribution of our Naval bases. In fact it is our Navy and defensive aircraft which henceforward will jointly constitute Britain's first line of defence. It is for this reason that the control of our defending air forces falls naturally to the Admiralty rather than the War Office. The most important objectives of an enemy air-raid, apart from attack on our centre of government, will be without doubt our Battle Squadrons, our Naval bases and