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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 2255.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER AND AIRSHIPS fmST AERONAUTICALIVEEKLYIN THEG~WORLD •• FOUNDED tsoo Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chiej Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.1 Telegram: : Traditur, S.dist, London. Telephone Waterloo 333 J (50 inw; S-10, CORPORATION ST., COVENTRY Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telephone: Coventry 5210. GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION' ST., BIRMINGHAM, * Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 2971. 200, DEAN3GATE, MANCHESTER, 8 Telegrams: iiiffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. •2UB, RliSFlBLDSl. GLASGOW, C.2. Telegrams: Ilifle, Glasgow, Telephone: Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Home and Canada: Other Countries: Year, «I 13 0. Year, £1 16 I). (i months, 16». Gd. G months, 18s. 0 :. 3 months, ss. tkl. S months, 9a. od. No 1546. Vol. XXXIV. AUGUST 11, 1938. Thursdays, Price 6d. The Outlook- The Air Exercises T HE weather was just about as unkind as it could be to the large-scale Air Exercises held last week. The main object of the great show was to give practice in working together to all the heterogeneous elements which go to make up our air defence system. Fog and low cloud intervened and accordingly the amount of practice given was seriously curtailed. The worst sufferers in that respect were the crews of the T.A. search lights. They had come to their camps in great numbers and for the Exercise they had been distributed about the country in little groups of a few men with a projector and three tents, camped in fields, each about a couple of miles away from the next post. From observation on previous Air Exercises it appears that while each crew of the searchlight battalions is well trained, a great deal more practice is needed in combined operations. In past years there has been a tendency, when one light has caught a bomber in its beam, for every light within sight to dash at that same bomber with an almost audible shout of "Me too." That is a waste of energy, for it is quite sufficient for three beams fo concentrate on one bomber. If others join in, it means that some other bomber has a good chance of sneaking through unobserved. Lots of drill on a large scale is what is wanted to correct that tendency. It was hoped that these Exercises would provide such practice. However, the weather conditions cut down the volume of raiding to such an extent that some of the searchlights got little or no practice in spotting bombers. Things were so bad in this respect that on the Sunday morning, when the bombers were recalled at 61.30, the fighters were directed to continue flying for another three hours so as to give the searchlight crews some practice. Incidentally this resulted in the loss of four Demons, which could find no fog-free aerodrome in all Lincolnshire on which to land, and it was indeed fortunate that none of the crews was killed or hurt. Obviously the searchlight crews were unable to obtain the same realistic practice which they would have had if a stream of hostile bombers had been coming overhead, varied at times by friendly bombers returning from a raid on Eastland. Weather and Tactics B OTFI attack and defence were hampered by the br.d weather, and it will probably take the staffs of the Bomber and Fighter Commands sonie time to collate all the results and extract the lessons which the bad weather taught. The outside observer can only note a few points. In the first place, the huge mass attack on Westland had to be curtailed. Bombers require a lot of special circumstances if their work is to be effective. They like a certain amount of cloud to hide them as they approach and again as they retreat to the coast. At the same time they must be able to see their targets if they are to make good shooting. During these exercises some raids were able to get through and bomb their targets without being intercepted ; but the scale of raiding was very modest. The fighters in consequence had fewer raids to find, but more difficulty in finding them. It is claimed that they intercepted the majority, but precise figures have not been published. It must be remembered that the final stage of interception depends on the sharp eyes of the fighter pilots. The ground organisation can say where a raid is heading, and at what height. The Fighter Group concerned can order a certain squadron to patrol on that line and at that height, but then everything depends on the fighters seeing the bombers. Misty weather will make this difficult. Given practice, fighter pilots acquire very sharp sight, and can spot aircraft in the air when to the ordinary untrained man they are completely invisible. But experi ence is the one thing which our splendid Flying Training Schools cannot give to new pilots, and most of the men who were flying on these exercises had not joined the R.A.F. when air exercises were held last year. Next summer pilots as a body will be far more experienced.
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