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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 0351.PDF
FEBRUARY 8, 1940 LII (CONTINUED) The Westland Lysander army co-operation machine was built to rough it. Here is one in France operatingunder chilly conditions. '' Now let me turn to the Air Force. I dare say many of you have made guesses at the rate at which our Air Force is expanding. I am not going to give you any figures of that expansion by which you can check your guesses, for a reason which will be very obvious to you, but I may perhaps tell you that the labour force employed to-day upon aircraft con- struction and all the various apparatus which has to be prepared for aircraft is seven times what it was in 1935-6, ?. .1 and it is higher to-day than it was at the peak of our output in the last War. • - - " As for the quality of our machines and of their per- sonnel, our experience up to now has shown that it leaves nothing to be desired, and if I am told that the Germans are probably making improvements in their aircraft to correct the faults which have been disclosed, well, I will content myself by saying that we, too, are not standing still. '' I should like to add a few words about that great Empire training scheme which is going in the future to give us an almost inexhaustible supply of expert pilots, observers, bombers and gunners. For that purpose there will be established in Canada no fewer than 67 training schools. They will have a staff amounting to no fewer than 40,000, and they will be provided with upwards of 80 new or en- larged aerodromes. 1 venture to say that you could have no more striking demonstration of the power of the Dominions, separated by so many thousands of miles from one another, to canalise and concentrate their forces in order to forge a mighty weapon of war." The Fighting in Finland WHILE on land the Finns, as enterprising and skilful asthey are brave, continue to repulse the Russian at- tacks with heavy loss to the Bolsheviks, the invaders have fallen back on still more frightfulness from the air. Their bombing attacks are incessant, and a great deal of material damage has been done to many towns and villages. It is said that there are never fewer than 400 Soviet aircraft ready for use or in use against the Finns. Hospitals clearly marked with the Red Cross seem to be especially favoured targets, and some terribly tragic stories are told of wounded and nurses falling victims. On the whole, however, the civilian casualties have not been heavy. The Finnish fighter pilots seem to have the upper hand of the Russian bombers, so far as their numbers allow, and they report up to twenty-one Russian machines shot down in one day. They have received a contingent of Gladiators and Blenheims from Great Britain, machines which had been ordered by South Africa but which Gen. Smuts allowed to be diverted to the help of the Finns. No doubt the cost of the gift falls on the United Kingdom, for presumably no charge will be made to Finland. Sweden is also supplying aircraft, and so are other countries. If the Finns can only get enough munitions, and particularly aircraft, and can get them in time, they will be able to prolong their defence ; though we wish we could see some prospect of their achieving a complete victory in the end. It is reported that the Russians have been dropping parachutists in Finnish uniform behind the defenders' lines. Twelve Canadian pilots, rejected by the R.C.A.F. on medical grounds, are sailing to fight for Finland. We must apologise for a stupid slip of the pen in this column last week. We inadvertently wrote that "masses of German bombers " have been flying over Finland. This should have read " Russian bombers." Last Saturday's Raiding A GAIN on the morning of Saturday, February 3, some •*"*• twenty Heinkel III bombers commenced a series of raids on shipping off the coasts of Britain. This time, however, they did not escape without loss, for, despite the cloudy weather, the machines of the Fighter Command succeeded in getting within range on a number of occa- sions, with a net result that one bomber was brought down on land five miles from Whitby, another was shot down in the sea off the Tyne, and our pilots reported that three more were so badly damaged that it was improbable that they would regain the Fatherland. The Germans admitted the loss of three machines. The fighting started soon after 9 a.m. A fighter patrol saw a Heinkel dropping bombs at two merchant ships near the Fame Islands off the coast of Northumberland. The Hurricanes attacked at once, and the Heinkels promptly turned tail without returning their fire and made for the clouds up above. But at least one Hurricane had got its salvo home, and its pilot reported : "As the enemy escaped into the cloud I saw heavy black smoke and bits of metal coming from its starboard engine." At 9.40 another Heinkel was sighted by a patrol flying low over the sea five miles off Whitby, and heading east. The fighters went for it, and it tried to climb up into the clouds, but the fighters attacked in turn, and, disregard- ing the fire of the Heinkel's rear gunner, wounded all three members of the crew, and put the starboard engine out of action. The bomber's undercarriage came down, and its pilot turned towards the land. He succeeded in getting there, and made a creditable landing beside a farmhouse near Sneaton Castle. The Heinkel crashed through a hedge and came to rest fifty yards from the house. It brought down telephone wires and cut down a tree. The crew set fire to their machine. They were all wounded, and were taken to a hospital. Shortly before 11 a.m. another Heinkel was seen attack- ing ships off the mouth of the Tyne. The attention of a fighter patrol was attracted by seeing the bursts of shells from a gun on one of the ships. One fighter headed the German off from the clouds, while two others attacked him from the rear. The Heinkel came down on the sea at an easy angle, and the crew were picked up by a ship. Other engagements took place, all without damage to any of our fighters or their pilots, and in several cases one of the engines of the bomber was seen to be hit. Only the clouds enabled a number of bombers to escape complete destruction, but when one engine is shot out of action the chances of a machine getting back to Germany through stormy weather must be very much reduced. Two other German airmen were picked up at sea, and the bodies of three more, one wearing the Iron Cross, were washed ashore. The raiders had attacked over ten ships, and sunk two of them. Eleven seamen lost their lives. A full report had not been published when we went to press.
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