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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1187.PDF
and AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE W)RLD >• FOUNDED IQO9 Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices : DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams: Truditur, Scdist, London. Telephone : Waterloo 3333 (50 lines). 8-10, CORPORATION ST., COVENTRY. Telegrams : Autocar. Coventry. Telephone : Coventry 5210. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, 2. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 2971 (5 lines). 260, DEANSGATE, MANCHESTER, 3. Telegrams : Iliffe, Manchester. Telephone: Blackfriars 4412. 26B, RENFIELD ST., GLASGOW. C.2. Telegrams : Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. Home and Canada : Other Countries : Year, £2 6 0. Year, £2 9 0. 6 months, £1 3 0. 6 months, £14 6. 3 months, Us. 6d. 3 months, 12s. 3d. No. 1635. Vol. XXXVII. APRIL 25, 1940 Thursdays, Price 9d. The Outlooks % The Bombing of Stavanger ~;U P to the time when the Navy mined practically every bit of water where a.German vessel might want to steam, the function of the Royal Air Force was co-operation with the Navy. With the attacks on Stavanger aerodrome and seaplane base the work of the R.A.F. may be said to have entered upon a new phase. In so far as Stavanger might be used as a base for raids on Britain, our bombing and bom- barding attacks on it may be classed as naval and naval co-operation work. The Fleet has, in fact, supple- mented the efforts of the R.A.F. for the general advan- tage of British interests in the war. But in bombing Stavanger the Air Force is, for the first time in this war (for Sylt was an isolated demonstration), pursu- ing a definite bombing policy against land in occupa- tion of the enemy. For the moment the struggle is mainly between the Luftwaffe and the R.A.F., the former trying to make good its occupation of Stavan- ger, and the latter trying to make the place uninhabit- able for it. This tussle may, however, be a stepping stone to a new phase of the war in the air; for if the Luftwaffe were able to mass its strength at Stavanger it would become a menace to the contingents of the British Army which have landed at various points on the Norwegian coast. It should have been the duty of the Luftwaffe to interfere with that landing if it had been able to doso ' Its next duty should be to attack our Expedition- ary Force before it has established itself with adequate anti-aircraft defences. So far as we know, the German aircraft have not damaged our troops, and the chief reason for that must be that the chief German air base m Norway has been immobilised by the constant Harassing to which it has been subjected. In that way e r°te of the Air Force is changing into help for our Army- That role may well develop. Aalborg i, ;; ? -T HE suggestion made in these columns last week that Aalborg aerodrome would prove of import- ance to the Germans in their transport by air of troops to Norway has proved correct. We also pointed out that Aalborg could be bombed by the R.A.F., and it has already met that fate. In fact all the aerodromes, except Oslo, on which the Germans have had to rely for the reinforcement of their men in Norway are within reach of British bombers, and the Bomber Command, helped by the Coastal Command and the Fleet Air Arm, has not been slow to take advan- tage of that fact. It is a really parlous position for the German invaders that they do not command the sea, and in trying to use the air as a substitute they can only rely on aerodromes which are under the fife of their opponents. At the best, reinforcement by air is a very poor substitute for reinforcement by sea, because modern warfare demands heavy and bulky weapons, such as big guns and tanks together with innumerable large lorries, none of which can be transported by air. In the mountainous parts of Norway there is the less need for such heavy weapons, but we must suppose that the final stages of this campaign will be fought out on the level regions in the South East of the country, and there the heavy weapons will come into their own. In the meantime we would express our regret that Aalborg has to be knocked about by British bombs. Less than a year ago we published an article describ- ing a flying tour by a member of Flight's staff over Denmark, which included a landing at Aalborg. The people of that city, and in particular the editors and journalists, gave the party a most hospitable welcome, and some warm friendships were made there. Our representative was much impressed by the plucky attempt of the Danish Air Lines to keep that form of fci
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