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Aviation History
1940
1940 - 1634.PDF
504 JUNE 6, T940 WAR IN THE AIR (CONTINUED) One of' the new Dewoitine D.520 single-seater fighters of the French Air Force. The armament is one Hispano- Suiza 20 mm. shell-gun and four Browning machine guns. help the Army in its hour of sore need, and right gallantly have they answered the call. Our bombers have flown day and night in the endeavour to hold up the advance of the German tanks and other troops, and have done im- mense damage to the enemy. Yet still the Germans have come on. The vast hordes of German troops have been hurled into the fray, regard- less of losses; but with num- bers on their side it has been possible for the German " ' . .. Generals to give some rest to wearied battalions. For the Allies no rest has been possible ; they have had to fight day and night, and day after day. Blenheims, Beauforts, Battles, Wellingtons, Whitleys, and Lysanders have been mentioned in the communiques as having played their part in bombing the German columns, and their losses have been small in comparison with the efforts they have made. Our fighters, too, have been simply magnificent. Adverse odds mean nothing to them, and they attack German formations wherever they find them, regardless of their numbers. They have wrought great havoc. The outstanding success of a squadron of Boulton Paul Defiants has been one of the most gratifying features of the air fighting. It was only recently that this two-seater fighter had been in action for the first time, and naturally before it had been tested in battle it was impossible to forecast whether it would be a success. One squadron of twelve Defiants shot down thirty-seven enemy aircraft on Wednesday, May 29. The story of their day's work was told as follows: — On their first patrol they met more German fighters and dive bombers than they could count. They brought down 17 of the fighters as well as a dive-bomber. On their second patrol, later in the afternoon, they shot down 19 and pos- sibly 21 bombers. During their first engagement, one of the squadron's air Junkers Ju 87 dive-bombers have proved a nuisance to the infantry, artillery and mobile units but are easy meat for our fighters. In the foreground are Hen- schel Hs 123 single-seater dive-bomber biplanes. These machines have BMW 132 engines. The Ju 87 in the background is of the old type.
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