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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0501.PDF
FEBRUARY 27TH, T941. /? TneT\ir Singapore Rein- forced : Italian Somaliland In- vaded : Ethiopian Patriots' Progress T~ HE R.A.F. Com-mand at Singa-pore, which is under the general direc- tion of Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Pop- ham, Commander - in- Chief of the Far East, has recently received powerful reinforcements of modern bombers, twin - engined fighters, and single - engined fighters. In addition, a very considerable force of Australian infantry and artillery with ancil- lary services has been landed in Malaya and has taken up strategical positions along the peninsula. Intimation had been received some time ago that some squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force were in Malaya. These reinforcements are most welcome, as break of war the R.A.F. Command had at only two squadrons of flying boats, two INVASION PORT. Bombs bursting among barges and dock-side buildings during a daylight raidby the R.A.F. on Boulogne Harbour. before the out- its disposal of torpedo- bombers, and the local Volunteer Air Force. As so much care has been expended on bringing the land and air sides of the garrison up to a useful strength, we may conclude that the naval side has not been neglected, and that this all-important base is now in not too bad a case to guard British interests in the Pacific Ocean. It is particularly Posing to note that British production of aircraft and outturn of air crews have reached a point which make it possible to reinforce overseas stations while at the same time increasing the weight of bombing raids on German and occupied territory. "Appeasement," such as closing the Burma road, should no longer be a humiliating necessity foi Britain. Conquering Italian Africa A VERY few details have been allowed into the papers about the parachute troops whose sudden appearance •n Italy caused so much surprise, but the details do not amount to much. They describe the uniform of the men, who are all volunteers, and how quickly their special para- chutes open as they emerge from a twin-engined bomber flying at a low level with its engines throttled down. The men's fighting equipment is lowered by a different parachute. The air operations round the Mediterranean continue to provide most of the interest. Since the last issue of Flight the persistent raiding of aerodromes in Rhodes and the other Dodecanese islands has continued. There cannot now bt many aircraft left on those islands, and the supplies fuel and oil must have run very low. Possibly this -her sudden concentration of interest on targets which before only received occasional attention may be connectedw ith Germany's threat to Bulgaria. It is even possible that Turkey may have made a direct request that the aerodromes so near to her Asia Minor coast should be ham- strung before there was any chance of their working mis- chief. The German machines have been getting more active after a lull since their aerodromes in Sicily were so heavily hit by the R.A.f. and the Fleet Air Arm Some of them have been identified flying at a great height ovei Macedonia, presumably taking photographs, and these most likely started from some base nearer than Sicily. Others have been raiding Benghazi, and at least five Ger- man machines have been shot down there. In East Africa the R.A.F. and the South African A.F. continue to play an important part in helping forward the various attacks on the Italians. The advance into Italian Somaliland, the most southerly of all the operations, has lately become prominent. The capture of the port ol Kismayu near the mouth of the Juba river was an important success by troops drawn from all parts of Africa. The King's African Rifles seem to have been the first to enter the town, while South Africans later on pursued the retreat- ing Italian column. Men on the spot assert that aircraft played the most important part in the battle which led to the capture of the place. There is no mention of opposi- tion in the air. It is strange to reflect on how the tables have been turned on the Italians in East Africa When they conquered Abyssinia they owed a great deal to the ruthless use which they made of their Air Force, which had no air opposition to encounter. Now the Empire air squadrons are making fairly smooth the paths of the ad- vancing troops, and are not being hampered to any serious extent by Italian aircraft Further up the Juba river to the North lies the town of Bardera, and outside it the S.A.A.F. has attacked the Italian headquarters and stores. One squadron dive-bombed the targets, releasing both H.E. and fire bombs. The Empire troops then forced their way
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