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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0556.PDF
190 MAECH 6TH, ,1941. WAR IN THE AIR (Continued) SHIPPING RAIDER ; The four-engined Focke-Wulf " Kurier '' which is being used for long-range attacks on our merchantmen in the Atlantic. It is a development of the F. W. "Condor " civil machine. The horse-power has been nearly doubled by fitting four 14-cylinder B.M.W. radials of 1,300 h.p. each. Bombs are carried in the projection beneath the fuselage, which also houses forward and rear-firing turrets. Taking a leaf from our book, the Germans are fitting a four-gun power-operated turret on the top deck. No official performance figures are available, but, having regard to the known speed of the civil version, it is reasonable to expect a top speed in the region of 270 m.p.h. A crew of six is carried. " There was no fire brigade, no water, so everything just went on burning in the oil mill. The Karlsruhe fire brigade finally put the fire out. The next day the bombs were exploded (Sir Archibald explained that this was a reference to R.A.F. delayed-action bombs). Our house shook. We dread the night, and go to bed with our clothes on. It is so terribly cold, and we have so little coal. It causes a lot of death, more than one knows. If it goes on like this the people will be finished." Commenting on this letter, Sir Archi- bald said : '' We hate the cruelty of these bombardments. We never wanted war, with all its horror and destruction, but the Nazis brought it on the world. They spared no horror to Coventry or Bir- mingham or London—and we must ' be copy now to men of grosser blood and teach them how to war.' " Inferno at Cologne MANNHEIM has evidently not been ahealth resort for neurasthenic Ger- mans, but upsetting the nerves of German civilians will by itself not induce Hitler to give up his ill-gotten gains and sue for peace. Some writers are now urging that German nerves will not stand up to bombing in the way that British nerves have done. That may be true, but while the German armies are still the conquerors of most of Europe, will Hitler care what the civilians think? It is a very slow process for civilian de- moralisation to sap the fighting qualities of disciplined troops. The Bomber Command takes its targets in due rotation, getting advice from the best authorities. Its latest choice has been Cologne, and there has been a series of very fierce raids by night on the targets in that city. On one night the British bombers went there and re- turned in rapid succession for three hours, and they left the place a raging inferno, as one pilot put it. Let us hope they destroyed some ' main source of supply of an article urgently needed for the German advance into the Balkans. The trouble is that Germany has. been preparing for war for so long and has militarised her industries so thoroughly that it is very hard for bombing raids to make a fatal impression on her supplies. The adherence of Bulgaria to the Tripartite Pact is deplorable, but at the last moment the Bulgars could not have resisted the German forces, even if they had had a mind to do so. At an earlier date a real alliance of all the Balkan States might have been effectual, but they have delayed matters, even as the Scandinavian and Low Countries did. The advance of the Germans through the passes of the mountains into Greece should not be an easy matter, and there should be some grand opportunities for Allied aircraft to attack them in the passes. At present we do not know the strength of the resistance which Greece and Britain (and, probably, Turkey) have been able to prepare. That will only be revealed by degrees as the campaign develops. Later accounts of the affair at Kastelorizo show that at first there was resistance to the British naval forces, but when aircraft (presumably from a carrier) appeared to back up the warships the resistance melted away. After destroying the seaplane base the British forces were withdrawn. The Turks may be expected, to occupy the island, as it is close to their shores. There has been heavy air fighting in Albania. In one great fight the British were out- numbered by more than two to one, but they shot down no fewer than 26 Italian machines without loss to themselves. A few days later a single R.A.F. fighter saw five Italian machines and, move Britannico, he at once attacked them. He shot down three, and then the other two fled. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore has been in Greece, where Mr. Eden and General Sir John Dill have also arrived, and he congratu- later A.V-M. D'Albiac's contingent on their extremely gallant work. Malta is still the victim of enemy raids, sometimes by as many as 40 enemy machines at a time. On one such occasion our fighters shot down two definitely and so damaged six more that they were not expected to reach their base, while the A.A. guns made a bag of five. Those gunners at Malta shoot well. In one recent raid some enemy aircraft, presumably German, made a deliberate attack on the Imtarfa Hospital at Malta. Greece has had to endure earthquake as well as war. There has been a kad'-i^ shock at Larissa, and many buildings ^*** collapsed. One party of R.A.F. airmen was buried for a while, but when they were extricated they all set to and worked unceasingly for a day and a night to rescue others. The R.A.F. hurried up ambulances to take the injured to hospital, and a British aeroplane flew a number of R.A.M.C. men to the spot. As a sharp contrast, Italian aircraft bombed the stricken town while the rescue work was going on. The Italians now seem anxious to rival their German Allies in brutality. . - AIR LOSSES TO MARCH I. Feb Mar. 23 24 25 26 27 28 1 GERMAN Aircraft , 4 1 5 10 , BRITISH Fightei s . Pilots MIDDLE EAST Enemy Aircraft 10 ~3 7 12 28 5 65 British Aircraft 2 I 3 _1 British bombers and fighters lost over enemy territory : Feb. 23, I ; Feb. 24, I ; Feb. 25, I ; Feb. 26, 5 ; Feb. 28. I ; M?rch I, 3. Total 12. Enemy losses by R.A.F. and round defences in Northern Area, 4,253. In the Middle East the R.A.F. have destroyed about 1,092 and have lost ! 17.
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