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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1312.PDF
•398 FLIGHT JUNE 12TH, 1941. an aerodrome so thoroughly that it can continue to func- tion in spite of air attacks, as Malta has done, is a long business. An Air Force contingent is not really very mobile ; its ground equipment moves very slowly. How- ever, it was in November that the Italians i waded Greece, and that gave time to organise aerodromes in Greece and Crete. It is not known whether indents were sent to Great Britain for the equipment, or whether that equipment, if demanded, was available. In any case, the actual defence of aerodromes is almost entirely a responsibility of the Army. Whatever the reason, the campaign in Greece and the subsequent struggle in Crete must rank with the cam- paigns in Norway and France as cases where British armies received insufficient support from the air. Continuity 0/ Policy ?E ARLY in May Sir Arthur Longmore returned to London to advise and confer with the Air Council. During his absence the Germans invaded Crete by air and overcame the British troops there. All British aircraft were evacuated from the island, which could only have been done with the consent of General Freyberg, but may have been the result of previous lack of preparation. At present it cannot be said whether that lack of preparation was culpable, and, if so, who was the culprit. At the beginning of June Sir Arthur Longmore was appointed Inspector-General of the Royal Air Force, and his second-in-command, Air Marshal Tedder, succeeded him as A.O.C.-in-C, Middle East. There may be some significance in the choice of Sir Arthur's successor. On the face of it, one would assume that the selection of his Deputy indicated that the Air Council approved of the general policy recently pursued by the Middle East Command, and desired to see it con- tinued. This does not necessarily follow. Air Marshal Tedder has only held his post for five or six months, and was only chosen for it after Air Marshal Boyd was taken prisoner by the Italians last November. That sh\°^' period gives no positive assurance of unanimity ot opinion. The public in Great Britain is left between the horns of this dilemma: either the Air Council disapproves of Sir Arthur Longmore's conduct of his Command and has honourably removed him from it, or, if the change has been made for other reasons, the Air Council has been exceedingly tactless in announcing the change imme- diately after the British defeats in Greece and Crete. There will in due course be further fighting on land between British and German armies. The British public wants to be assured that its Army shall not again be left short of fighters and bombers. Aerodromes must not be left defenceless because the Air Force and the Army are two stools. Steps are being taken in Cyprus to' prevent a repetition of Crete. A late beginning was made, but, we hope, not too late. ONE OF MANY PURPOSES : Loading a torpedo on to a Bristol Beaufort. The slightest impact on "the " whiskers " on the nose of the torpedo is sufficient to cause detonation. Some details of the Beaufort general-purpose,aircraft appear on pages o, 6. c and d in this issue. -*"'~~\ \ f •' \ "x \
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