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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1704.PDF
6o FLIGHT JULY 31ST, 1941. ARE OUR BOMB-AIMERS ACCURATE ? (I) The Binnen Alster area 01 Hamburg before the building of a camouflage Lombardsbruecke Bridge 600 yards north of the original bridge, . • . ..-.-. ...••••-;-. •-;••->;,.:-:.--;~ • a part of the French Empire whichthey had not been able to defend, saying that in consequence they hadto ask some other Power to defend Inrio-China for them. The argumentwas smart, but quite unconvincing. Japan obviously wants to have basesfrom which she can threaten the _13unna road into China, and alsoMalaya and the Dutch East Indies. Neither of the latter territories areripe plums ready to fall into the Japanese maw. The air strength oiMalaya has recently been considerably .strengthened, and the Japanese air.'•mi, even if locally superior in num- bers, is in quality far below thestandard of the R.A.F. and the R.A.A.F., both of which Forces arerepresented at Singapore, and in the surrounding country. Standing at theready is 'not a favourite occupation of either Home or Australian airmen,and they have probably been (in R.A.F. parlance) badly browned offwhile waiting there. There is nothing they would so enjoy as to be attackedand to be able to let fly with their machine guns at an invader. Thehigher authorities are not likely to share this desire, and we most of ushope that the world war will not spread to that part. The UnitedStates also holds strong views about rights in that part of the world, andit is known that American states- men have been saying some verystraight things to the representatives of Japan, Enemy Shipping Attacked TN addition to the daylight sweepsA over France and the heavy night bombing of targets in Germany, theR.A.F., assisted at times by the Fleet Air Arm, has lately been making a heavy onslaught on the enemy ship-ping moving along the shores of the Continent. The ships used are mostlysmall, from 2,000 to 5,000 tons, and so many of them have been on themove lately that it is clear that a great effort is being made to relievethe constant strain on the internal communications, including canals,used by the German forces and civil administration. Great numbers ofthese coasting vessels have recently fallen victims to British bombers ofthe Bomber and Coastal Commands. They are usually escorted by flak- WAR IN THE AIR ships, so the British airmen have to run risks in attacking them. These risks are cheerfully accepted, and on not a few occasions the flak-shipa themselves have suffered for their interference. The torpedoes carried by Beauforts are particularly deadly in these operations. Air-borne tor- pedoes will not always sink a warship, though they slow it up (as in the case of the Bismarck), but they will usually put an end to the career of a tramp steamer. •;• • .••-'--•••••.'*•.;.-•-•:'?-•:.•?.:'• Depressed German Airmen T TP to the end of the third week in^ July the German air attacks on Great Britain were far from whole-hearted, and showed that the serious attention of the Luftwaffe is directedeastward. It must be rather depressing for the crews of the German machinesleft in France to be ordered to take off on a mission in which they must knowthat their High Command is not much interested. Depression seems to havetaken possession of some of the men, and one wireless operator who wasrecently taken prisoner after his bomber had been shot down by anight-fighter confessed as much. " I always knew that there were nolaurels to be won in England," he said, "few of the flying personnelescape ; they either get shot down or taken prisoner. Before we started onthis trip I had a presentiment that it would be unlucky. The pilot wasvery nervous and said that the whole flight was a farce. That was whyhe was so worked up. From the start ARE OUR BOMB-AIMERS ACCURATE ? (2) The Binnen Alster area of Hamburgafter colossal camouflage work had been completed. If, as the Germans declare, our bombing is indiscriminate and of no account, why take all this trouble to move theapparent position of the target such a short distance ?
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