FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1766.PDF
FLIGHT AUGUST 7TH, 1941. bombing has put any check on the operations oi the German Army. There have been pauses in the invasion of Russia while the invaders retormed and refitted, patched up their tanks and brought up more supplies oi fuel and ammunition, but these pauses were obviously due to the resistance oi the Russian armies and their air contingents. Nothing suggests that they were due to damage done by British bombing operations against iactories. During the months when the German land forces were not fighting at all those factories must have been turning out material far faster than it was being consumed, and certainly the efforts of the R.A.F. did not stop anything like fifty per cent, of the output. The Red Air Fleet, working in close collaboration with the Red Army, has done far more damage to German fighting power. Like- wise the R.A.F., by tactical operations which have kept German warships in harbour, has done good service in the critical Battle of the Atlantic. Bombing of enemy production must certainly go on. It would be folly not to interfere with that production. But it is raising extravagant hopes to suggest that this single operation will bring us victory. Combined opera- tions between the Services are a much more hopeful road, and it would be a distinct gain if that were frankly recognised by the Air Staff. The one great British offensive which has been a complete success so far is the series of Middle East campaigns in Africa and Asia. Ihese will go down in history as classical examples of combined operations. The role of the Air Forces was ancillary, but none the less important for that. In fact, tactical bombing has so far proved far more valuable in this war than strategical bombing has done. The expe- riences of the Germans, the Russians, and our own Middle East campaigns all support that theory. ProductionW HEN the House of Commons went into com- mittee on supply last week the Prime Minister gave certain encouraging indications of the pro- gress made with war production, of which we are con*, cerned only with those dealing with aircraft. Of our fighters, Mr. Churchill said that they are at least as much ahead of the enemy as they were when we defeated him a year ago. He did not refer to fighter output, and from that fact one may infer that we have enough actually built and building. Referring to bombers, the Prime Minister said that in the past year British production alone had doubled our power of bomb discharge at 1,500 miles range. In the next three months British and American bomber production would double that figure, and during the following six months it would be redoubled. Truly this is a creditable per- formance and one of which the aircraft industry may be proud. In this connection it is only fair to point out a fact which is not always remembered. Gratifying though the Prime Minister's figures are, what the country really wants to know is whether aircraft production can be still further increased. The figure of 75 per cent, of " possible " output has been freely men- tioned as our present efficiency. Enthusiasts aim at 100 per cent., forgetting that this is unattainable. Without wishing to join in what Mr. Churchill described as a " dismal cacophonous chorus of stinking fish," we do not feel that no further increase of aircraft output is possible. It is not unreasonable to estimate that another ten per cent, could be attained, not by the establishment of a Minister of Production, but by giving one man authority to transfer output capacity from one supply department to another as need arises. SUNDERLAND bthViCb,: io maintain the extreme reliability which is required for the long sea patrols of the CoastalCommand, the utmost care must be taken during inter-flight overhauls. The apparently headless Ack Emma on the nearest wing is only a pair of overalls. ~
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
