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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0119.PDF
ANUARY l^TH, I942 FLIGHT H.M.S. Royal Sovereign and Eagle being attacked from the air in the Mediterranean. No hits "were scored on this occasion. Something Brewing in the Mediterranean : Malta Hitting and Hit : Another Sea-air Raid on Norway : Japanese Air Raids ) ADOLF HITLER (whose real r\ name, though much more suit- **• -*• able in sound to the nature of its owner, is much too difficult for the ordinary scribe to spell) cannot have spent a very happy Christmas. The Russians saw to that. Then, as a New Year's present, came President Roose velt's speech, wherein he promised the production in this year of 60,000 air craft, of which 45,000 will be "com bat" machines, besides very much more fighting equipment. The Presi dent was not content with that ; he anticipated next New Year by promis ing to turn out 125,000 aircraft in r943, of which 100,000 should be combat machines. Coming at a time when the Lufticaffo is already feeling that its resources are unequal to the demands made on them, this Ameii- can statement cannot have raised the spirits of the party at Berchtesgaden, or wherever the Fiihrer spent the festive season. Something is certainly brewing in the Mediterranean.' The Germans are massing aircraft in Greece, Crete and Sicily. One of their objects is to send relief to General Rommel in Libya. Troops and transport aircraft were congregated at Castel Vetrano, in Sicily, but they did not escape the eagle eyes of the R.A.F. Some got across, but one Sunday lately a for mation of Blenheims made a devastat es lightning attack (so the Air Ministry describes it) on the airfield, and did a lot of damage. A few hours later Wellingtons from Malta arrived and continued the work. No fewer than 44 Axis machines were destroyed, while the troops waiting to em plane were shot up, part of the runway was blown into the air-, and the whole place was left in a state of confusion. Malta is no longer a mere victim of air raids from Sicily. She is a centre of aggression. Naturally the Ger mans have increased their efforts to knock out this gallant little fortress. In the early days of the war the Italians attacked the island, mainly with the idea of making good their boast that they could capture it in a fortnight, or some such ridiculously short time. AIR-MINDED : With the enormous areas under his command. General Sir Archibald Wavell finds flying a necessity. Now the Axis has a much more solid military reason for wanting to subdue it. It has been raiding Naples and
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