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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0171.PDF
JA.M'ARY 22ND, 1942 FLIGHT 65 War in the Air \ Rommel's Predicament IMPORTANT fighting has been going on in pretty well every area of the war, but not all of it has produced news of real air significance. The Russian advance has, in all likeli hood, the greatest influence on the main strategy of the war, and we may take it that such an advance could not take place without powerful help from the Red Air Fleet; but in the recent communiques there has not been much mention of air operations. The Mediterranean as a whole is of vast importance, and Field Marshal Smuts has prophesied that the final struggle of the war would take place m that region. In that sea the Axis Powers have been making the most determined efforts to paralyse Malta, as from that island heavy and medium bombers set out to harry the Axis in all directions. Perhaps it is wrong to describe the Axis efforts as '' deter mined '' ; they have rather been numerous and almost continuous; but, judging from the results, they have not been pressed home with any great determination. If they had been, we should have heard of more Wcvell Gets to Work : Japanese Bombing Inaccurate Enterprising Dutch Airmen enemy fighters and bombers shot down by the very good A.A. batteries on the island and by the Hurricanes. The enemy losses of late have been on a modest scale, and likewise the damage done by the enemy bombs is not reported to have been heavy. But it is certainly clear that the Axis re gards Malta as a thorn in its side, whereas at the beginning of the war it was regarded by the Italians as a liability to Britain, and, in any case, a rightful appendage of the Italian peninsula. By this time the Maltese must hate the Italians (and, incident ally, the Germans) tenfold more than they hated them before; and they never had any strong affection for their neighbours. The Desert Battle T17HEN General Auchinleck opened * * his attack on General Rommel, it was said that a battle of tanks in the desert resembled a naval engagement. In its later stages this battle has as sumed a striking resemblance to that of Jutland, with the Germans striving to escape and the British straining every nerve to intercept them. The Ger mans claimed a victory at Jutland be cause they succeeded in achieving their object of escaping, though they could hardly claim that their High Seas Fleet ruled the North Sea as a result of the action. Rommel is in much the same position. He no longer has any hopes of holding Cyrenaica, but he does want to get his remaining tanks (probably heavy tanks) away to Tripolitania, where they would be a strong reinforcement to the Axis garri son there whenever the Empire forces and Free French decide to move up to the borders of Tunisia. Unfortun ately, our aircraft do not seem able to halt these heavy tanks, though they have taken heavy toll of lighter vehi cles. A certain amount of supplies, including petrol, has obviously been getting through to Rommel, despite all that our air forces could do, and doubtless the heavy tanks have first call on it. Other lighter tanks have been found abandoned in the desert in good condition, obviously because the R.A.F. has cut off their petrol supplies. Bad weather has worked TURNING ON THE AXIS : South African Air Force Marylands-'Wmbing an pment at El Adem. Italo-Germav encamp
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