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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0198.PDF
7f> FLIGHT " JANUARY 22ND, 1942 MR. CHURCHILL RETURNS BY AIR German Efforts to "Get" Our Prime Minister Outwitted : Touch of Genious in His Daring Choice of Destination MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL'S return from America in the Boeing flying boat, Berwick, last week-end caught the imagination, not only of his devoted countrymen, but of the entire democratic world. People reading of his long flight from Bermuda and safe landing at Plymputh chuckled with affectionate glee not unmixed with relief, and exclaimed, "Good Old Winston! " TWO FIRST PILOTS. Mr. Winston Churchill chatting to Capt. Kelly Rogers, O.B.E., in the pilots' cockpit of Berwick. While the Prime Minister was at the controls, Kelly Rogers occupied the second pilot's seat. And they chuckled still more when they read of how his return had thwarted the frantic Axis efforts to "get" him on his way back. All sorts of assertions as to his medium of travel were put out by^ the enemy radio and Press in an endeavour to provoke London or Washington into denials which, by a process of approximate elimina tion, might have given them a clue to the real truth. It was such a patent trick—and such an old one—that one is amazed even the Germans could have hoped it would work. What kind of a people do they think we are, indeed? . The Prime Minister's decision to fly to Plymouth, of all places, was a touch of sheer genius in this battle of wits. To choose what is one of the hottest spots on OUT coastal front was just like the man whose nimble brain is one of the main "munitions" in democracy's fight. Another aspect of the Premier's flight, which has made instant appeal to the civilised world, is the story of how he sat in the pilot's seat and held the controls during the'*', crossing to Bermuda from the Virginian coast. Pictures of him holding the wheel and with his cigar clenched characteristically in his teeth appeared in almost every newspaper, at least one of which made a point of suggest ing that the cigar was not lighted. But there is no ban on smoking in these big flying boats, since all petrol is housed in the wings; and, in point of fact, Mr. Churchill was not deprived of his favourite weed—an additional source of irritation to our outwitted foes. No more capable pilot than Capt. J. C. Kelly Rogers (who needs no introduction to the readers of Flight) could have been selected for the responsible duty entrusted to him, and the trip from Bermuda to Plymouth, a distance of 3,330 miles, was covered in 17 hours 55 minutes at an average speed of approximately 190 m.p.h. Incidentally, it was Capt. Kelly Rogers who made the first delivery flight from Baltimore with the first of the three Boeing 314 flying boats bought by the Government—the Bristol. RAF. IN MIDDLE EAST A SENIOR air staff officer from the Middle East, reviewing R.A.F. operations in that theatre of war during 1941, said yesterday that on the year's work the balance was "well on the credit side." He told how, except in the present advance in Libya, the R.A.F. had always had to face superior numbers, and he gave new facts about several campaigns. The preliminary bombing for the last British offensive was very heavy, and the pounding of the enemy's lines of communication before and after the advance began played a vital part in its success, for there was ample evidence that, even with the time at their disposal to accumulate large stocks, the enemy's petrol supplies ran short. By the end of 1941 the enemy had lost in air action, by air attack, or captured, 673 aircraft. Our losses; over the same period were 195 machines. Air supremacy in the Western Desert after Italy's entry into the war was gained against vastly superior numbers, and was not gained cheaply. We lost 252 crews before the Army had a man wounded, but the efforts of the R.A.F. enabled General Wavell's army to reach Benghazi in less than two months without am- opposition from the enemy's air force. During the year the Empire air forces wiped out the Italian air force in Libya and finished it off in East Africa. The Italians were also beaten in Greece. The Iraqi air force, reinforced with Germans and Italians, was accounted for; then the Vichy-German forces in Syria; and finallv the German air force in North Africa was met and beaten. It was estimated that during the fighting in Greece the Germans alone threw into their attack from Bulgaria 1,000 aircraft of all types, of which about one-third were fighters and nearly one-fifth dive-bombers. Against these we hafJL» about 150 aircraft of various types, which- included only one squadron of modern fighters. We lost many fine pilots and crews—'' very gallant gentlemen ''—but the spirit of inspired self-sacrifice was universal during these last grim days. During the evacua tion from Greece our pilots flew machines which were riddled with bullets and in need of repair, and went on fighting as long as their aircraft could fly. During the Iraqi revolt the defence of the flying training school at HabJ^aniya was '' an epic in itself.'' We had only 65 aircraft which could be used for operations, in cluding obsolete and training machines*; and only 35 pilots were available, of whom the majority were instructors or half-trained pupils with little or no operational experi ence. Improvised bomb racks were fitted on the training machines, and the flying training school went forth to fight. During five days 647 sorties were made, over 3,000 bombs were dropped on the enemy, and 16,000 rounds of ammunition fired. The staff officer praised the work of the pilots and crews .. in Eritrea and Abyssinia, who fought with " a varied andf motley collection " of aircraft, and he paid tribute to the fine work of the R.A.F. in Malta.
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