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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0224.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY 29TH, 1942 FAR EAST AGGRESSORS : Mitsubishi 96 twin-engined bombers in formation. Singapore has the final say. Some Air Officers may feel a natural inclina tion to go for the airfields first (on the principle that birds of a feather flock together), while the General knows that both targets are of import ance when a big battle is imminent. But at least there is no conflict of opinion between strategic bombing of production and tactical bombing. Both targets in this case concern the coming battle, and the only question is which policy will help our troops most in that battle. Some of the barges and other craft which the Japanese have been using to land troops near the mouths of small rivers have been bombed and shot up by our aircraft, and that is certainly good work and shows that the A.O.C. is willing to leave airfields alone at times in favour of enemy reinforcements. But the enemy air craft are none the less important, and must be thinned out. The anti-aircraft gunners in Malaya deserve more than a word of praise. Presumably most of them have not had much previous practice at real live targets, but they have in a very short time shot down a highly respectable number of enemy bombers, having, in fact, done better than the local Empire fighters in that respect. But it is known that more fighters are arriving in Singapore, and they may soon weigh down the balance in favour of their own method of attack. Among the new arrivals are some 12-gun Hurricanes, and they made themselves felt as soon as they got into action with the enemy. The fire power of these most modern types is greater than that of the Buffaloes, which had previously been the main stay of the fighter force in Malaya. The latter are good and their pilots like them, but the Hurricane, especially in its. latest form, is one of the two outstanding successes of the air side of the present war, and it is not to be expected that Japanese fighters will be able to stand up to it. The population of Malaya is a mix ture of Malays, Chinese, and Tamil Indians from Madras, and all have a healthy dislike for the Japanese, QUICK WORKER: An R.A.F. corporal who, in a sandstorm, suddenly found himself within 15 yards of a group of Germans in Libya. He shot a German officer with his revolver and then brought his lorry and two hun dred gallons of water safely home. WA R +- which recent events have done nothing to modify. One Chinese restaurateur has promised to present a bottle of champagne to every pilot who shoots down an enemy aircraft. If he had been in England during the Battle of Britain he would have been ruined. The Dutch have been following the '' scorched earth '' policy in their East Indian islands, and the second most important oil centre in Borneo, Balik Papan, has been destroyed. It is well that the Japanese should not be able to get oil from this, centre, but it is deplorable that it should have to be destroyed. The Allies have relied largely on the Netherlands East Indies for their oil supplies, and the destruc tion of this particular source of supply is not a light loss. Malta Hitting Out 1\/TALTA has been raided almost ir29 •*•"-*• cessantly for a long time past, but she is not taking the infliction lying down. Matters have more or less re solved themselves into a duel between Malta and Sicily, and in the Italian island the most important air base is Catania. So, on the night of Monday last week that base was subjected to no less than ten hours of continuous bombing, doubtless by Wellingtons. Of course, it was not by a long way the first raid made on the place, but it was by far the heaviest up to date. The des- struction wroughtwas widespread, and it is believed that a respectable number of German bombers was destroyed. Not long before dawn, just before one of our later formations arrived, the men on the ground must have thought that all was clear, and the landing lights were switched on to allow two Ju 88 bombers to come home. But one of our machines came over at the same time, and probably the sound of its engines mingled with that of the German machines. Just as one Junkers was about to .ouch down, the British bomb-aimer let go a stick on the runway, and the Junkers ran into one of the exploding bombs. Neither that machine nor its crew will worry Malta any more. Other enemy machines were set on fire on the ground. Their crews would not be in them, but in such a heavy raid it is not to be expected that all the men on the ground would come through safely. Some of the ground staff, too, were probably killed, and they are almost as valuable as the air crews. By day the Sicilian airfield at Comiso has been raided, while Heraklion, in Crete, and the submarine base at Salamis have also received attention. Hurricane bombers made the daylight raid on Comiso, in the south of the island, and the pilots saw the aircraft clearly on the ground. They set a lot of them on fire, but, naturally, did not stay long enough to make a careful calculation of the damage. f
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