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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0272.PDF
ioS- WAR IN TH E : A! R reason why they should not be ful filled. If it should come about that the Russians enter Berlin before next Christmas, we hope that British-built Hurricanes will fly overhead, and that Matilda tanks will waltz down Unter den Linden. Fortunately, we have a good supply of Hurricanes, despite our gifts to Russia, and we have been able to send some out to Malaya and Burma. At first the air defences in those countries consisted chiefly of A.A. guns. Those guns had really surprising successes in the number of Japanese aircraft which they brought down, and the tale sug gests that Japanese bomber pilots are lacking in guile, and run risks and offer themselves as easy targets in a way which does more credit to their pluck than to their fighting skill. They also had poor success in bombing tar- jets of military importance, though tftejL killed a lot of civilians in Singa- pore^SJn Burma we owe a big debt to the body of American volunteer air men whoXundertook to defend the Burma RoaHi, but came to the help of Rangoon wh\n the Japanese began to bomb the cityy The arrival of Chinese troops to help Vi the defence of Burma is also a fine cflvalrous gesture on the jit of Generalf^hiang Kai Shek. ONE LESS Russians dismantling a Messerschmitt 109 brought down on the Moscow front. naturally occupied it. Not long ago our chief fear was that Rommel would escape with the remnants of his heavy tanks and other forces. Now he is not trying to escape. That gives us an other chance to overwhelm him, pro vided that we command enough weight of metal to do so. It is annoy ing to lose Benghazi once more, and we must have lost some troops as prisoners, but it must never be for gotten that our object in this battle has not been so much the gaining of terri tory as the destruction of the enemy's forces. One cannot withhold admiration from the crews of the enemy transport vessels which have been daring the dangerous waters between Europe and Africa to carry reinforcements of men and material to Rommel. The percent age which fell victims to the R.A.F., the submarines, and sometimes to squadrons of naval warships, must have appalled many hearts in Italy and Sicily. But still the convoys came on, and many ships got through. Then long desert columns had to face the furious attacks of the Empire air forces as they made their way from the port of disembarkation up to the front. There, too, the carnage and destruction was terrifying, but still much got through. Over parts of the desert the convoys were not obliged to stick to the roads, but could take their < BATTLEFIELD BRIEFING : A shirt-sleeved Wing Commander telling air crews the details of an operation over Libya.
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