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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0646.PDF
273 FUG WAR IN THE AIR It is a fairly long time since the chief island of the Italian Dodecanese group received any attention from our forces. The enemy were taken off their guard, and the collaboration between the naval bombardment and the R.A.F. bombing worked like a book. The action began by the bombers dropping flares, which caused all eyes, search lights and guns to point upwards, and then the bombs began to fall. So in tent were the enemy on the bombers overhead that when the salvoes of shells from the fleet crashed into the E-boat base and the harbour, where flying boats were believed to be moored, -as well as into important tar gets- in the town, the enemy mistook them for more bombs and continued to fire upwards. The fleet laid a smoke screen as it withdrew, and when the guns on the island realised its presence and began to fire at it they had not got the range. A weight of 40,000 lb. cf shells was fired by the warships. It was a well-planned operation. The Russian Front TN Russia there has been a certain A reticence of late in the Russian communiques. Whenever that has happened before it has usually meant that our Allies are engaged in important operations, and do not intend to say much about them until a definite conclusion has been reached. However, the Moscow corre spondent of a Swedish paper has reported that recently Russian parachutists have captured fortified positions behind the German lines in the Smolensk area. Considering how MARSHALL AND GILBERT ISLANDS ATTACK : A U.S. reconnaissance pilot going to report after returning to his ship. Note the bomb hole in the deck received during the action. the Russians adver tised their parachute t roops before the war, surprisingly little has been heard of them since the fighting began. They are, of course, an arm of opportunity, not to be used too often, and only when the situation calls for their special qualities and gives them a good chance of success. Items of news come in from all theatres of the war, all telling of good work, though they contain nothing of decisive importance. In Burma Allied aircraft have made a raid on airfields in the Moulmeinarea, including the satellites, which, of course, they knew well, and destroyed 25 Japanese aircraft on the ground. The crews naturally survived, but a stroke like that will diminish enemy air activity in Burma for a while. The Royal Australian Air Force has maintained its regular almost nightly raids on the Japanese at Rabaul, and have damaged an enemy heavy cruiser with a bomb. It is to be hoped that she will not be quickly repaired. On the other hand the Japanese have raided Port Moresby and Darwin again, but they did little damage. In the Mediterranean Blenheims re cently spotted a small convoy, which brought up a congregation of squad rons from various airfields within reach, but the weather prevented them from finding their quarry. But it was spotted again before dusk as it neared Horns, and during the night naval aircraft attacked with tor pedoes, first dropping flares to light up the scene. The largest ship was UNPACIFIC PACIFIC: A scene during the air and sea bombardment of Victje—one of the eight Japanese bases in the Marshall and Gilbert Islands—by the U.S. Navy. The Smoke is from oil fuel stores set on fire by the shells and bombs. • The aircraft is a Curtiss Seagull, probably catapulted from U.S.S, Houston.
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