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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0751.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD .• FOUNDED /POP Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL <%h Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E.I Telegrams : Truditur, Sedist, London. COVENTRY : 8-10, CORPORATION ST., BIRMINGHAM, 2 : GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST. Telegrams: Autocar, Coventry. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Coventry 52 10. Telephone: Midland 297 1 (5 lines). Telephone: Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, C.2 : 260, OEANSGATE, 26B, RENFIELD ST., Telegrams : lllffe, Manchester. Telegrams : lliffe, Glasgow. Telephone : BlacMriars 4412. Telephone : Central 4857. SUBSCRIPTION RATES : Home and Abroad : Year, £3 10. 6 months, Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. £1 10 6. 3 months, 15s. 3d. No. 1737. Vol. XLI. APRIL 9th, 1942. Thursdays, One Shilling. The Outlooks The St. INazaire Raid QUITE apart from the damage done to the impor tant dry dock and to the submarine basin at St. Nazaire, it is always encouraging to read of operations carried out by the three Services in collabora tion, and to see the communiques issued from Combined . Headquarters. The more completely the Services learn to work together the better. These raids in which Navy, Army and Air Force all take, part in unison, and under the orders of a combined Headquarters, are a sort of parallel to the appointments of supreme Commanders in the Pacific zone of war. Both steps point the way to ultimate victory, for decisive success will be gained by co-operation of all Forces, not by any one magic weapon. These raids are practice, which proverbially makes for perfection. In the St. Nazaire raid the part played by the Air Force was rather smaller than usual, as low clouds par tially upset the programme of making a diversion by bombing and so distracting the enemy's attention from the crucial point. We could not run the risk of killing French civilians. We also have to deplore a tragic little incident as our ships were returning from the raid. Two Heinkel seaplanes and three or more Junkers 88s shadowed the British ships, dodging in and out of the clouds as they realised that a Beaufighter was on guard. At last the Beauilghter got to grips with one Junkers and shot it down,"but the bomber as it fell fouled the wing tip of the fighter, and both plunged together into the sea. It is distressing to read of such incidents, and yet this one was really less of a loss than the necessary leaving behind of some of the Commando men who could not be embarked, and of some boats with men on board which came under hot fire from the enemy and could not escape. One has to find comfort in the old military adage that one cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs. The damage done to the enemy j ustified the sacri fice of British lives. The soldiers and airmen gave their lives in a good cause. Ground-strafers R EPORTS that Bell Airacobras are now ready for operational flying on the Russian front give rise to speculations as to the manner in which the Russian Air Force proposes to use this interesting American fighter. It will be remembered that the original Airacobra had an armament comprising seven guns: a 37 mm. cannon firing through the airscrew hub, two 0.50 machine guns in the fuselage, and two 0.30 machine guns in each wing. It was the United States Army Air Corps which was responsible for the Airacobra being produced, and the fact that the Allison engine was supercharged to medium height only justifies the assumption that the Airacobra was originally in tended for work against ground targets. When Great Britain received deliveries of Airacobras, the 37 mm. shell gun was replaced by a 20 mm. gun, the reason presumably being that the number of rounds which could be carried was limited (30 being the original figure). If, indeed, we are right in thinking that our Russian allies will use the Airacobra against ground targets, it is logical to suppose that they have chosen the original American version S7 mm. gun. It will fire
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