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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0819.PDF
APRIL I6TH, 1942 FLIGHT 371 BEHIND THE LINES Service and Industrial News from the Inside of Axis and Enemy-occupied Countries Italian Hush-hush THE recently published Official Italian Secrets Regulations prohibit the pub lication of information on the following subjects:—(1) Details of Air Force mobilisation ; (2) Air Force training; (3) organisation and tactical distribution of the Air Force in peace and at war; (4) strength and different tasks of the Air Force; (5) Air Force intelligence and communications; (6) details of ground organisation; (7) details of aviation equipment and purchasing contracts for it; (8). detailed information on the air craft industry; (9) organisation of war time air transport; (10) distribution of •jjr1'1"1*'""' documents and other news belonging to or dealing with the air administration. It appears that this is a flexible rule and can be applied to news published by the aeronautical and daily press. Report on Luftwaffe TN an article recently published in the A German press, Air General Quade draws up a balance sheet of the Luftwaffe activities dviring this winter. The writer, who often functions as the spokesman for the German Air Ministry, credits "General Winter" with all setbacks of the German forces in Russia. He forgets, apparently, that some months ago the other "General" was officially buried by Dr. Goebbels' propaganda. Appar ently, "General Winter" has now been resurrected to brighten up the morbid picture of Luftwaffe conditions in Russia and- to justify their setbacks. Hours of hard work—says the writer-— have to be spent before a machine can take to the air. The ground personnel has a particularly hard time, since most of the Luftwaffe's aircraft on the Russian front are parked on open fields and have inadequate protection against ice, Wfezards and cold. Not only aircraft, but also the runways have to be cleared of snow and ice at frequent intervals by the ground personnel, since the suitable mechanical equipment is apparently in short supply with the Luftivaffe. 140 120 -,100 _• Ul_ <o aj o z 60 O I40 Z.-2P I IIIMI IUf~~ A GERMAN AMBULANCE : Equipped with a five-cylinder radial, this "motor- sledge " is used for the rapid transport of wounded on the Russian front. Significant for its frankness is the general's careless reference to the fighting in Russia as '' the defensive operations of the German forces." "Only the greatest efforts of the ground organisa tion," says the general, "made it pos sible to keep combat and transport units of the Luftwaffe in the air, and to render assistance to the hard-pressed army in their defensive operations." The support of the ground forces and transportation of supplies seems to be one of the major functions of the Luftwaffe on the Russian front. In these actions the Germans are said to be extensively using A.A. guns against Russian armoured units. But in all these opera tions German Air forces are confronted with the acute problem of supplies. Since they have to rely on surface trans port for their provision with fuel, spare parts and ammunition, the snowing-up of railway lines and icing of roads handi caps the Luftwaffe operations. Inter ference of the transport system by Russian guerillas and aircraft is, of course, not mentioned by the general. Of the opposition of the Russian Air forces the writer has very little to say; but while in previous German reports the fantastic figures of Russian losses referred mainly to aircraft destroyed t>n the ground, this time violent air combats are reported. German losses in these combats are significantly omitted, but the general bitterly admits that the Russians employed all arms with "a complete disregard for the prevailing weather conditions." But how they can do it when the Germans cannot, General Quade prefers not to explain. Continental Air THE Swiss air service Zurich-Munich has been suspended because Munich is no longer the important junction of Gontinental air routes. The Swiss com pany operates in pool with the Lutt Hansa, the Zurich-Stuttgart-Berlin Ser vice. Another company working in pool with the Luft Hansa is the Danish D.D.L., which employs Focke-Wulf. Fvv 200 "Condors" on the Copenhagen service to Vienna via Berlin. An agree ment concluded between the Italian Air Ministry and the Hungarian Ministry of Commerce and Communication provides for the establishment of the following air services: Milan-Venice-Vienna-Buda pest, Rome-Venice-Budapest, Rhodes- Athens - Salonica - Sofia - Belgrade-Buda pest. ITALY'S AIR ESTIMATE FOR 1942 * £400,000,000 liJlMUHil UIUUUUI wiiMmi: IIIIIVUI i.iiiuai: IIIUUHI ununwi [ iu I IIIMI 60 40 ZO £ QUANTITY PRODUCTION PROTOTYPES & ENGINES PROVISIONS AND UNIFORMS PAY OF OFFICERS &N.C0S. AERODROME OPERATORS CIVIL PE.RSOJJNt> RESEARCH The diagram shows Italy's Ordinary Air Budget. Estimates for Extraordinary Air Expenditure have not been disclosed. Each coin = £5,000,000.
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