FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0963.PDF
MAY yra, 1942 FLIGHT 443 An exclusive -FVrg/rt photograph of a squadron of Douglas Boston Ills which have been daylight-bombing the enemy so effectively. War in the Air The King with his Fighter Pilots : Fierce R.A.F. Bombing : The Germans Raid Cathedral Cities : The Japanese Take Lashio S WEDES living near the Nor wegian frontier said that they heard the reverberations of the bombs dropped by the R.A.F. in one of their raids on Trondhjem last week, •^tin though they were nearly 150 miles away from that port. The infer ence is that on that night some of the British bombers did not concentrate their attention on the harbour, where German warships may be lying, but went for targets further inland, and probably hit a munitions dump. We hope, none the less, that one of the raids did hit the Tirpitz and her ••con sorts in the harbour, as they might do a great deal of damage if they all got loose either into the Atlantic or on the route to Russia. Kiel, where the Schamhorst is still probably undergo ing repairs, has also had to suffer another visitation from Bomber Command. Fighter Command has also been energetically keeping up its offensive sweeps, often escorting Boston bombers. One afternoon it was reckoned that there were no less than roo German fighters in the air, but they did not all show any great desire to come to grips, and* some of our pilots returned to their base without having fired their guns or cannon. On that same afternoon, as the Spitfires landed, the pilots found the King waiting to welcome them and to talk to them about their experiences. Among these pilots was a Flight Lieu tenant, with D.F.C. and bar, who, when a sergeant, had shot down the German machine which bombed Buck ingham Palace. While the raid was on, the King went into the operations SHOWING A LEG carriage of an Me: Command^JjMMefOnd their way, the ^plumbing." room of the station which he was visit ing, watched the plotting being done, and listened to the voices of the pilots as they talked to each other and to the base. To the fierceness of the R.A.F. offen sive the German reply has been a series of raids on cathedral cities in England, in which they have used small num bers of bombers and have lost a high percentage of them to the R.A.F. fighters. So far as the respective war efforts of the two countries are con cerned, Britain has actually gained more than she has lost by these German efforts; but the damage to ancient buildings is a loss to all civil ised humanity, and the casualties to civilians make a tragedy which helps nobody. Alexandria is another city which has also been bombed by the enemy aga^fi, and on April 28th over 100 people were killed and many more ere wounded. Alexandria also has night fighters who can hit back. A South African Squadron Leader shot down two raiders that night. "When the alarm s sounded," he said, "I hurried ir$Q my aircraft and took off. Some c/lw
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
