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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1883.PDF
SEPTEMBER IOTH, 1942 FLIGHT >»75 ENEMY AIR LOSSES TO SEPT. 5th. Over Over G.B. Continent Aug. 30 7 3J Sept. 1 „ * 3 4 . S Totals : 0 0 0 •4 1 J 1 7 . West, 6,312- 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 6 Middle Eas Middle East 5 7 11 17 6 ( 8 1 55 t. over 4,520. Tobruk. Though German reinforce ments have a much shorter distance to come, there must be some limit to what can be spared from Russia, where new divisions are constantly being thrown in to replace others which have been badly mauled by the Jogged Russians. The Germans in Libya have been using numbers of Stukas lately against the British positions, but many times have Spitfires intercepted their forma tions and turned them back with loss. When those magnificent fighters appear, the Stuka pilots know that their only chance of living to fight an other day is to jettison their bombs and clear out with all the speed they can muster—which is not much. Their escorts can do little to protect them from the Spitfires. It is now known that the first move of the Afrika Corps towards the British right flank was first discovered by some of our heavy bombers when making a low-flying attack. Heavies are not usually used in that way, but all sorts of new tactics have been tried in the desert campaigns. It should A mechanic who was with the Hurri cane wing in Russia flies a souvenir flag from the dispersal hut flagpole. WAR IN THE AIR also be mentioned that one of the first night attacks on the German tanks during their recent forward move was made by naval aircraft. It is not often that war news comes from distant Iceland, but quite Te-' cently a Focke-Wulf Condor was shot down there by American fighter air craft. The Americans had been in the island for a year, and this was the first time they had been able to open fire on an enemy. They did their work very thoroughly, and there were no survivors from the crew of the Condor. Later News [" ATER news makes it clear that the -*-' advance of the Afrika Corps in Libya was no mere reconnaissance in force, but was a serious attempt to break through to Alexandria. When this corps was halted it was furiously assailed by our aircraft and artillery, lost heavily in vehicles and men, and finally moved back to the west. This movement was made in good order, despite the fury with which the Eighth Army pounded the corps. The Empire and Allied Air Forces kept on setting up new records for the number of sorties flown, in a day. The fighters surpassed themselves in the protection which they gave overhead, and for the first four days in September there were no losses of bombers. Rommel knows as well as we do that in the desert when an attack has failed the only thing to do is to clear out at once. The Eighth Army still protects Egypt; so far, so good. The Germans have claimed, with details, the capture of the Russian naval base of Novorossisk, and their communiques sometimes tell the truth. The facts will be known by the time these lines are in the hands of our readers. Stalingrad, however, is still holding out as we go to press, despite the most furious attacks, in which the Luftwaffe has been playing a con spicuous part. Dive-bombers have done their best to silence the Russian guns, but the gunners seem to have learnt that if one refuses to be terri fied by the dive-bombers they do not do much harm. At any rate the Rus sian artillery drove back many furious assaults when the German infantry rind tanks came on to finish off what they hoped the Stuka3 had begun. On the Rzhev front the Germans report that Russian pilots are flying Spitfires. That may well be true. Soviet bombers have made a raid on Budapest, the capital of Hungary, which had not previously ha'd a taste of the horrors of war. It is well that the Hungarians should learn some thing about the subject, for Hungarian troops are said to have surpassed even the Germans in the brutality with which they havo treated Russians who fell into their power. The Germans BRITISH AIR LOSSES TO SEPT. ith. Over G.B. A'erft. Aug. 30 0 „ 31 0 Sept. 1 0 .20 . 3 0 .,4 0 5 0 — 0 — Totals : West, Over Continent B'brs. F'trs. 0 0 1 1 3 0 8 0 2 0 II 0 0 « •— — 25 7 — — 4.&M ; Middle East, Middle East A'crft 0 0 II 10 12 1 0 MM 34 (16 pilots saki about 1,659 say that Vienna was also bombed by the Russians^ The West and Atlantic Fronts |" AST Friday night, September -*-' 4th, Bremen was fiercely raided by the R.A.F. for half an hour, dur ing which bombs fell at the rate of one every second. Many of them were of the 4,000 Tb. type, and Stirlings, Lancasters, and Halifaxes all took part in the raid. Smoke from the fires rose to a height of 8,000 feet. Eleven of our bombers were lost during the night. Mr. Alexander, First Lord of the Admiralty, has made an impressive speech on the campaign against U- boats. He said that July and August this year saw the greatest number of these boats destroyed. He spoke of new secret devices which had greatly helped. Many more boats had been damaged, and in this work he paid a graceful tribute to Coastal Command, whose squadrons, he said, fly for in credibly long distances and very long hours. Carriers had taken 815 fighters to Malta in 35 trips. The following totals for the three years of the war have been issued by the Air Ministry. They do not include Axis machines shot down by the Fleet Air Arm or by naval and mercantile ships, machines destroyed on the ground in the Middle East, or des troyed in the air or on the ground in the S.W. Pacific fighting. The figures compiled by Flight do include as many of these as could be ascertained. Over Great Britain and Mrit'sb waters :— Axis Brit si: First year Second year Third year 1,549 KVBM KM 3,»ir> soi m Over Germany and German-occupied terri tory, including the first year the Scandinavian and Battle of France campaigns, and the- third .year by the R.A.F. wing in Russia I — First year Second year Third year , Axis 1,082 MJ 744 2,488 British (571 1,1 n 1,095 3,837 Mrddle East All losses to the miemy on the ground are excluded. Axis British First year Second ve-tr Tblrd yeaY 1,040 1.417 Grand Total 2,582 Axis 29 360 1.111 8,985 1,508 British a,23i
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