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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0017.PDF
JANUARY 7TH, 1943. FLIGHT RANGE AND POWER : A four-cannon Hurricane IIC over Tunisia. The long-range tanks enable escorting fighters tocover the bombers during the whole journey. "ARin the AlR A Retrospect : Economy of Bombing Raids : Effect on Qerman Communications : The Qreat Russian Advance THE Air Ministry has indulgedin an official review of the year1942, the most critical year of the war. The war took a new turn with the entry of Japan, fully armed, on the one side, and of the United States, still unarmed, on the other. Everything depended on whether Russia could hold out, and the Allies had to do everything in their power to help her to do so. During that period the only offensive action which Britain could take was through Bomber Command. During the year the R.A.F. increased by more than a third, but Bomber Command had to divert many of its energies and much of its supplies from its attacks on German-production. Nevertheless, its offensive grew in power. In Germany there are between 50 and 60 major industrial centres. Of these 28 were attacked during the year by forces of over 100 bombers at a time. Some places were attacked several times, so that in all there were 88 raids of this description. These bombing raids are claimed to be a very economical way of hitting the enemy. The raid by over 1,000 machines on Cologne was contrasted with the Combined Operations raid on Dieppe. In each of these operationf- the British Empire sent into battle about the same number of officers and men; but whereas the casualties at Dieppe were very heavy, at Cologne we lost only 257 members of the air- crews, that is to say, about one man for every factory destroyed. The losses in the bombing raids on the Renault and Matford works were also light. The Air Ministry admits that the effects of the bombing are hard to assess, in both the material and the moral spheres. It is known, however, that imports of iron ore from Sweden to Germany fell during the year by NORTH AFRICAN INTELLIGENCE : Aircrews of a light bomber squadron reporting to the Intelligence Officer after a night raid on Tunis.
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