FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0018.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY 7TH, 1943 TRYING THEM OUT : A number of enemy aircraft captured in Libya have been made serviceable and given R.A.F. mark-ings. (Top left) With much satisfaction the swastika is blotted out on the tail of a Me 109E. (Top right) An adapted Me IOO.F taxies in after a test flight. The split flaps are seen opened out to act as an air brake. Acute tail buffettingwould be expected from the operation of these flaps and this may have some bearing on the high tailplane position. (Bottom left) Filling up the fuel tanks of a Junkers Ju 87D. (Bottom right) A number of "whistlers," the music of which will be appreciated by the Germans. WAR IN THE AIR one million tons, which would have been enough to make steel for ten battleships or 20,000 medium tanks. This is attributed partly to the con- stant R.A.F. attacks on German com- munications and on the coalfields of the Ruhr. The effect on moral is even harder to estimate, but it is be- lieved that the efficiency of German labour during the year was only 60 per cent, of what it was in 1939. The reasons given were that many of the workers now have to live at a distance from their work, because of the devas- tation in so many cities, thus using up transport, fuel and time in getting to and from their work, and that this increases physical weariness at the end of the day. It is also believed that war weariness is prevalent among the workers. It might have been added that many thousands of the workers come from occupied territories and have no heart in their work. Many of them undoubtedly long to see Ger- many defeated; and to be set free to return to their homes. The Royal Air Force is now stronger than the combined Air Forces of Ger- many and Italy, and is still growing. American production has outstripped that of the two European members of the Axis, and is also still -growing. During the year the enemy was only able to concentrate his full air power on one front, namely, against Russia, and, even so, he was obliged to keep a large proportion of his fighters in France to counter the raids of the R.A.F. The year ends with a second front established in French Africa, while Italian Africa is almost in British hands. To build up his forces in Africa the enemy had to rely mostly on air transport, which is naturally less economical and less effi- cient than sea transport, and he had to use many bombers as transport air- craft and numbers of Ju 88s as night fighters, thus further reducing his fighting strength. The Air Staff definitely declined to express the.opinion that we could win the war by bombing alone. As Russia is bearing the brunt of the fighting, the Air Staff holds that it is a priority duty to assist her in every way, both by sending her aircraft and by attack- ing German communications. The effect of these attacks on railways and shipping has hardly received the at- tention which it deserves. One begins to realise its importance when one hears that since the spring of 1942 one Group in Fighter Com- mand has shot up more than 400 loco- motives in Western Europe. No wonder it is difficult to transport iron ore from Sweden! The Russian Offensive '"THE Russian armies have been -*• sweeping forward in the wintry weather which so hampers the Germans and their satellites but seems to suit the natives of the country. In these movements tberc have been few allusions to the wo;k of the Red Air Fleet, but occasionally the efforts and failures of the Luftwaffe come in for notice. The Germans are resisting stoutly, as one knew that they would do, and they are ingenious in planning
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
