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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 0225.PDF
JANUARY 28TH, 1943 FLIGHT WAR IN THE AIR ENEMY AIR LOSSES TO JAN. 23rd. Over G Jan. 17 , 1819 20 , 2122 '„ 23 Totals ' II f> 0 16 1 1 0 29 West, Over .B. Continent 6 0 0 1 3 4 0 14 6,584 ; Middle East Middle East 4 0 4 0 6 3 0 17 over 5,205. destroyer off Cape Friendship, at the easternmost tip of Bougainville Island. Japanese fighters have not been inactive, and sometimes they succeed in inflicting damage even on Fortresses, but they always suffer more losses than they are able to inflict. When the last post of the Japanese at Sanananda had been wiped out, thereby finishing the campaign in the Papua region of New Guinea, General MacArthur said that the outstanding lesson of the campaign had been " the continuous and calculated appli- cation of air power, employed in the most intimate and logistical union with ground troops." Air forces and ground forces, he said, had been welded together in Papua, and, " when in sufficient strength and with proper naval support, their indis- soluble union pointed the way to vic- tory through new and broadened strategic and tactical conceptions." Tripoli Fallen TT was in 1911 that the Italians cap- •*• tured Tripoli from the Turks. As the latter had no fleet to speak of, it was an easy conquest. On the day that the Italian ships entered the har- TWO APIECE : Three pilots of a Spitfire IX station who each brought downtwo enemy aircraft in the recent daylight raid on London. (Left to right) Wing Cdr. A. R. M. Milne, D.F.C. and Bar, Sqn. Ldr. Hugo Armstrong and "Bob,"of the "He de France" Fighting French squadron bour an aircraft flew over the town for the first /time, to the great amaze- ment of the inhabitants. Now they are probably glad that Italian machines may try to bomb them ; at least, it means that the R.A.F. will do so no more. So ends Italy's Em- pire in Africa. Rommel, it must be admitted, has achieved his object of getting through into Tunisia. At what stage it was decided that he should not attempt to hold Tripolitania is not certain. Pos- sibly the decision was taken when his hopes of conquering Egypt disap- peared, while at the same time the Allies landed in French Africa. To pursue an aim unswervingly is a prin- ciple of strategy, and to achieve that BRITISH & U.S. AIR Jan. 17„ 18 ., 19,. 20 „ 21 „ 22 „ 23 OverG.B. A'crrt.0 0 0 2 0 0 0 (1 p'ltsafe) 2 Totals West, Over B'b,22 0 4 0 0 7 4 37 5,088; LOSSES TO JAN. 23.. . Continent ••. F'ti-s. 4 1 0 0 0 6 3 14 Middle East, Midd.eEast A'crft 5 0 4 3 6 2 1 21 about 2,059. SIEGE GUNS BY FORTRESS : Boeing Fortresses are being used in New Guineato transport 105 mm. howitzers, complete with ammunition, tractors and crews, to the battle area. On the right is Lt Gen. G. Kennoy, Commanding the Allied Air Forces in the S.W. Pacific aim is usually considered a triumph. But the degree of success must always be balanced against the price paid for it, and Rommel has paid a very heavy price in his long retreat. The R.A.F. has seen to that. The question is whether the Axis forces which Rommel has succeeded in getting into Tunisia are sufficient m number to justify the effort he has made. Will his contribution to the Axis troops already there make a total which will cause serious embarrass- ment to the Allies? Or should we conclude that Rommel had no choice in the matter, and believed that a stand at any one of the defensible positions on the way would only lead to his extermination? Without com- mand of the sea the chances of his bringing ofl a Dunkerque were too small to be worth consideration, and continued retreat may have been held to be the lesser choice of evils. The Axis in Tunisia is now lying be- tween two powerful Allied armies, and when the ground dries enough to permit large-scale movements, big events may be expected. The Axis supply lines from Sicily are admittedly short, but soon Tripoli will be available as a port of entry for the Allies, and Malta is now held to have been relieved from its partial state of siege.
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