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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1155.PDF
MAY 6TH, 1943 FLIGHT 465 WAR IN THE AIR be gained by secrecy, while, on the other hand, the broadcasting of the work would surely have an effect on the nerves of the seamen who might be called upon to put to sea in the Baltic. The shipping routes across that sea are of first-rate importance to the German war effort, for iron ore and other materials are imported that way. In addition, the Baltic is used for training the crews of U-boats, and it is common knowledge that the Germans look upon submarine warfare as their last chance of winning the war. The minesweeping fleet at the disposal of the enemy in the Baltic is only large enough to deal with nor- mal minelaying, and this unusually big effort is likely to bring most sail- ings in that sea to a stop for some time to come. Incessant Bombing '"THE month of April saw ten major •*• raids by the R.A.F. on Germany, in the course of which about 10,000 tons of bombs were dropped. Last Sunday the U.S. Eighth Air Force made a daylight raid on St. Nazaire, but met with bad weather all the way, and results could not be accurately observed. It is hoped that this Force will soon use its fine bombers for deep raids into Germany, thus adding to the weight of the blows which the R.A.F. has been delivering. Perhaps this will come when the American crews have been thoroughly trained for operating at night. The daylight raiding of occupied territory by aircraft of Fighter and Army Co-operation Commands never ceases. Sometimes light bombers go with the fighters, and sometimes the latter work by themselves. Both long- range and short-range fighters have been engaged in'Bils work, and in- truder patrols by night are also carried out. It goes'without saying that the work of Coastal Command never slackens off, and its Beaufighters also fly over the sea and use torpedoes and cannon fire against the shipping of the enemy. The light forces of the Royal Navy ENEMY AIR LOSSES TO MAY April 18 ,. 19 , 20 . 21 . 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 . 27 . 28 , 29 , 30 May 1 Over G.B. 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 5 Totals : West, 6,821 ; North Con- tinent 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 6 Middle East 0 5 1 4 0 0 1 I 2 2 4 1 0 0 21 1st N. Africa 73 27 39 14 38 9 8 7 13 8 18 16 13 8 29? Middle East, over 5,302 ; Africa, 1,619. BRITISH & U.S. AIR LOSSES to MAY 1st April 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 May OverG.B. A'erft. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Continent B'brs. F'trs. 1 30 2 31 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 17 0 1 0 23 3 1 2 13 0 14 0 106 14 MiddleEast A'erft. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 " 4 N. Africa A'crft. II 12 8 4 5 6 6 12 II 2 2 10 7 4 100 Totals : West, 5,860 ; Middle East, about 2,089 ; North Africa, 610. FEELING A DRAUGHT : The end of a Ju 52 which was unfortunate enough to meet a patrolling Typhoon. The Typhoon, flown by a Belgian pilot, had already been shooting up railway engines and was nearly out of ammu- nition. are also engaged in the same sort of work along the Channel and in parts of the North Sea, and the sum total means^a heavy drain on enemy com- munications, both sea-borne and rail- borne. Tunisia A BEAUFIGHTER from North •£*J Africa put up a remarkable per- formance a few days ago. Fit. Sgt. Downing, with Sgt. Lyons as observer (both Londoners), was patrolling off Sardinia, not far from Cagliari, when he sighted five Ju 52 transport aircraft flying northwards. In ten minutes all five had been shot down into the sea. Only the last gave any trouble, for it opened its throttle while its four com- panions were being dealt with and got some miles away. The Beaufighter pursued and soon caught it up, and then one burst of fire sent it down to join its companions. Transport aircraft flying northwards may be trying to evacuate important persons whom von Arnim does not need in Tunisia at the moment and would sooner preserve to fight another day, but on the whole attacks on Axis shipping are just now even more im- portant. In the effort to sink them the Allied Air Forces and the Royal Navy have recently been running neck and neck. The Navy does not only use submarines, but its motor torpedo boats and other light craft are con- stantly engaged. Recent bad weather hampered the operations of Allied air- craft over the land in Tunisia, so the Tactical as well as the Strategic Air Forces turned their attention to the sea and flew out over the Sicilian Straits and adjacent waters. The com- bined bag by our naval and air marauders has been impressive, and must have caused deep despondency to the German commander. It is also gratifying to read of Middle East aircraft flying over the Aegean Sea, far away from the scene of the great battles in Tunisia, and interfer- ing with Axis operations among the Isles of Greece. The other day our long-range fighters were prowling in those waters and found a small Axis ship, which they promptly set on fire with their cannon shells.
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