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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1217.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIPST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE W6RLD • FOUNDED t90d Editor C M. POULSEN Managing Editor G. GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HQUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, 5.E.1 Telegrarris : Truditur, Sedist, London. COVENTRY ! 8-10, CORPORATION ST. BIRMINGHAM, 2 : GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, - NAVIGATIONS T. Telegrams: Autocar,Coventry. Telegram: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Coventry 5210. Telephone: Midland 29 7 1 (5 lines). Telephone: Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, C.2 : 260, DEANSGATE. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams : tliffe, Manchester. Telegrams: Iliffe, Glasgow. Telephone : Blaekfriars +412. Telephone : Central 4857. No. 1794. Vol. XLIII. c Registered at the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. May 13th, 1943. The Outlook Thursdays, One Shilling. Bomber CasualtiesO N April 20th Bomber Command lost 31 machines in its triple attack on Stettin, Rostock and Berlin. On. April 28th it lost 23 machines, and in the raid on Dortmund on the night of May 4th the losses were 30 bombers. The prompt publication of these figures by the Air Ministry is apt to have a dis- turbing effect on the public and to produce a certain amount of depression. They provoke no fear that the war is not going well, nor any doubts about ultimate victory, but they do cause grief at the thought of gallant lives lost and magnificent machines destroyed. That is only natural. At the same time the British public rejoices whole- heartedly evety time the Eighth Army or the First Army attacks and gains ground. It is often stated in general terms that '' casualties have been heavy on both sides,'' and anyone who stops to think must know that hun- dreds of British soldiers have been killed and wounded that day; but because no figure of losses has been pub- lished the British citizen goes home full of delight at the victory. A couple of tanks destroyed may mean more homes bereaved than when a bomber is shot down, but the effect on the spirits of the public is quite dif- ferent. By the standards of the Army or the Navy the loss of 30 bombers is quite a trivial incident of war; but because of the different ways of announcing the losses the public looks on the two from "utterly different standpoints. It is an old saying among soldiers that you cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs, and an A.O.C. who sends out aircraft expecting a certain percentage of losses is no more callous about human life than the General who orders an infantry brigade to assault a mountain. Actually, the percentage of losses in recent bombing raids has been growing steadily smaller. If ten machines were despatched and two lost, the percentage would be very high, but the public would hardly be depressed. The loss of 30 out of a very large force may well repre- sent a much lower percentage. In other words, the air crew which now starts off on a raid has a very much better chance of coming safely home than it would have had a year ago. Another way of looking at it is to reflect that in no other way could such heavy damage be done to places like Essen and Dortmund at such small cost as by air bombing. Also, each German munition factory destroyed may well mean saving the lives of British soldiers when the Army invades the Continent. We grieve'for the lost airmen, but we should i*ot lose our sense of proportion. Victory in TunisiaT HE rapid capture of Tunis and Bizerta came as a welcome surprise. Everybody had expected a resolute attack by the Allies, and knew that it would be delivered from the West rather than by the Eighth Army on the South. But warnings had been issued of the difficulties ahead, and especially of the strength of the fortress of Bizeii:a. The masterly disposi- tions of General Alexander, and the magnificent fighting by the First Army, the Americans and the French swept everything before them, and decisive victory had come almost before the public in Britain knew that it was certainly on the way. One factor undoubtedly helped General Alexander, and full acknowledgment was made of it in the com- munique issued last Thursday. That communique spoke of " complete air domination," and went on to say that the Allied Air Forces made "the most concentrated air
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