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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1356.PDF
544 FLIGHT MAY 27TH, 1943 lie flew again and again through their barrage, his own gunners- raked the defences so effectively that the German fire began to waver. '' A flight lieutenant who dropped his mines later," reads the official communique, "was in a better posi- tion to see what actually happened to the dam," and it goes on to describe it in the officer's own words. " I was able to watch the whole pro- cess," he said. "The wing comman- der's load was placed just right and a spout of water went up 300ft. into the air. A second Lancaster attacked with equal accuracy, and there was still no sign of a breach. Then I went in and we caused a huge explosion up against the dam. It was not until an- other load had been dropped that the dam at last broke. I saw the first jet very clear in the moonlight. I should WA R IN THE AIR say that the breach was about 50 yards wide." Another pilot said that the jets of water were so powerful that they were hurtling out horizontally for at least 200ft. Repeated attacks were necessary to break down the dam thoroughly, and each successive crew displayed extra- ordinary coolness and persistence in the face of the defences, coming down as low as 100ft. or eten less. It was a magnificent piece of work and, while many humanitarians will shudder at the subsequent deluge which engulfed whole communities, the answer can only be that war is always inhuman, as the German bombers gratuitously DAM ANU BLAST : The Mohne Dam before and after attention from mine-dropping Lancasters on May 17th. The breach, which is exactly in the centre of the dam, is approximately 200ft. wide. demonstrated to the people of War- saw, Rotterdam and a hundred other European and British cities. From Northern African airfields, the softening-up process has been going on with a relentless determina- tion that must be making many Italians think hard about those leaflets dropped on Rome suggesting that a choice between capitulation and de- struction has more behind it than mere propaganda. Wellingtons of the Strategic Air Force have pounded Palermo, Tra- pani, the seaplane base at Lido de Roma, and the 'port and airfield at Alghero in Sardinia, to mention just a few of the more outstanding recent operations by these seasoned air veterans of the Mediterranean cam- paign. Plying Fortresses escorted by Lightnings have also blown up enemy shipping and plastered the docks and railroad yards at Trapani, and the harbour and airfield at Pantellaria have also been beaten up by medium bombers and fighter-bombers. Long-range Beaufighters of the Coastal Air Force, patrolling over Italian waters, have gunned their ships and shot down a number of enemy fighters, mostly if not all Ger- mans. And although the Luftwaffe. which left Von Arnim's men to their fate on the Bon peninsula, has tried to stage a somewhat shamefaced come- back during the past week or so, their losses at the hands of Allied fighters and the heavily armed Fortresses have been heavy, while our own have been remarkably light. Italy's Plight TTALY'S position for defence against •*• Allied air attack, in fact, is now pre- carious to say the least of it, for, by some six months' systematic bleeding of the Luftwaffe, the North-west African air forces have achieved a supremacy which makes "carpet of bombs" tactics possible, and the Axis are now incapable of defending Italy from our air onslaught. Her flak has always been totally inade- quate and her own night-fighters are practically non-existent. And since the very strong German day and night fighter and flak defences have failed to protect the industries of Germany, the danger to the comparatively unpro- tected industries of Italy is obvious. Recent events in Tunisia have proved that the Allied Nations' Air Forces in the Mediterranean were out- standingly superior to the very con- .siderable combined air strength of Ger- many and Italy in that theatre. The Axis lost at least four times as many aircraft in the North African cam- paign as did the Allies. Having lost Africa and being now forced to operate solely from airfields in Italian territory, it seems unlikely that the Axis air forces will be able to achieve any greater success in the defence of Italy than they did in Africa. The Regia Aerovautica might, perhaps, be expected to operate more
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