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Aviation History
1943
1943 - 1490.PDF
FLIGHT JUNE IOTH, 1943 WAR IN THE AIR campaign large numbers; have alsa been destroyed on the ground and in the air over the Italian islands, and Sir Arthur Tedder's offensive goes merrily on. Italy's Sorry Plight "PHE lack of fighter opposition to the -*- Allied raids on the Italian island- is another indication of the poor state in which the Luftwaffe and the Regia Aeronautica find themselves. The little island of Pantellaria, which was fortified by Mussolini before the war with the express purpose of hampering British transit through the Sicilian Narrows, is now like a cobra whose poison fangs have been extracted. The Navy has shelled its harbour several times, and Allied bombers have roved over it at will, smashing up the airfields with the aircraft on them, and generally wrecking anything of value to the Axis. Sardinia is in but little better case, while Malta has been taking a heavy revenge on Sicily for all the raids which have started off from there to wreck the town of Valetta. It is evident from Italian broadcasts that the people of the mainland expect an Allied invasion in the near future and feel utterly unable to withstand it. Germany seems loth to send sufficient reinforcements. The Italian fleet re- mains " in being," but has no carriers and cannot venture to fight outside the short range of shore-based fighters. Between May 22nd and 28th over 3,000,000 lb. of bombs were dropped by the Allies on various places in Italy and her islands, and some of the damage was exceptionally heavy. Leghorn was one of the worst sufferers, and the important oil refinery there is believed to have been damaged. Altogether, Italy is in a sorry state. A TALE OF A TAIL : The damaged Vickers Wellington which Sgt. L. Williamson managed to bring back to base after having the rear turret com- pletely shot away. Sgt. Williamson was awarded the C.G.M. EFFICIENT ELEGANCE : From this three-quarter rear view the Mark II Fighter Intruder D. H. Mosquito shows its sleek outlines. A Gallant Sunderland ALTHOUGH the Sunderland must •*"*• now be reckoned a flying boat of old design and at best not capable of more than 210 m.p.h., it is still a very formidable fighting aircraft. An especially gallant fight by a Sunder- land of the Royal Australian Air Force working with Coastal Command deserves to live in any history of the war. The boat was out on patrol over the Bay of Biscay, searching for U-boats, when it was attacked by eight Ju88 fighters. Incidentally the somewhat extensive conversion of Ju88 machines from bombing to fighter duties is one instance of the straits to which the Luftwaffe has been reduced. The Ju88 is a very good machine, and far faster than the Sun- derland, while the odds of eight to one ought to have made the result of the combat a foregone conclusion. The flying boat was hit in many places, fire broke out but was entinguished, one gunner was killed and four other mem- bers of the crew were wounded, among them the captain of the boat, and things must have seemed pretty des- perate. But the stout Australian gunners fought back, and definitely shot down three of the Junkers fighters. Another was probably de- stroyed, and the other four were all damaged. Finally the Germans gave up the fight, and the survivors turned away. The Sunderland flew back nearly 300 miles and reached Great Britain. There has been what is .called a lull on the Russian front, which may or may not be due to German uncertainty as to where the United Nations will strike in the West. There has been plenty of fighting but no great battle, and the arms chiefly used have been artillery and bomber aircraft. Both sides have been using large forces of bombers to strike at targets behind the opposing lines. A while ago the Rus- sians indulged in a spell of long- distance raiding on East Prussia and elsewhere, but like previous outbursts of this sort it did not last for long. Strategic bombing is apparently con- sidered by the Russians to be the con- cern of the British ; they concentrate their attention on land fighting, and use their Air Force accordingly. The Germans have been retaliating in kind, and as yet have shown no disposition to withdraw large contingents of bombers from the Eastern front to take revenge on Britain for the continuous devastation of German industrial centres. The task of making token raids and killing schoolgirls in England has been left to fighter-bombers. East of Suez '"PHE American landing on Attu -*- island in the Aleutians may be the first fruits of the announcement in Washington by Mr. Churchill and President Roosevelt tliat Britain and : the United States are now in a position to undertake a campaign against- Japan as well as to deal faithfully with the Axis in Europe. The American success on the island is gratifying, and it is also pleasing to hear that Canadian pilots in Warhawks have played a: part in the operations. War news from China has been scanty since Japan succeeded in clos- ing the Burma Road, but lately a sub- stantial Chinese victory on the Yangtze
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