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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0112.PDF
56 FLIGHT JANUARY 2OTH, 1944 to have arisen mainly from German miscalculations about the part which fighters would play in this war. Hitherto Bomber Command have made very few claims that fighter factories figured among the main objectives in the night raids, though some general "area raids" doubtless included fighter factories. Deliberate attacks on .main fighter factories were initiated by United States bombers working from the Mediterranean area. They have now been taken up by the U.S. Army Eighth Air Force in Britain. The day light raid of January nth struck a heavy blow at three of the most important of these factories. It was a very well-judged attack, delivered at the right time, and hit ting Germany just where the blow would hurt her most. Its importance was shown by the strength of the force which was sent out, and also by the fierceness of the German defence. Bringing out even some reserves, the German fighters held nothing back in their desperate attempt to weaken the blow aimed at their country's most tender spot. Bomber Command has followed up the blow. To the Luftwaffe the loss of 100 or so of its fighters is no light misfortune, but that is as nothing to the loss of replacements and hoped-for increases which the damage to the factories will certainly mean. "Achtung — Schpitfeuer !" ONE of the gratifying features of the present air situation is the number of Spitfires now available for distribution. In the momentous Battle of Britain these redoubtable fighters were in rather short supply, and that great victory was won mainly by the Hurricane. The latter has since appeared in many roles, and has done remarkable service as a fighter-bomber, as a tank-buster, and as a ship's fighter. - But now its name rarely appears in the news, though the later Hawker fighter, the Typhoon, is daily winning new laurels. Despite the production of new types of fighter in both Britain and the United States, the improved versions of CONTENTS The Outlook War in the Air - - - Here and There The Hawker Typhoon - Aircraft in Flying Attitudes A Third of a Century Behind the Lines Airfield Saturation - Avro York Transport ... Correspondence .... Service Aviation - - ' - - 55 57 60 61 66, a and b 7o 72 73 74 76 77 the Spitfire still hold their own wherever there, has to be fighting for the command of the air. The naval version, the Seafire, is highly regarded, and its appearance on aircraft carriers shows that the R.A.F. is not short of the type. Moreover, in the conquest of Corsica a num: ber of French pilots were equipped with Spitfires, again giving evidence that the R.A.F. can afford to spare some of them for our Allies. American squadrons are still flying Spitfires in Italy. ^ The latest appearance of Spitfires is in the fighting over Burma, where their arrival has been hailed with joy. We have been told by Admiral Halsey that of late Japanese aircraft have shown some improvement, though their pilots have on the whole deteriorated. For a long time past the Japanese have made little attempt to dispute the Allies' air superiority over Burma, but lately large numbers of them have ventured to take the air. The Spitfires had arrived in time, and they quickly showed their superiority to the Japanese fighters. They had done that before in the defence of Darwin, when the Japanese were raiding that port, but the performance of the yellow enemy's fighters has been improved since then. So has that of the Spitfire, which still rules the skies wherever it appears. FIGHTER DIVE BOMBER: Taxying a Hawker Typhoon on the perimeter track to the take-off point. A detailed and profusely illustrated description of the Typhoon appears on pages 61-69.
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