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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0273.PDF
"FEBRUARY IOTH, 1944 Scene at a Boston station as a Fighting French squadron return from operations over their homeland. TIE most important development last week was the American attack on the Marshall Islands, in which aircraft carriers played a very large paxt. It is a blow well to the rear of that front on which Gen. Mac- Arthur has been steadily pushing for ward for so many months, and if com pletely successful, it threatens the communications of the Japanese forces in the islands near to Australia. In such a vast ocean as the Pacific, it must be difficult to cut sea communica tions completely; but again carriers can recon noitre far and wide across the waters, and they have .a very long striking arm. -^''TTsistent harrying of the Japanese supply vessels is bound to have a great effect on the troops in the various islands. The Japanese soldier can live on the country, for rice can be got anywhere, but he must have munitions of war sent to him across the water. His weak spot is shipping, and the tem porary command of the seas which Japan gained by its treacherous attack on Pearl Harbour has now faded away. The question is whether the Japanese battle fleet at Truk, in the Carolines, will come out and fight to regain that Supremacy. It is to be hoped that it will. In Burma the Japanese have also had many troubles with their commu nications, for many of the railway bridges have been bombed, and the river traffic has been ceaselessly harried by aircraft from India. Lately the British, Indian, and Chinese forces have commenced a cautious move for wards, but they have not yet attempted to strike crippling blows. For months past the whole weight of the attack on the enemy has been borne by the Air Forces, and in that country aircraft cannot intervene with much effect in jungle fighting. It is therefore very^ THREE torpedo- SPADES ? : Bridge session in progress at a F.A.A bomber training squadron in the U.S. during non- flying weather pleasing to learn that our troops have lately been supported by tanks and medium artillery, and their appearance came as a very unpleasant surprise to the enemy. Tanks, of course, cannot force their way through heavy tree jungle, but where they can operate they will hS-QL immense help to the infant*yT^Tbe EnSmy^does not seem either e front, aircraft en par r this, why urther sti oil- les have secure aii bases in Italy continues, but there have been some raids by heavy bombers on an oil refinery at Trieste. This may be regarded, perhaps, as tactical bomb ing, for probably the German forces in Italy have been getting supplies from such a convenient spot. The Rumanian oil fields are a strategic object, as they are not concerned with any one campaign or battle so much as with the total German war effort. There is general dis appointment that the landing to the south of Rome has not produced more immediate and strik ing results, and it must also be admitted that, despite the efforts of the TLbb
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