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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0427.PDF
MARCH 2ND, 1944 ziu CLOSE SUPPORT Mitchells with 75 mm. cannon in the nose sweep in low over landing craft full of American marines during the attack on Cape Gloucester, New Britain. ? in me Qermany Hit from North and South : New London Byttz Explained THERE have been many events of air importance in the last week, in addition to the great Russian victory at Krivoi Rog, which followed hard on the capture of Starya Russa. The part played by air power U in the Russian victories is seldom men tioned, but it must have been con siderable in many ways—not least in reconnaissance. The Germans have now only a small fraction of their fighter strength on the Eastern Front, and probably less than half their bomber strength. As Russian aircraft production is now about equal to British production, which is well ahead of that of the Germans, the Russians must be able to do pretty much what they like in the air. The German forces on that front are armies almost deprived of the help of one major arm, and armies in such a position cannot hope for success. In the West we have had the Prime Minister's review of the war, which is dealt with at some length on other pages of this issue, the renewal on a r^inor scale of the German '' blitz '' on London, and a whole series of major raids by both British and American bombers on various centres of German production. Outstanding the double event . staged by Gen. among those raids was TAIL-LESS: Some of the damage sustained by a Lancaster which was attacked by an F.W. 190 and an Me 210 during an attack on Brunswick. on February 22nd, when his two bomber forces, the 8th Britain and the 15th in the nean, to hit Germany from at once. The attacks were directed against factories which make or lassemble aircraft or their e factories making fighters ally singled out for attack, the Americans obviously arguing that if th^nghter strength of the Luftwaffe is .badly broken, then the Allied bombers will be able to range as they please over the Reich and hit the enemy's production with a minimum oi loss. Flak would remain a means of defence, but the Americans have lost far more machines from German fighters than they have from ground fire. Machines are sometimes hit by flak, but" long ago the Americans found that '' the higher the fewer.'' The plan of double attacks from north and south has been repeated— as was to be expected. The credit for developing this assault on German fighter factories belongs to the Americans. R.A.F. Bomber Command reached a pitch of power before the U.S. Army 8th Air Force could be built up, and the Ruhr was certainly the area which called for fee first attack in strength. From the Ruhr came the great guns and other
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