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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0534.PDF
272 FLIGHT MARCH I6TH, 1944 lished on the China coast. It was always possible, he said, to attack objectives from aircraft carriers, but " we have learned in Europe that a great weight of explosives is necessary to produce a considerable effect on land objectives, and carrier aircraft do not carry this weight of explosives." Certainly no aircraft capable of carrying an 8,000 lb. bomb could be flown off any existing carrier; and there are not enough carriers, even in the American fleet, to compensate by numbers for the small load carried by the machines of each of the ships. Therefore, if Japan IS to be pounded in the same way as the industrial centres of Germany are now being pounded, it follows that bases must be acquired on the mainland of China. The point then arises, will it be possible to win those bases in China before Japan has been strategically defeated by an Allied naval victory ? If the Japanese battle fleet is once defeated by the combined fleets of America and Britain, all the Japanese armies in occupied islands will be cut off from their base and supplies, and will be doomed to destruction. On the mainland of Asia she is well established, and it will need a great effort to expel her from Burma, Siam, Indo-China and China proper. It seems unlikely that the-Allies' land victory, which would make it possible to bomb Nippon from Chinese bases, can be won before the naval victory is accomplished Achievement—and a Challenge F OR the first time since the war started a Govern ment spokesman has lifted the veil which has hitherto shrouded our production efforts. Mr. Lyttelton's statement is to be welcomed on several grounds, not the least being that he has told the world that Great Britain's contribution has been far greater than most people had imagined. Indeed, in proportion to our population it has been prodigiou That we produced in these islands, from theyenjfbreak of war to the end of 1943, no fewer than «Q,000 air craft is impressive, to say the least. But ibm is remem bered that at the beginning of the war ojftv aircraft pro duction rate was very low indeed, thc/acjiievement an average of 1,875 aircraft per month (taking 1940-43 only and disregarding the last months of 1939) is one of which all i ~ concerned may well be proud. ABOARD H.M.S. CORMORANT: Mark II Beaufighters being serviced on the Gibraltar airfield. It is the Royal Navy's usual practice to give ships' names to shore stations. The airfield is on the site of the old racecourse between the Rock and the strip of neutral territory which separ ates Gibraltar from Spain. It is to this airfield that Coastal Command aircraft can be routed if the home base weather becomes bad while they are on patrol over the Bay of Biscay. CONTENTS The Outlook - - - - War in the Air - - Here and There - - Coastal Command Station - Topics of the Day ... Aircraft in Flying Attitudes Behind the Lines ... Growth of U.S. Air Power - Making One Runway Do - Correspondence Service Aviation ... 271 273 276 278 284 286 288 289 291 293 295 What makes the average figure all the more remark able is the fact that a large proportion of our aircraft production has been heavy bombers. These, as Mr. Lyttelton pointed, out, need four times as many man- hours as fighters and 40 times as many as trainers. It will be welcome news to our own people, and may have a salutary effect on others who have been inclined to belittle our effort, to learn that as a result of our ^ efforts three-quarters of the total aircraft structure weight for the R.A.F. and Fleet Air Arm during 1943 was produced in this country. Six per cent, came from the rest of the British Commonwealth, and 18 per cent, from America. While taking justifiable pride in these achievements Mr. Lyttelton warned the country that in the aircraft programme there must be changes in the form of In creased production of types of proved superiority and reduced production of others less excellent. Mr. LyttelJ^n concluded his statement with a challenge to industryJm 1944 : In spite of reduced man-power we hall havjf^to increase production in certain specialised ^ctiory. Although not directed especially to the air- crarKirjflustry, Mr. Lyttelton's concluding words might well Qf displayed prominently in every aircraft factory : lghting men will face great battles this year. We Ffcee that our work is worthy of them'"
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