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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 0558.PDF
288 FLIGHT MARCH I6TH, 1944 Behind the Lines Service and Industrial News from the Inside of Axis and Enemy * occupied Countries New Types of Aircraft THE Berlin correspondent of Magyar Szo, Budapest, states that the Luft waffe is using a new kind of aircraft in its attacks on Britain and London. '' The conviction is growing in the German capital," says the report, "that the Germans are launching their attacks on London from the stratosphere. "Much is being said." continues the newspaper, "about the new German ' K' bombs, the effect of which far exceeds that of the heavy bombs or ' blockbusters ' used so far, and the effect of the explosion destroys everything over a large area. These bombs weigh 500 kg. each, and the German pilots have given them the nickname ' Fat Emmas.' " The new type of aircraft is said to have been developed by Capt. Mader, com mander of a fighter squadron in the west, in collaboration with other Luftwaffe pilots who have had experience in raiding London Admission GERMAN difficulties in rehabilitating important industries in the Ukraine since their occupation of Krivoi Rog over two years ago, were described by a Ger man industrialist visiting Switzerland The Swiss Weltwoche gave the fol lowing interesting extract of his state ment: " Our men responsible for bring ing concerns into production again needed above all machines. They wrote, telegraphed and telephoned to the Ruhr district for machines. Since spring, i943> they always received the answer that there was no possibility of delivery at the moment It was the air offensive over the Ruhr that held up deliveries. Factories in the Ukranian ore district had to ' muddle through' and establish ments could seldom work to full capacity." Air Support IN an address to Nazi Party leaders in Hamburg, Luftwaffe Gen. Quade pointed out that the Luftwaffe " prefers to operate indirectly" over the battle fields on the Russian front. The General stressed the importance of the assistance rendered to encircled German troops by air transport units, stating that on one occasion alone they covered about 300,000 miles in 2,550 flights and brought some 20 million lb. of war material (or the equivalent of about 600 railway vans) to the front. Submerging NOWADAYS in Germany nobody knows whetheT he is talking to Dr. Jekyll ot Mr. Hyde," says a Swiss recently returned from Germany, in an interview with Die Nation. "One can disappear and submerge in the sea of disorder and confusion. Disappearing has been developed into a regular science. There are many people whose lives are in danger, not only deserters and criminals, but in particular politic- CRATERIS1NG : This picture, published in a German journal and showing dispersal points on an airfield in Russia destroyed before the Luftwaffe exit, is meant to demonstrate the thoroughness of German scorched-earth policy. ally compromised men. For these people there is no better solution than to give up their existence as such, to allow them selves to be declared dead or missing and to come to the surface again in some other city as a different person. "The process is as follows: Some member of the man's family goes to the police station one day and reports that on a certain even ing the man concerned had said he was going to pay a visit to a friend at a certain address. He had not returned from this visit and his relatives were most anxious. The police investi gate and find that this particular house was totally destroyed in the night in question and there is no hope of the man being still alive. His relatives even say that they believe they can recognise his body among the charred corpses.- He is therefore officially declared missing or dead. He is not dead, however, but by helping in the rescue work he has easily been able to obtain the papers of some dead man. He moves to some other city and it is impossible to prove his identity false." Service to Customers T HE German Press gives interesting details about the new service ot the Reich broadcasting system. The service has just set up a new transmitting station with a view of notifying the population from hour to hour about the movements of the Anglo-American air craft. Thus, as soon as the enemy squadrons approach German territory, listeners are informed of the strength of these squadrons and as to how they are made up The German population can therefore at any moment get an exact idea of the progress of the Anglo- American formations. Listeners are thus in a position to know if their town is directly threatened or not, or if there are no aircraft over German territory. " It is thus possible," points out a German commentator, " again to return home after visiting friends without listening at every station or stop. One can again start a big job without beiny afraid that one will have to pack every thing up again the next moment." How this new warning system worked during last Monday's big da3'light raid on Berlin was described by a German overseas radio reporter, quoted by Renter. '•' I knew quite well what was going on in the air without seeing much, for we have a special radio service when there is an alarm," he said. " At short intervals, the Luftwaffe announced the exact position of the enemy formations, the course of the machines, the probable targets, the activity of the German flak, the German fighters, etc. " About noon-time, after the alert had been sounded, it was announced that strong enemy bomber formations were approaching the capital at a relatively slow speed, and were observed about 50 to 60 miles west. A little later we were informed that the American aircraft were seen steering their course southward and after another 10 to 15 minutes they were reported over the outskirts of Berlin. "'It is most likely,' the announcer said, 'that some of the enemy bombers will get through the defences and reach the city itself.' As a matter of fact, they did. I saw it." Labour Shortage -^0 AN item in the Vblkischer Beobacluer of March Cth, 1944, entitled "The repair of air-raid damage in Berlin fac tories," says that, in the first place, every factory tries to repair the damage caused by air attacks with its own workers so that production can be main tained on the old level. The president of the Berlin Gau Economic Chamber, Professor Dr. Hunke, discussing this subject in the Wirtschaltsblatt der (iauwirtsclialtskammern Berlin und Marh Brandenburg, says that in future it will be more necessary than fver to carry out makeshift repairs with one's own workers or with community help which has proved so valuable in the past, Hush-Hush ACCORDING to neutral reports, the Germans suspect that the AAiies have secret airfields in France, wbere British aircraft land with arms for the French patriots, and whence thev carry certain persons off to security in Britain.
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