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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1154.PDF
6o2 FLIGHT WAR IN THE AIR the mouth of the river. That may have been significant, as the German engineers are experts at rapid repairs of bridges, and therefore it is best not to destroy them until little time is left to the enemy. New Air Weapons ANOTHER new'appearance on the ** Western Front is described in offi cial communiques the " Flak -busting " Typhoons. They seem to be pretty good at their job, for on one occasion it was mentioned that two of them escorted two squadrons of fighter- bombers, which destroyed an impor tant railway bridge and blasted nearby railway yards. Other Typhoons now fire rockets. One pilot who has used the new weapon, said : " When a fighter makes an attack and the pilot presses the button to fire his guns and cannon, he feels a terrific vibration throughout the aircraft, and it is said that as much as 30 m.p.h. may be knocked off the speed by the recoils. There is nothing of this sort when rockets are fired— they leave the aircraft smoothly and without a jar, and the pilot wouldn't Jtnow jftiey had gone if he didn't see 3ioke trail. They travel at and strike with tre- Although the pilot lothingYibove the noise of his rockets^ound from the ground i. They hit with a Plike a shell, as distinct Irom tHeheJrVy bump with which a • 1 bomb landifand they are the very last structiveness against certain ^B mmmKL NE 8XH, I944 \ xY^r" / '-Y "if • •'. • • -..••-',. v-i-,''-:V.v BLACK MARKS : Heavy German flak bursts in a formation of 9th U.S.A.A.F. jr Marauders as the bombing run is made over Dieppe. In the front aircraft the \ bomb-aimer was killed and the gunner wounded. The progressive development of fighter aircraft as fighter-bombers is really astonishing. It has recently been disclosed that Thunderbolts and Lightnings now can carry a bomb load of 2,000 lb., one bomb of 1,000 lb. under each wing. What a short time ago it seems when the standard "heavy" bomber of the R.A.F. was the Virginia, which could transport a bomb load of 1,500 lb. That figure was kept secret. In Burma the airborne troops known as Chindits have been driven off the site which they had occupied across the Japanese line of communications to the south. It was hardly to be expected that they would be left un molested for an indefinite time, and they knew themselves that superior URGENTLY REQUIRED Leading special freight transport. Japanese forces were approaching them. They still remain a thorn in the Japanese rear, however, and they supported the drive on Myitkyina and the operations in the Mogaung valley by attacking enemy communications. Evidently they are still getting their supplies brought to them by air. The Pacific War r^ENERAL MACARTHUR hp.s said ^-* that the capture of Biak Island in the Schouten group to the north of New Guinea marks the strategic end of the New Guinea campaign. Actu ally there is a peninsula projecting out from the western end of New Guinea, but it is evidently of no military im portance. Now a new stage in the Pacific cam paign must begin, and speculations are rife as to what direction it will take. Some believe that MacArthur will strike south-westward to Timor, from which it would still be conceivably possible for the Japanese to strike a"t the northern coast of Australia— though of late Japanese military policy has been so entirely defensive that the invasion of new territory seems very unlikely. Raids, how ever, cannot be ruled out. Timor, moreover, would be the natural base for the reconquest of the Dutch East Indies, and Java and Sumatra must be won again, sooner or later. Others hold the opinion that General MacArthur is more likely to move up towards the Philippines, and thence against the home islands of Nippon, with one eye on the provinces of China which the Japanese have occupied. Nobody is more curious as to his intentions than are the Japan ese leaders. One thing is certain. General Mac- Arthur has developed his own method of using air power. When he first took over the Allied command in the South-East Pacific he defended on to a Vickers Warwick Australia (his primary task) almost^ entirely by skilful use of his bombers.
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