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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1408.PDF
23 FLIGHT JULY 13TH, 1944 Minsk, Russian reconnaissance aircraft reported that a tightly packed German column had been destroyed ; not, as one would have expected, by bombers, but by Russian armour. That might look as if the Russians had not grasped the possibilities of air power, and that in that respect thiey were lagging behind the military thought of the West. Some explanation, however, is provided by the statement that the Russian armour is pushing ahead so fast that in some places it is far ahead of the range of the Russian fighters, even though the Red Air Force is sometimes advancing its bases twice in a day. That proves that the Russian armour feels no need for a fighter cover ; it has nothing to fear from the Luftwaffe. Since Lord Wavell's first advance into Libya, British Generals have always looked to their aircraft to play the historic role of cavalry in pursuing a fleeing enemy, and they could hark back to precedents from Palestine and Bulgaria in 1918. The Russians seem to think that when you are quite safe from air attack it is better to use tanks in the pursuit. The plains of Russia are not like the mountain defiles of Palestine and Bulgaria, and it is conceivable that on the former the guns and machine- guns of the tanks may be able to make a more complete job of destroying fugitives than bombs could do. Caen Taken C AEN taken, La Haye du Puits taken, fighting Jn Vilna streets, Saipan cleared of the Japanese, Nippon bombed again by Super-Fortresses—rarely has the Axis had a more discouraging week-end! The determination with which the Germans defended Caen is a measure of its importance. Its fall promises to open up fresh fields and pastures new to General Mont gomery's men. In addition, the end of the grim struggle to capture the place will be a great relief to the men ot the dashing Second Army. They bore the burden and heat of the day, but the strain on them was considerably lightened by the great help given to them by the Royal Air Force. Despite the vagaries of this abnormal Jul v. CONTENTS The Outlook - War ;n the Air Here and There Invasion Close-up The Spitfire P.R. Mark XI - Topics of the Day - Countering the Air Torpedo Mr. Churchill's Statement - Behind the Lines Aircraft in Flying Attitudes The Opposed-piston Engine Consolidated "39 " - Correspondence Service Aviation 27 29 32 34 38 40 42 44 45 46 48 49 SO 51 the medium bombers and fighter-bombers of the Allied Expeditionary Air Force have seized every possible moment to bring help from above. Nor has Bomber Command held its hand. On the evening of Friday last week a force of beween 450 and 500 Lancasters and Halifaxes pounded the defences with their heavy bombs. It was tricky work, for there was no great distance between the German defences and the.' lines of the British and Canadian waiting infantry and tanks. The bomb-aiming had to be meticulously accu rate. Then the artillery took over the job and put up a bombardment which may have been a record for this war, or any war. Not to be left out in the cold the Navy joined in with 16-inch shells from H.M.S. Rodney, and smaller projectiles from other warships. There must have been some special reason why the heavy bombers were used against a position which was well within the reach of the guns. Normally it is not sound practice to bomb when one is able to/shell, and one would have thojgixUtkaJ^the heavy bqjnbers might have been use^tfia^e^fung agfcir^st targets beyond the range of tfe^^fjiifer)' FLYING PHOTOGRAPHER : The Vickers-Armstrong (Supermarine) Spitfire XI used for photographic reconnaissance work. Other pictures, newly released for publication appear on pages 31, 38 and 39.
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