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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1465.PDF
JULY 26TH, 1944 F LI G H WAR N THE AIR and the chance of encountering a 4,000 lb. bomb. But one of the main concerns of the United Nations is to look ahead and consider the best ways of preventing the German people from starting to pre pare for a third world war the moment that the second one is over. Military occupation cannot last for ever, and the best hope for the future seems to lie in persuading the Germans that aggressive war does not pay. Germany surrendered in 1918 before Berlin had heard the sound of a hostile bomb or gun, "and it never was occupied by the troops of the Allies. Consequently, the Berliners and other Germans easily swallowed Goring's assurances that they never would be bombed. Their experiences in the present war are not likely to make them demand uncon ditional surrender now; but they may »». .well have a good effect in the future in ^ jnaWng German women, in particular, shrink from the prospect of provok ing another war with Britain and the United States—to say nothing of a resurrected France. The Air Torpedoes "TvESPITE the cloudy weather of *^ late, which has been all in favour of the air torpedoes, numbers of them have been shot down. It is on record that no less than five fighter pilots have performed the '' hat trick'' by shooting down three of them on a single patrol. One Dutch pilot in the R.A.F. has destroyed 12 mj and a Belgian pilot has bagged 10. "\ The latter, who had also shot up a dozen enemy locomotives, was awarded a bar to his D.F.C. Shooting down-these*pests in the NORMANDY HUB : Sir Archibald Sinclair, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal and Air Vice-Marshal H. Broadhurst in an operations room m France. air must be quite good fun for a fighter pilot. There is no combat, of course, and the torpedo cannot take evasive action; but each successful shoot may well save lives in the South of England, and pilots who have rela tions in that area must feel especial satisfaction in seeing an air torpedo fall into the sea or into open country. But it is always better to destroy wasps in the nest rather than on the wing, and last week a strong force of Lancasters and Halifaxes was sent against another store which the inde fatigable reconnaissance pilots had discovered at Nucourt, some 25 miles to the nprth-wes.t of Paris. The store 'caves in the chalk, and there does were sent from Germany IMPORTANT VISITOR : Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, who commands the 2nd Tactical Air Force, in a Sp'tfire during a recent visit to a 9th A.F. Bomber station in Normandy. to be got into flying trim before being despatched up to the launching plat forms. U.S. bombers had already attacked this store, but destruction necessitated the heavier bombs which only the British big bombers ran carry. The attack lasted only 18 minutes, but the heavy bombs evi dently penetrated through the chalk into the store, for pilots saw two very big explosions. If any Germans were in the caves at the time, their funeral is not likely to cause much trouble. One reads that the Allies' bombing of railways has caused a somewhat acute shortage of food in Paris. If food cannot be brought in, it must follow that there are considerable difficulties in getting the air torpedoes out and up to the launching platforms. The fact that London had five suc cessive nights last week without any "incidents" shows that this vaunted weapon is falling far short of what the German had hoped of it. At the week-end there was an im provement of the weather in the Straits of Dover and in Normandy. Such a change naturally gave in creased chances> to fighters and A.A. gunners to deal with the air torpedoes. It also allowed the A.E.A.F. to give more help to the Army in France. The most recent addition to the forms of help given by the R.A.F. has been the adaptation of the Hawker Typhoon so that it can carry one 1,000 lb. bomb under each wing. The Typhoon first made its name as a low- altitude fighter, when it put a stop to the daily tip-and-run raids of German fighter-bombers on the towns of the South Coast of England. Now, armed with two such formidable ex plosives, it is likely to become highly unpopular with the German ground troops who are stubbornly trying to hold up the advance of Gen. Mont gomery's men.
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