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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1630.PDF
142 FLIGHT AUGUST IOTH, 1944 belt squadron of the 9th U.S.A.A.F. He described the sense of responsibility which the pilots have for the lives of the ground troops. The weather was so bad during the opening stages of the attack that his P47 had to come down as low as 400ft. to engage the enemy. This he thought was " pretty rotten," but then, as he said, it was also pretty rotten for the chaps on the ground. The Thunderbolts were carry ing two 1,000-lb. bombs on the day of the breakthrough, but after the Germans had got on the move—as he said, " not in the direction of victory " —fragmentation bombs were used ' again. The Thunderbolt pilots prefer pre cision dive-bombing to either shallow- dive, low-level or skip-bombing. When the ceiling allows, the pilots go into a very steep dive at 12,000ft., whistle earthwards at about 500 m.p.h. and release their bombs at about 3,000ft. The ordinary gun sight is used for aiming, and a very high degree of accuracy is claimed. Maj. La Roque says that a direct hit is guaranteed, provided the exact position of the target and the strength and direction of the wind are known. . Evasive action is taken as the Thunderbolts peel off—or pay out, as the Americans call it—before entering into the straight dive. This effectively puts the German gunners off their aim, and the speed which is attained in the dive makes the P47 very difficult to hit. Shell Shortage While on the subject of flak, it is significant, I think, that from several sources lately I have heard the opinion expressed that the Germans are short of A.A. shells in Normandy. This shortage is showing itself in that only vital areas are being protected, but at the same time the quality of the shoot ing indicates that only the best gunners have been retained. It looks very much as if strategic bombing of fac tories and transport is paying yet another dividend. When Major La Roque was asked how much he sees of Field Marshal Sperrle's Luftlotte HI while flying over Normandy, he said that during 84 missions since D-day he had only seen two enemy aircraft. His squadron was too busy helping *the ground soldier to worry about search ing for the Luftwaffe. Next to no enemy aircraft puts in an appearance during the hours of daylight, and even at night it is seldom that more than 70 or 80 are in operation. In the first 52 nights since the invasion, no fewer than no of this weak effort had been destroyed by our night fighters over the beachhead. When it is remembered that Sperrle has only some 500 single-engined fighters, 450 twin-engined fighters, and about 400 heavy bombers and anti- WAR IN THE AIR shipping-aircraft to cover the whole of France, Belgium, Holland and N.W. Germany, it is not surprising that a shortage is evident. What is difficult to understand is the almost complete absence of reconnaissance . machines over the areas where they would be expected to operate at ail costs. Truly the German soldier has been let down completely by his air force, which, according to very reli able reports, cannot maintain even such small numbers of aircraft,as are now being operated. While com manding the Condor Legion in Spain during the civil war, Sperrle was re sponsible for the destruction of Guer nica, and the killing of 20,000 civilians in thirty minutes in Rotterdam was another example of his generalship. How are the mighty fallen! Airborne Tanks This air supremacy over the battle field pays a big dividend and is cumu lative in its effects. With no air opposition the Allies are now able to have '' grasshoppers "' working with the tanks to spot for them and pre vent them from running into screens of concealed anti-tank weapons or other ambushes. The air weapon is also being used very effectively to kill counter-attacks before they reach dan gerous proportions. It was revealed last week that the tanks which were carried in Hamilcar gliders by the Sixth Airborne Division were of American design and manufacture, but used only by the British. These little tanks weigh 7 tons each and mount an offensive armament of one 37 mm. cannon and two rifle-calibre machine guns. What probably sur prised the Germans more than these tanks were the 17-pounder anti-tank guns, which gave such a good account of themselves in the early stages of the invasion. Paratroop Clerics To be dropped over enemy territory on an inky-black night, even if one is armed to the teeth, requires courage of a very high order. To be a para- troop chaplain and make the jump un armed, except for a bible, a hymn- book and a miniature communion set, requires the same courage plus a faith found in but few men. Capt. G. B. Wood, one of the thirteen U.S. para troop chaplains who dropped in Nor mandy, described his work with an enthusiasm and fervour which showed his keen appreciation of things spiritual and material as related to men living close to violent death. His work, he said, lay in helping to give the men courage for the ordeal ahead of them, and to comfort the wounded and dying. Capt. Wood also jumped at the invasion of Sicily and at Salerno. His comment on the dan gers of parachuting was: For the first and second jump you just follow in structions, and it seems easy. On the third drop the hazards become very apparent, but by the time seven or eight jumps have been made the con fidence of experience has been gained. Nursing Orderlies Another job which requires courage of the same high standard is that of nursing orderly on the transport air craft which take supplies over to France and bring back wounded men. L/ACW Venter, who has been doing this work since D-day, was introduced to H.Q. correspondents, and she de scribed some of her experiences. These transports do not bear any Red Cross markings, and the freight on the outward journey often includes high explosives. Qh * the return trip 18 wounded cases are carried in the Dakotas. No other medical staff are in the aircraft, and the responsibility of giving emergency treatment to serious cases lies-with the orderlies. Normally they do at least one journey a week, and each round journey, from take-off in England to touch-down again, takes about four and a quarter hours. Flying pay at the rate of eightpence a day is allowed. Over 10,000 wounded men have been brought back by air since the invasion started. R.A.F. Regiment Grp. Capt. C. W. Mayhew bore a slight grin on his face as he told corre spondents that the airfield protection gunners of the R.A.F. Regiment have not yet been accused of firing on our own aircraft. The R.A.F. Regiment does a much As bigger job than is generally realised. They deal with mines and booby traps on captured airfields, with pockets of resistance left behind by the enemy, and they provide protection for special intelligence officers who go ahead to capture targets of particular im portance. One of their jobs is to officer and n.c.o. the Iraq Levies; another is to instruct the R.A.F. in the use of small arms. They once took over part of the front line in Italy to relieve the Army for a while. In Normandy, up to D 4- 56 they had shot down 21 enemy aircraft and damaged a further 24. Both armoured and rifle squadrons have been formed. Born within the past five years, it is difficult to 'realise that the regiment were ever armed with pikes. Never theless, this was so. In most cases the pikes were made in squadron work shops, and many must be still in existence. The days following Dun kirk now seem a very long way backv In those days the regiment with i& pikes was very much on the defensive. Nowad?,ys, in like manner to all our other arms, it is on the offensive.
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