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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1781.PDF
AIRCRAFT ENGINEER FIRST AERONAUTICAL WEEKLY IN THE WORLD •• FOUNDED WO9 Editor C. M. POULSEN Managing Editor GEOFFREY SMITH, M.B.E. Chief Photographer JOHN YOXALL * Editorial, Advertising and Publishing Offices: DORSET HOUSE, STAMFORD STREET, LONDON, S.E1 Telegrams : Truditur, Sedist, London. COVENTRY: 8-10, CORPORATION ST. Telegrams : Autocar, Coventry. Telephone. Coventry 52 10. BIRMINGHAM, 2 : GUILDHALL BUILDINGS, NAVIGATION ST. Telegrams: Autopress, Birmingham. Telephone: Midland 797 1 (5 line.;). Telephone: Waterloo 3333 (35 lines). MANCHESTER, 3 : GLASGOW, CI : 260, DEANSGATE. Telegrams : lliffe, Manchester. Telephone : Blackfriars 4412. 26B, RENFIELD ST. Telegrams: lliffe. Glasgow. Telephone: Central 4857. Registered ot the G.P.O. as a Newspaper. No. 1862. Vol. XLV1. August 31st, 1944 Thursdays, One Shilling C The Outlook Tributes T T THEN General Montgomery was able to announce y/y to his troops that "Victory has been definite, complete and decisive," over the German 7th Army, he included in his special message a tribute to the work of the aircraft, British and American, which had worked with his Army. It is well worth while to put his words on record. He said : " I doubt if ever in the history of war air forces have had such opportunities or have taken such good advantage of them. The brave and brilliant work of the pilots has aroused our greatest admiration. Without their support, we soldiers could have achieved no success." To this we may add a message sent by the forward troops to all Wings of the R.A.F. which took part in the great destruction of von Kluge's armour and transport: "A million congratulations to all concerned for the stupendous work." General Montgomery's words confirm the doctrine always preached by Flight, and now generally held, that an Army without an adequate Air Force is helpless (except in mountainous country). Despite this, his words seem to show that we British have not yet rationalised our fighting forces. When he said "we soldiers," the men of the U.S. Army 9th Air Force might have replied that they were soldiers too, members of the American Army. The tribute was obviously intended for all who fight under Air Chief Marshal" Sir Trafford Leigh- Mallory, and Sir Bernard may have forgotten for the moment that the 9th Air Force consists, literally, of soldiers. Sir Trafford belongs to a Service of which Sir Bernard is not a member; and so the compliment was from one Service to another. A modern Army consists of infantry, artillery, engineers, armour and a Tactical Air Force, and if one of these elements is omitted the rest can achieve "no success." General Montgomery paid no special compli ment to infantry, gunners, sappers or armour, as they are included in "we soldiers." The special mention had to go to the Service which is not part of the Army. There seems to be something illogical here, something not right. When Bomber Command or the U.S. Army 8th Ah Force bombs the enemy's production, the Army is not concerned in the operation ; but if it profits by it, thanks and congratulations would be appropriate. When an indispensable part of the Army does a piece of work which is fine, but no finer than what other arms have done, it may seem slightly invidious that it should be singled out for special mention because it wears a blue uniform instead of a khaki one—richly deserved as it undoubtedly is. It would really be preferable that such compliments should emanate from Supreme Head quarters, which blends all three Services into one. That is the practice in the Mediterranean and Far East Com mands. The great lesson of this war is that all three Services make just one team. k """ The Price of Air Supremacy I N his speech on August 2nd in the House of Commons the Prime Minister astonished most people by stating that the losses of the Air Force in killed, in proportion to the number of flying personnel, since April 1st, far exceeded those of any branch of the service. Supreme Headquarters has now issued some figures of air gains and losses, which throw some light on Mr. Churchill's general statement. The figures given by General Eisenhower do not cover the same period, for they give only gains and losses in 70 days from D-Day. Moreover, they are not com plete, for it is Air Ministry policy not to publish totals of enemy aircraft destroyed on the ground, while the B
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