FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1882.PDF
276 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 14TB, 1944 The Channel once more prevented (as so often in our history) the enemy from marching an army into England and saved the country from the fate of Poland, France and other Continental countries. Hitler reckoned that if Fighter Command could be routed, his invasion barges, guarded by his bombers, might have defied the Royal Navy and forced a landing. The Luftwaffe was given the task of clearing the way. It was a new thing for that force to work on its own, and it made a poor showing. We all remember how the Hurricanes and Spitfires tore it to pieces. Then it tried to batter our great manufac turing cities and pur ports into impotence. Again it failed, and the black-out played a great part in saving us. Now we are telling the world that the Luftwaffe has no longer any chance of breaking our power to manu facture and to fight. At the same time the advance of our armies has reduced almost (but not quite) to nil the danger from the air torpedoes. They were able to defy the black-out, and so are really a different story. But Mr. Duncan Sandys has told us that in attacking the sites the British and American Air Forces together lost nearly 450 air craft. If the Luftwaffe had been able to defend the sites effectively, our losses and. the sufferings of London would have been much more severe. None the less, the black-out brought in its train cer tain disadvantages. It increased the number of casual ties on the roads at night, and it had its effect on work in the factories. Many of them permanently blacked- out their windows and kept work going by artificial light by day as well as by night. It will no longer be neces sary to resort to that undesirable state of affairs. From the air point of view that is probably the most important feature of the decision to relax the black-out regulations. Preparing for Peace ALTHOUGH no one can yet foretell when the war with Germany will end, and although there' is "still an unfinished war in the Pacific to be liqui dated when Germany has been occupied, recent events on the west front are such as to lead inevitably to a survey of British industries and their prospects when peace conies. From such a survey one derives scant satisfaction. As Mr. W. C. Devereux said in a recent CONTENTS The Outlook - War in the Air Here and There The Supermarine Spitfire XIV World's Longest Ar Route Reclaiming " D-Day " Horsas Behind the Lines Arctic Air Route Defeat of the "V.i ' Aircraft in Flying Attitudes Floating on Rubber Anti-Submarine V.C. Correspondence Service Aviation - .. . - - „' . - _ - - - - _ _ - 286, - - - - - . - - 275 277 280 282 28S . a and b 287 288 292 293 294 295 296 297 letter to The Times: " It is incredible that at this stage no plan is available and no facilities are granted for industry to help solve its own difficulties and that no steps are being taken by those in authority even to measure the country's resources that are available for entering into the peace phase." Two other industrial leaders have touched upon similar problems. Both, as it happened, were speaking to Rotary Clubs. Mr. R. C. Rootes, at Wolverhampton, threw out the suggestion that some of the " shadow fac tories '' should be kept for their original purpose, but that others might be made available to other industries. Sir Miles Thomas, vice-chairman of the Nuffield Organization, was in somewhat more optimistic mood when speaking to the Cardiff Rotarians. His view was that never in the history of mankind has there been so much to be done, and he was sure that we should set about our post-war problems with courage, but free enterprise must be enterprising; courage was not enough. All three views are true, and they are reconcilable. The chief proviso is that the Government should make known its intentions. In the air world, particularly, no policy whatever is discernible. The two air chiefs, Sir Archibald Sinclair and Sir Stafford Cripps, have not so far dared to go beyond generalities. The time has C«J for a plain statement. t. **• ONE OF THE HIGHER-UPS : The new Griffon XLV has a two-speed, two-stage blower which makes the Spitfire XIV the fastest fighter at its operational height. Description on pp. 282-284.
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
