FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1994.PDF
^33 FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 28TH, 1944 WAR IN THE AIR of the South African War), but its impetus did not carry it across the river, and so for a time the airborne men dropped round Arnhem were left to their own resources, and had to fight hard to hold their ground. Of course, they continued to receive supplies and, perhaps, reinforcements from the air, but they had to make shift without heavy guns and heavy tanks. Bomber Command has been getting on with its own job to some excellent effect. Preparation for the airborne invasion was assisted by the employ ment of 1,250 aircraft during twelve hours of daylight on the great day, and the whole operation was carried out without loss. Additionally, shortly after mid-day on Friday, 15th, a force of Lencasters attacked the Tirpitz in Kaa Fjord, Norway, with 12,000 lb. bombs. The first machines to bomb were able to see the target quite well, but following crews had their view obscured by the elaborate defensive smoke screen so that all they could discern of the much harassed German battleship was her superstructure. Nevertheless, the attacks were pressed home and a sud den vivid red glow was seen, too large, in the opinion of the pilot who described it, to be thfe explosion of even a 12,000-pounder. Not the least remarkable aspect of this operation is that the Lancasters flew their 1,500- mile trip without fighter cover and without loss. Lancasters again attacked Bremer- haven, but this time with the huge number of 420,000 incendiary bombs, the whole of which were dropped in 20 minutes. They left the port well alight from end to end with the fires apparently out of control. Various Activities "PHE valiant defenders of Warsaw -*- were sent succour in the shape of badly needed arms, ammunition, medical supplies and food, by a shuttle flight of Fortresses which flew from England, dropped the supplies by parachute, and continued on to Ameri can bases in Russia. The supply air craft were covered by protecting Mus tangs, some of which accompanied them the whole way. Those which turned back at the Polish border en countered some enemy fighters on the return trip and shot down four' of them. Not content with this, they strafed airfields in Germany and destroyed three more aircraft on the ground, returning themselves without loss. While the voyage of the 1st Air borne Army to Holland was marvel lously successful, it would be a mistake to imagine that there were no unfortunate incidents. Things will not go entirely right, even in the best-managed organisation, and on NIGHT ATTACK : A U-boat lit up by the flares dropped by a Sunderland of Coastal Command on patrol. Depth charges finished off the job. the first day of the movement the Air /Sea Rescue Service picked up about 100 men. The service had its high-speed boats out in great num bers all along the route which the gliders and their tugs were to follow, and so smart were the crews about their job that many of the rescued men did not even get wet. It was, in fact, the great day for the Air /Sea Rescue people, and they showed up in grand style. Probably the boat crews, however, would say that it was an easy day compared with some others on which boats have had to search for hours before finding the dinghy of a ditched bomber. Veterans of the last war will remem ber the occasional anxiety felt in Britain about the safety of the Chan nel ports; and, in particular, the risk that they would fall into German hands after the Second Battle of Ypres in April, 1915, when the first use ol asphyxiating gas by the Germans. made a breach in the Anglo-French - line, which could hardly have been made good if the enemy had had reserves in readiness to exploit the advantage. Now, for four years, the Channel ports have been in German hands. This did not have all the disastrous results which in 1915 seemed inevit able if such a thing had happened then ; but it certainly placed a terrific strain on the British Navy and Air Force, and made the air attacks on-* Britain much more hard to bear than they would otherwise have been. These ports have lately been falling, one after another, to the Anglo- American Army, which has been assisted by bombardments from the guns of ships and terrific blows by Allied heavy and medium aircraft. Le Havre, Brest and Boulogne were the first to fall. Calais last week was heavily bombed for -z\ hours, during which between 3,000 and 4,000 tons of bombs were dropped. Calais has always been a difficult place to take, and Rodin's group of statuary in the gardens beside the Palace of West minster recalls that Edward III, who had neither heavy guns nor aircraft at his disposal, could do nothing but starve the place out. Then, for fime centuries, the French were unable to dislodge the English. Even the all- conquering Germans (as they seemed in 1940) found it no easy matter to
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
