FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2187.PDF
435 sV>^ STABLE COMPANIONS : Typhoons fly over a Hawker Tempest standing on a Belgian airfield. Sea-air Operations in the Pacific : Death of Rommel—and Others : Effect of Air Power in the West : Carriers in the Aegean QUITE possibly the Japanese offi cial broadcasters are telling the truth when they say that their own people still believe the official broadcasts, and that the announced news of a tremendous victory over one of the American fleets caused rejoic ings throughout Nippon. But, if that is so, it is the only piece of truth which was told in the said announcement. The main facts were that the Ameri cans approached the Philippines, at the end of a prolonged period of bomb ing targets in Formosa. As usual the U.S. fleet contained a high proportion of carriers, and their planes were soon over the great island of Luzon, attack ing various targets. It seems that part at least of the Japanese fleet did actually put to sea and approached the Americans, but as soon as the enemy Admiral saw that the American fleet was undiminished in strength, he turned tail and went home again. This was reported as a great sea victory in which some 50 American warships were said to have been sunk. No wonder the credulous populace at once began to celebrate and, to use a word which was once current in Britain, to "maffick." But air attacks on the Philippines and For mosa went on. Some instructive figures have been published by the Americans. Since Pearl Harbour their submarines alone have sunk 956 Japanese ships. Since June 6th last (our D-day) Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet and Admiral Spruance's 5th Fleet have been attack ing Japanese bases in the Western Pacific, and in the 4J months have sunk or damaged 9*05 vessels, shot down 1,827 aircraft, and destroyed 1,253 aircraft on the ground. Evi dently the carriers and their aircraft have been very profitably busy. Another report says that between October 9th and 15th 915 Japanese aircraft were destroyed in ,the Philip pines-Formosa area. When one considers how the Japan ese extended their lines of communi cation over the Western Pacific, evi dently under the impression that Pearl Harbour had given them permanent control of the seas, one may form some idea of how deadly to their prospects is the loss of shipping shown above— for successful warfare always depends on communications and supply, and waT in the Pacific means sea communi cations. The loss of aircraft must also out strip the capacity of Japanese factories to produce replacements. We British have found in Burma that the Japan ese were not incapable of replacing lost fighters fairly promptly, but had not an equal power of replacing lost bombers. The U.S. policy of building FIRST BLOOD : Technical Officers of the R.A.F. inspecting the remains of the first Me 262 jet-propelled aircraft to be shot down behind our lines
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
