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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2189.PDF
OCTOBER 26TH, 1944 FLIGHT WAR —A N THE AIR V Liberators, escorted by more than 700 fighters. So the losses were small in comparison »with the effort, and this was doubtless due to the absence of all opposition in the air. One would have thought that the Luftwaffe would have sent up fighters, but it did not. Perhaps none were at hand ; per haps the sight of an escort of 700 Thunderbolts and Mustangs persuaded the defence chiefs that discretion was the better part of valour. Clearing Up the Aegean WHILE Athens and Thebes are re joicing in their liberation, the Royal Navy and the Balkan Air Force have been busy over the Greek main land and islands. Naval aircraft have been at work to the' north of Athens, bombing and shooting up cars and other vehicles belonging to the fleeing Germans. Escort carriers have de stroyed enemy craft off the island of Leros in the Dodecanese; while H.M.S. Ajax, of River Plate fame, captured the island of Santorin to the north of Crete. The enemy garrison surrendered. The Balkan Air Force has attacked shipping in the Gulf of Salonika. The Philippines Invaded "\T7HILE in the West the capture of *" Aachen by the Americans, after days of hard fighting, and of Breskens by the Canadians. are pieces of news which should help much to end the German stand on the borders of the Fatherland, the most striking event of the week-end was the American land ing on Leyte island in the centre of the Philippines. It was in itself an amaz- AIRBORNE BAZOOKAS : American soldiers examining a parachute supply container which the Luftwaffe intended to drop to the defenders of Aachen. It contained 12 anti-tank missiles similar to the American " Bazooka." ing feat, and it may lead to the most important results. In the first place it took the Japan ese completely by surprise. They seem to have expected a landing further to the south, that is to say, nearer to the island bases which the Americans had already seized. Of course, as a Japan ese spokesman has said, it was impos sible for the present conquerors to guard every point on the coast of the numerous islands which compose the Philippines group. But one would have expected that the aggressive Power which recently ruled the seas and the air above them in the Pacific, would have been aware of the approach of an enormous armada of ships, and would have seen which way that armada was heading. That the Americans should have been able to steam unmolested into the middle of the group of islands, and land without any real difficulty on a predetermined spot shows how the mastery of the seas (including the air) has changed hands since Pearl Harbour. What a satisfaction it must have been to Gen. MacArthur to return, as he promised, to the Philippines at the head of a powerful force! The order given to him to leave his heroic troops at Corregidor in the early stages of the war must have been a bitter pill to such a gallant man. But the U.S. authorities were wise to insist on such an exceptional soldier remaining free to fight on. The first objective of the invading American troops was the airfield at Tacloban, and this was speedily cap tured. From there air power can radiate outwards and lead to further conquests. If all continues to go well, it should soon be possible for the Americans to cut the sea communica tions between the Philippines and Formosa, and also the sea channel which connects Formosa with the Dutch East Indies* The Japanese conquests always depended on com mand of the seas, taking air power to be an essential part of sea power. If once the Japanese forces in the various conquered -islands are cut off from their base, and are consequently un able to get supplies of warlike stores, their reduction and annihilation can only be. a matter of time. In the meantime the Royal Navy has been steadily building up a fleet in the Indian Ocean strong enough to engage the entire Japanese battle fleet by itself. Part of this fleet, in which carriers played an important part, bombarded the Nicobar Islands for four days recently, and met only the feeblest response.
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