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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 2674.PDF
692 FLIGHT DECEMBER 2H1H, 1944 General, but who must have been told at the outset that he would have to manage with a very minimum of air support. This would matter less for him, as the fighting was iri the mountains. In January Gen. Alexander landed a force at Anzio. The landing was a combined operation, with carriers giving air cover in the initial stages. The spot was chosen for air reasons. The carriers could not safely remain for long off the shore, and air cover had to be provided by " R.A.F. squadrons based in TWELVE. MONTH Sicily. Fighters from there ___________________ could reach Anzio and spend some 20 minutes over it. It was the only suitable beach for a landing within air range from Sicily. As there were plenty of fighter squadrons in Sicily, the A.O.C. was able, by skilful organisation of reliefs, to ensure that there were never less than the equivalent of four fighter squadrons over the beach. As a matter of fact, these fighters had little to do, as the Luftwaffe made no determined attempt to interfere with them. It thought it better policy to try to damage* our warships, but it certainly did not shake our naval mastery of the Mediter ranean . The Allied advance through the Apennines in bad weather was a slow and grim affair, and at times it almost seemed that the German plan of disregarding air superiority in the mountains would prove justified. Cassino held us up for a long time. First we had, regretfully, to bomb the monastery; and then the R.A.F. was turned on to destroy the little town. It was an act of doubtful wisdom, especially . as the place was within range of our artillery. The Germans hid in rock passages while the bombardment was going on, and emerged with their machine guns wtien our infantry advanced. The place was not finally stormed until the middle of May. Soon after its capture the Germans evacuated Rome. General Alexander was highly praised for the adroitness of his tactics, which forced the enemy out of the Capita! without any battle having been fought in Rome itself.- For most of the weary and bloodstained way up through Italy the 1st Tactical Air Force had to employ itself by hampering movements behind the German lines. On the other hand, the German weakness in the air allowed General Alexander to move his divisions about from east to west and back again without the enemy knowing any thing about it until a surprise attack was launched. How ever, since the capture of Ravenna, we have heard of the Desert Air Force, as it still proudly calls itself, being able to intervene in a land battle, and put to flight a strong force of German Tiger tanks. The 14th Army in Burma Recently the 14th Army in Burma complained that it was "the forgotten Army." It certainly does not deserve to be forgotten. It is a very large Army, and it has been living hard and fighting hard. It has been said that nowhere is the collaboration between the ground troops and the air closer or more effective than in Burma. The Eastern Air Command has obtained a superiority over the Japanese Air Force- which has not been surpassed on any other front. The enemy fighters seem unwilling to interfere with our aircraft, and one rarely hears anything about effective work by Japanese bombers. The Japanese seem to have difficulty in obtaining bomber replacements; though the supply of fighters is ample. This Allied air supremacy has allowed the Vengeance dive-bombers to take a very active part in the jungle fight ing. Their attacks on enemy positions have been most • effective. The poor quality of communications in Burma gives great scope for Allied bombing attacks on the com paratively few railways and roads, and also on the more important river communications. One constantly reads of supply sampans on the various rivers being attacked by Allied bombers. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of the air side of the war in Burma is the use which has beeri made of_ air transport and air supply. Everyone knows about Win- gate's Chindits ; but that is not the whole story. W»hole divisions have been moved by air in a way which almost makes one gasp. Not less important is the manner in which isolated strong points have been supplied with food, ammunition, and most other necessaries by the transport Dakotas. On occasions when there was no possibility of making a landing ground near a force, flying boats have brought supplies and have alighted on a convenient S OF AIR WAR lake ! There are now Superfor tresses in India, and they have bombed the Japanese bases at Rangoon and Bangkok. There are carriers with the British Fleet in the Indian Ocean—presumably stationed at Trincomalee in Ceylon. Altogether, the air, combined with the hard fighting of the British and Indian troops, has made the life of the Japanese soldier in Burma far from a happy one, and his chances of ever seeing his home again seem pretty remote. It cannot be long now before it will be possible to send Admiral Mountbatten the landing craft which he needs for making an inroad in the south of the country. We need to capture the port of Rangoon. . t The Eastern Front in Europe During the year the Prime Minister told the country that Russian production of aircraft was roughly equal to ours. Soviet communiques seldom have much to say about the air side of their operations; but correspondents every now and then mention the good work of the Stormovik support bombers. The aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet have made a name for themselves, and one sometimes hears of the air craft of the Baltic Fleet. Early in the year the Russians drove off the Germans who had been besieging Leningrad for so long. They cleared Estonia and most of Latvia, crossed the German border into East Prussia, and approached Warsaw. At these two places their impetus petered out before very strong German resistance, and this despite the fact that the Luftwaffe has Jess than half its bomber strength and only a small fraction of its fighters on the Eastern Front. But far in the south great success has attended the Russian arms. During the year Rumania deserted her German ally and declared war on her. Bulgaria (which had never been at war with Russia) also declared war on Germany, and in consequence the Red armies swept through the northern Balkans, closing in upon Budapest, threatening Vienna, and breaking into Czechoslovakia. At the other end of the long line, the Finns asked for peace and accepted the Russian terms. These included the expulsion or internment of the German forces in Fin land, and Russian columns went to help the Finns in the task. Following up the retreating Germans, the Russians crossed into Norway and captured Kirkenes* Their approach drove the Tirpitz southward, and so contributed to her destruction by Bomber Command. The Pacific War It looks as if next year we shall be writing about the war in the Pacific and nothing else. Let us hope that it will be so. In February Gen. MacArthur said that the campaign in the Solomons was over. At the end of May he announced the conclusion of the New Guinea campaign. During the year Superfortresses have several times bombed Tokyo and other military targets in Japan, especially after the capture of the island of Saipan. In October the U.S. Pacific Fleet engaged the Japanese off the Philippines and won what Mr. Churchill called "a brilliant and massive victory." The Japanese had no fewer than eleven battle ships in the battle. They lost at least two of them and four carriers. Later in the year the Americans landed in force on the Philippine island of Leyte, and a while afterwards 'on Mindoro. The Japanese sent seven convoys to relieve Leyte, and all were defeated and practically annihilated by American aircraft.
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