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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 0689.PDF
APRIL I2TH, 1945 FLIGHT The Ruhr Surrounded : U-boat Bases Bombed Repaired : Russia and Japan Eder Dam INPUT TO STOP OUTPUT : Carrier based aircraft attack a factory area in the suburbs of Tokyo. IT is not possible for the records ofa weekly paper to keep pace withthe tanks and aircraft which are dashing across Germany. Anything written one day is almost certain to be out of date on the next. One can only venture on a general survey. It is no longer necessary for Bomber Command to rain down explosives on the cities of the Ruhr. American armies have surrounded the whole area, and if any of the factories are still turning out war material, the pro- ducts will be of no use to the general forces of Hitler. They can at best be used by the large body of troops shut ,9 up in the area. The Germans have made some attempts to burst the ring of American forces, but without suc- cess. Gen. Eisenhower, a man who is cautious in his use of words, has spoken of the encircled German force as '' ripe for annihilation.'' Our old friend Hamm, with its famous marshalling yards, is now firmly in Allied hands, and here, too, it will no longer be necessary for Allied bombers to spend time and trouble in dislocating the intricate series of railway lines which made the place important. Down in the south another familiar name, that of Wiener Neustadt, will no longer need to appear in the list of *-• targets bombed. It, too, with its great Messerschmitt aircraft works, is safely in the possession of the Allies. There is some doubt about the posi- tion of the V-bomb sites in northern Holland. A few days ago Gen. Eisen- hower said that no commander would wait to attack an area which must fall into his hands as he won the main contest. Yet, as we write, it seems that Gen. Crerars 1st Canadian Army is turning northwards to clear Holland of the enemy. The object cannot merely be to seize the rocket bomb sites (though such a success would be very welcome to the enduring people of southern England), but there is great need to bring relief to the starv- ing folk of Holland. A few days ago our reconnaissance aircraft reported a great movement of vehicles out of Holland. Then for the next few days there was no movement at all. The lines which bring the parts of the bombs from Germany into Hol- land have all, or nearly all, been cut. First they were repeatedly bombed by our aircraft, and then ground troops cut the lines permanently. For at least a week the Ministry of Home Security had no cases to report of enemy air action against southern England ; and perhaps that infliction is now over for good and all, at least so far as sites in Holland are con- cerned. Air torpedoes may still be launched from other aircraft out in the North Sea ; though that is a risky job for the crew of the parent machine. It is possible that rocket bombs may be launched from places in Germany, with an extended range. But in all forms of shooting, the longer the range the less chance of hitting. The longer range bombs may miss the island of Great Britain altogether. The Dutch people themselves will be very glad to see the end of the rocket bombs in their territory, not only because they injured their British Allies, but for their own sakes. Dutch civilians have told British.correspond- ents that about 50 per cent, of the bombs used to fall a few miles from the launching sites, and caused wide- spread destruction. It has also been reported, thpugh with what truth we cannot &tf] that defaulters in the Ger- rmy were sent to join the ' We are interrupan item of special interest. Last night our Mosquitoes did not bomb Berlin." .unching squads as a punishment, be- ^ the job was so very dangerous. U-boat Developments HEN the Russians stormed the Polish port of Gdynia they cap- tured intact over 40 U-boats. That was a very useful bit of work. It
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