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Aviation History
1945
1945 - 1334.PDF
JULY 12TH, 1945 FLIGHT 37 elaborated upon and a definite programme laid down for the future of these "close-support" bombers. At this time, still early in 1943, we had designs on the island of Akyab, forming part of Arakan in Burma, and commenced a campaign driving south from Maungdaw- Buthidaung; which was not altogether successful, due partly to the monsoon rains. The Japanese had concentrated con- siderable supplies in small dumps cavering a very wide area on the island, and they were carefully concealed. But photo/ recce shower! them up, and, whilst Blenheims hammered the larger targets in the form of shipping and jetties, the Ven- geances economically and accurately began eliminating the supply dumps upon which the enemy had hoped to main tairi his forces during the monsoon period. R.I.A.F. Joins In It was during this minor campaign that the Vengeance showed itself, as an aircraft particularly suited to the type of warfare being fought in Burma. Not a war in which large numbers of troops rolled over the open plains in armoured" vehicles, but one in which a great use of con- cealment was made. Targets were small—appearing especi- ally so from the air—and our then small force of medium bombers were required elsewhere. Army commanders almost went on their knees for an increased number of Vengeance squadrons. The R.A.F. said "O.K." but we must let the Indian Air Force (now Royal) share the glory. And so began an intensive training period in which the R.I.A.F. joined in. Much praise has been showered upon the Vengeance squadrons, and it has always seemed a pity to me that this has not been recognised in all quarters. The job of the Vengeance crews has been a particularly hazardous one. As time wore on, more Vengeance squadrons lined the forward airfields up and down the 700 miles of Burma front. Their targets were varied, but always called for pin-point accuracy. They were constantly at the beck and call of the army, and never once did they refuse a target. It was they who inspired the phrase '' bomb-happy Japs,'' so widely used in the eastern newspapers. And " bomb- happy '' they became as formation after formation of Vengearices came hurtling down upon them, spreading death and destruction in all directions. It is now well known that the enemy feared this form of attack more than the cannon and rocket projectiles of other aircraft. Great use of these aircraft was made as '' aerial artillery." The Japs had a habit of lodging themselves on top of hill features and then digging in at great depth. These precipitous slopes were difficult to assail, and always resulted in a disproportionate number of casualties. Some of them were held by the enemy for months, and proved a thorn in our sides. I remember one such hill feature^—1301—so-called because that was the height of it in metres as' marked on the flying map. The Japs were well tucked in, and it seemed that nothing would get them out. But thj Ven- geances were called in and subjected the target—merely 100 by 30ft. in area—to a sustained attack which sent the Jap into his deep dugouts and fox-holes. The last formation, however, came over, and, although making their routine dives, dropped no bombs. Meanwhile, the troops were storming the slopes, and upon reaching the top found the enemy well entrenched in their shelters. After the feature had been captured, I climbed to the top. On the way up some of the men shouted, " Good old dive-bombers. They've blasted the top clean of! hill 1301." Then, jokingly, "But they might have left us bit of shade." Trees stood leaf and limbless, and the smell of rotting flesh and cordite assailed the nostrils. It was whilst talking to the men over a cup of tea that I realised how closely knit the air support was to the ground forces. These fellows were high in their praise, and I was given many congratulatory messages to take back to the pilots who daily risked their lives in order that the ground casualties should be few in number During the subsequent campaigns, the Arakan No. 2. the Siege of Imphal and Kohima, the move down the Irrawaddy and a host of minor supporting excursions, the Vengeances of the R.A.F. and the R.I.A.F. always figured as an integral part of the planned operation. They put up a show which would have gladdened the hearts of the American aircraft workers at the Vultee plant. THE NEW AMERICAN WIND TUNNELS HP WO new wind tunnels are being built in the United -*• States for tests of models at velocities representing full- scale speeds in the neighbourhood of the speed of sound. Cutaway model of the new wind tunnel now being built at the Curtiss-Wrightresearch laboratory at Buffalo. One is located at Pasadena, California, and is to be operated by the California Institute of Technology for four west- coast firms: Consolidated-Vultee, Douglas, Lockheed and North American. The other is being constructed by the Curtiss-Wright Corporation at Buffalo. • 28,000 h.p. The design of the two tunnels isidentical, and the following informa- tion about the Curtiss-Wright tunnelmay therefore be taken to apply to the Pasadena tunnel as well. The tunnelis of variable-density type, with steel walls three-quarters of an inch thick,in which pressures up to 60 lb./sq. in can be built up by four special com-pressors, or the pressure can be re- duced to 4 lb./sq. in., equivalent tothe full-scale conditions at 35,000ft. The total volume of the tunnel is210,000 cu ft. and the two electric motors of 14,000 h.p., driving two16-bladed, 22-ft. diameter fans in tan- dem, give tunnel speeds up to theequivalent of full-scale speeds in the region of 740 m.p.h. As the test chamber measures. 8ft6in. in height and 12ft. in width, models up to icft. span can be tested.The circuit length of the tunnel is 378ft. and the overall length 178ft.The overall widtv is 81ft.
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