AIRBORNE MINES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue LXXI, 14 September 1940, Page 14

AIRBORNE MINES.

The extent of the minefields reported bv the Air Ministry as laid by the Koyal Air Force is amazing, and must have involved great numbers of flyin" hours, says the "Manchester Guardian." It should be noted that the work ha* been done by the Bomber Command, although at the same time the squadrons of that command have been unremittingly attacking the munition works, communications, and oil depots of Western Germany. Taking these two tactors together, it can be deducted that our bomber strength is now very much gerater than it was when the last air force list was made available to the public. Mines in quantity are not to be laid by the lighter tvpes of aircraft. Powerful weight-carriers must be used. Obviously our intensive work on aircraft production is now showing results. At the same time, it mav he noticed that the lighter forms of bombing, such as setting fire..to oil tanks in Holland and Belgium, have often been taken over of late by the squadrons of the Coastal Command, and they have on a number of occasions been" helped by the Fleet Air Arm. The Skuas and Rocs of the naval service can be •*<! either as fighters or as and in the latter capacity they haw proved very successful in scoring direct hits on many important targets.