AIR TORPEDO

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 281, 27 November 1941, Page 10

AIR TORPEDO

USE BY GERMANS

NEW CONVOY MENACE

AND HOW IT IS MET

(B,\ Air) LONDON, November 4 The measure of success which the Navy and the Coastal Command of the R.A.F. have won over the sub marine in the Battle of the Atlantic has spurred the enemy on to improvisations which will give course of that struggle a rather different direction, says the Sundav Times air correspondent. The torpedo will still be Germany s most potent weapon, but more will be launched from the air The efficacy of the air-launched torpedo was shown brilliantly at Taranto and Matapan by the British Fleet Air Arm and is illustrated daily by the Beauforts of the R.A.F. Coastal Command. The Germans fwJvJ 3 I tal L ans have not been slow to take the hint. Tir ß rnfho S /i? r this concentration on » . h ? n un der-sea attack are that torpedo-bombing aeroplanes are S ker and less difficult to build than submarines, use less materials are handled by crews which are more readily available than those needed for under-sea work , probab ! e that so far the Ger'?ss<?s m air crews over the |ps!fthan h t ?. Ve V een Proportionally losses in submarine crews. Furthermore our recent raids on Bremen. Brest Lorient nmi ot hf r P erman submarine bases have 7 reduceri the size of the I -boat packs available. Range Limitations | The chief drawback is the limita- ! S, f T ange u The four -motor Fockin Kurier has the greatest range of the enemy aeroplanes employed at present, with the exception of the new Do 18K2 flying-boat, which is much slower. The Kurlers cover 21 °° miles in 12 hovirs. Because of this they appear to be used chiefly for reconnaissance with comparatively small bomb loads. The Germans report that among their activities the Kuriers fly from northwest France out round the coast of Ireland, round Scotland to alight on Norwegian aerodromes. Apart from spotting convoys they gather valuable weather information over the Atlantic. When the Kuriers have located a convoy they call by radio for the torpedo-bombers. Both the Heinkel He 115 float seaplane, bearing one torpedo weighing 17641b and tlie He 111 HaE bomber, now equipped to carry two torpedoes, can fly out about 500 miles from their bases to deliver an attack. They operate by day, using cloud cover, or through moonlight nights. In winter the Atlantic presents hundreds of miles of unbroken cloud which affords just the protection the torpedo-bomber wants. The look-out on ships is always at a disadvantage as the noise of the ships and the sea makes sound location or warning impossible. Progress in Defence Fortunately our defences are keeping pace with the offensive. The volume and efficiency of the A.A. fire from a convoy are greater than ever before. In the early days tor-pedo-bombers found immunity in attacking so low down that they were below the maximum angle of depression of the guns. That fault is now set right. Balloons trailed by the convoy discourage dive-bomb-ing. But most important of all are the fighters now carried on catapults by merchant ships ready to be launched into the air to meet an air attack. The limitation on the range pf the torpedo-bomber is also the salvation of the fighters. Provided that the seeking and engaging of the enemy has not used too much fuel, they can fly from over the convoy to the nearest friendly land-base, certainly up to ranges of 600 miles. The cloud conditions over the Atlantic undoubtedly favour the lurking bomber in dodging the fighter and waiting until the defender either has to make for land or come down in the sea. This latter method of ending a tour of duty in a landplane in the Atlantic in winter is not a cheerful alterna tive. The gallantry of the pilots who have volunteered for the job is magnificent.

Help From Ijand Bases But our air defence over the convoys is aided by the long-range flying-boats, Sunderlands and Catalinas, which maintain Atlantic patrols through all the hours of daylight, and by lqng-range bombers of the Coastal Command, flying from land bases. Co-operation between the catapulted fighters and the patrolling flying-boats and bombers should make life difficult for most torpedo attackers. Submarines will continue to be a menace, but the development of air warfare may well drive them to new hunting grounds towards the South Atlantic, in the hope of cutting the l supply lines round the Cape. That 1 directs attention once more to the importance of Dakar and Casablanca in the German scheme. Those bases will have to be denied to the enemy in the interests of British offensive power in the Near East. Enemy's New Equipment Before long we may have to face the new German equipment; the Heinkel He 177 four-motor bombers and the Dornier Do 217 long-range dive-bombers. Junkers, Dorniers, Heinkels, and even Messerschmitts are known to be doing work on pressure cabins for high "pattern" bombing to reinforce low torpedo attacks. In the Atlantic the enemy's whole concern is attack. The task of outwitting him invites the ingenuity of the British and American aircraft industries. Navy and Air Force should equally be open to the ideas which emerge from them.