AIR STRENGTH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 11, 14 January 1943, Page 4

AIR STRENGTH

R.A.F. LEADS WORLD NEW BOMBING TACTICS With Allied air strength increasing and the enemy's waning, the R.A.F. Bomber Command now has the most powerful air striking force in the world, says the Sydney Morning Herald London correspondent. Last March saw not only the beginning of the expansion of the Bomber Command, but during the year the bombing tactics which began where Germany left off are so developed as to leave Germany floundering far behind. The greatest single factor in the success of the Command during 1942 was the increased use of the fourengined bomber. A year ago, two-engined bombers far outnumbered four - engined machines. To-day the ratio is reversed. It is the four-engined bomber, with a bomb load three times that, of the medium bomber, heavier . armour, more powerful armament, and greater speed, rather than ' increased numbers of aircraft, which has been responsible for the increased effectiveness of raids against the Axis. Greatly increased damage, in fact, has been achieved without a corresponding increase in the number of aircraft habitually used in normal attacks. "Super-Cookie's" For Axis Improved bombs, including the . 80001b high-explosive, known to the , RA.F. as the "super-cookie," were developed last year. Using these monsters, it is not 1 essential to score a direct hit, because : the blast from a near miss levels i walls, lifts roofs, and disintegrates buildings over a considerable area. These huge high-explosives are usually dropped with showers of incendiary ' bombs, whose deadly 1 work is assisted by draughts caused by cracks in walls, broken windows, and shattered roofs. The advantage of saturation, in which all bombs are dropped in the shortest possible time—for example, 100 Lancasters attacking the Schneider factory bombed within seven minutes—is the disorganisation of both active and passive defences. The rapidity of the bombing disrupts communications, and creates hopeless confusion among A.R.P. services. It is also difficult to concentrate guns and searchlights when great numbers of bombers are over the target simultaneously, resulting in reduced losses by the attackers. , Side by side with the adoption of : the saturation attack has been the abandonment of specific target bomb- : mg for area and pattern bombing. ' High Standard of Crews The greatly increased offensive armament and better protective armour of British bombers render them less vulnerable to fighters than any Axis type. Another factor which should not be overlooked is the human factor. Kepoi ts from Russia and comment on the falling-off in the calibre of German air crews, especially bomber crews. *i. De^ p i t ® the enorm °us expansion of tne R.A.F., however, there are now more first-class airmen than aircraft for them to fly. British bombing strategy last year was governed by the necessity of f giving maximum aid to Russia which was reeling under the full weight of the German attack. = The most effective aid could be given by bombers, and the Bomber Command employed two methods— : (1) to disorganise and destroy German factories making munitions and the transport systems carrying them t to Russia; (2) to draw off the biggest ' possible proportion of the Luftwaffe T from Russia. j In the process the R.A.F. climbed > from the terrible inferiority with \ which it started the war to a strength >■ greater than the Italian and German air forces combined. Devastated Cities The R.A.F. devastated 600 acres in Cologne, 130 acres in Rostock, 350 acres in Karlsruhe, 260 acres in Munich, and 40 per cent, of the area of Lubeck. Supply lines and vulnerable railway systems also were heavily and continuously attacked. The effect on German war production, especially of submarines, tanks, and armaments, is authoritatively considered to be great. The effect on transportation may be estimated from the fact that Germany, because of the difficulties of transport, imported from Sweden 1,000.000 tons of iron ore less than in 1941. Another important commitment of the Bomber Command was to assist in the Battle of the Atlantic. This was done by systematic and heavy bombing of submarine works, docks, and bases. France and Italy Hit In addition, the Bomber Command attacked shipping in ports, and laid between seven and 10 times more mines—totalling several thousand— than in 1941. Last year saw, for the first time, heavy attacks on factories in occupied France engaged in making munitions for Germany. It also saw the heaviest air blitz yet against Italy. In the short period when the weather precluded effective bombing of Germany, the R.A.F. turned the weight of its four-engined bombers against Italian industrial centres and supply bases from North Africa. The effect on Italy was out of all proportion to the weight of the attacks. Active and passive defence systems broke down, roads were jammed by panic-stricken crowds fleeing from bombed cities, and morale on the Italian home front, already rocky, suffered its heaviest blow.