R.A.F.'s KNIFE EDGE AT ENEMY'S HEART SHARPER THAN EVER

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 54, 5 March 1943, Page 2

R.A.F.'s KNIFE EDGE AT ENEMY'S HEART SHARPER THAN EVER

(By PETER MASEFIELD)

LONDON. When, on July 25, 1909, Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel for the first time, Great Britain ceased to be an island. From then on her future lay in the air.

Thirty-one years were to pass before this was to affect the future history of the world in the Battle of Britain in 1940.

For most of those 31 years, while air power was slowly growing, the narrow 22 miles of sea remained a sure shield, and the Royal Navy the first line of British defence, as it had been since the time of King Alfred. A few squadrons of British fighters saved England in the summer of 1940 when no navy, however powerful, could have done so.

A new age of air power was revealed in full stature during those three months of critical endeavour high above the fields of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, Essex and Hampshire. The tide of German conquests had rolled up to the Channel ports, had paused for a leap across the narrow waters, and had been checked. For the first time in history an air victory was decisive to the whole campaign. The Battle of Britain proved what had previously been only a theory—that well - armed fighting aeroplanes, backed by an adequate warning system, can prove well nigh invincible. This was true only because in the Hawker Hurricane and the Super-Marine Spitfire, eightgun fighters of 1940, the Royal Air Force had by far the best equipment in the world for the purpose of defence. Britain's Future in Air To-day the war has progressed a stage further. The United' Nations are turning from- a lightly armed defence to a powerfully equipped attack But the emphasis is still in the air. Another theory awaits proof

—that just ,as a few superlative squadrons of fighters won the, day in 1940, so many squadrons of fighters and bombers, army co-opera-tion and patrol aircraft, working in conjunction with other services, can batter Germany to her knees.

Britain's future, founded on the Battle of Britain, lies in the air to-day. The RA.F. takes over from the Royal Navy the proud heritage of the first line of defence and the first weapon of attack. The R.A.F. to-day has been built up into the greatest single fighting service in existence —a balanced air force capable of a sure defence and a shattering attack. The Fighter Command in Great Britain, under Sir Sholto Douglas, is many times more powerful than in 1940. A thousand aircraft sorties were sent out over Dieppe; fightersweeps of 500 strong roar over France. We are passing to the offensive and the Fighter Command is in the van. The equipment, too, is still the word's best. By day, the latest version of the Spitfire reigns supreme. By night, the deadly Beaufighter not only awaits enemy bombers over Britain, but goes out and destroys them over France as well, aided by the veteran Hurricane, powerfully armed by its new batteries of four quick-firing cannon. Greatest Striking Force in World

The Bomber Command, led by the determined Sir Arthur Harris, has the most powerful striking force that exists in the world. Hundreds of great four-motor bombers—Stirlings, Halifaxes and Lancasters —thunder from the coasts of England after dark, bearing many tons of the world's biggest bombs to Germany. In the Lancaster, the R.A.F. has the greatest long or short-range bomber. Ninety-four Lancasters raided Le Creusot in France in daylight, and more than eighty Lancasters made the long journey across Europe in daylight to bomb Milan. Nor is this all. In* the new de Haviland Mosquito bomber, the RA.F. has the fastest bomber ever built, and one of the fastest aeroplanes in any category. Its speed, combined \\yth a long range and a formidable bomb-load, makes the Mosquito probably the most useful tactical aircraft ever built.

The Coastal Command, under Sir Philip Joubert, has the most difficult job—the Battle of the Atlantic. Operating from both sides of the

Atlantic and from Iceland, the Coastal Command of the R.A.F. is keeping constant patrol over the convoys the whole way across. Its toll of U-boats rises steadily. Air escort is what U-boat commanders most dread. Over 50,000,000 miles have been flown by the Coastal Command since the outbreak of war. The job is often dull, but it is vital to the war effort. The Light Flight to Victory Overseas the R.A.F. is no less active. Eghty per cent of the total British armament production is sent from this island nowadays. In Malta Hurricanes and Spitfires have repeated their triumph in the Battle of Britain. Over 1000 enemy aircraft have been destroyed by fighters flying from Malta and by guns on the island. Meanwhile, the bombers flying from Malta harry Axis shipping. In Egypt, India, Ceylon and in dozens of outlying stations the new, greatly expanded R.A.F. also plays its part.

In 1935 total first-line strength of the R.A.F. was 1020 aircraft, of which 580 were at home, 175 iii the Fleet Air Arm, 96 in India, 60 in Egypt, 51 in Iraq, 28 in Singapore, 12 in Aden, 12 in Palestine, and six in Malta. Six in Malta! That is a measure of the change that has taken place since those days.

Since the outbreak of war the R.A.F. has shot down in combat more than 10,000 enemy aircraft and damaged thousands more. The R.A.F. has its tail up; the R.A.F. is offensively minded. Side by side with its Allies, it is sweeping forward on the light flight to victory. The task may still be long, and will still be hard. Yet in the single, autonomous air force we have a weapon whose edge is sharper and deadlier than it ever was, and it is aimed at the heart of the enemy.— Auckland Star and N.A.N.A.