RISING AIR LOSSES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 197, 20 August 1943, Page 3

RISING AIR LOSSES

Ratio Does Not Diminish Profitable Raids N.Z. Press Association—Copyright Rec. 9.30 a.m. LONDON, Aug. 19. An air force spokesman in Washington said at a Press conference that the mounting losses of Allied heavy bombers over Europe were a sign' of the increasing Allied air power. It did not mean that the German opposition was more effective. The Allies' numerical losses were high, but the rate was not increased and did not approach the rate at which raids cease to be profitable. , x During July the United States Eighth Air Force lost 108 heavy bombers and dropped 36,000 tons of bombs on Europe. They shot down 506 enemy planes. In June the Eighth Air Force lost 85 bombers. The planes dropped 2458 tons of bombs and shot down 304 enemy planes. Figures have been given in London regarding operations carried out by the Royal Air Force Bomber and Fightdr Commands. The Bomber Command in July flew nearly twice the number of sorties and dropped 10,000 more tons of bombs for the loss of only 11 more planes than in July, Eighty tons of bombs were dropped for every plane lost in July, compared with 40 tons in July, 1942, and the personnel lost per unit of bombs dropped was halved in 1943. Bombs totalling 75,000 tons were dropped in Germany by the Bomber Command in, the first seven and a half months of this year, and this was over twice the tonnage dropped for the whole of 1942 and well over half the whole tonnage so far dropped on Germany since the outbreak of the war. . Allied fighter sorties from Britain last month totalled over 11,000. Last month the Fighter Command alone dropped over double the bcmb tonnage delivered on Britain by _ all German planes for the same period.