ADVANCING ARMIES SUPPLIED BY AIR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 217, 13 September 1944, Page 5

ADVANCING ARMIES SUPPLIED BY AIR

FLEETS OF DAKOTAS

Two Flights Daily Between Britain And Europe N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent Rec. 10 a.m. BRUSSELS, Sept. 12. Thousands of tons of supplies for the Army are being landed behind the Western Front to-day by fleets of Dakota transport aircraft, which are carrying out one of the biggest operations of its kind. For the first time in its history the Army is being supplied by air, and without these supplies it is doubtful whether the great advance could have been maintained.

Daily from many airfields in Britain great formations of Dakotas, numbering as many as from 40 to 50, are flying direct to advanced airfields, carrying urgent Army supplies, including petrol, food, ammunition and equipment. This morning I visited an airfield which in five days has received 5000 tons of supplies from 1000 aircraft. It is an amazing scene with the sky full of aircraft circling while others are landing at the rate of one every 20 seconds. Immediately they land lorries, manned by the Royal Army Service Corps, trundle alongside and each aircraft is relieved of its load in the average time of 20 minutes. On this airfield alone yesterday eight and a half tons of maps, four and a half tons of blood plasma, one and a quarter tons of mail for the troops, and one ton of leaflets were received and sent off to the Army immediately. Other supplies are being taken to Army depots, where big stores arc accumulating for disposal when necessary. Load of 4500 Pounds Each aircraft carries a load of 45001b and each has been making two trips daily to advanced airfields, which are known as terminal staging posts. During an advance these posts of course are advanced as fresh airfields become available and one post has travelled 300 miles in one week, using no fewer than seven different airfields. There is, of course, the closest co-operation between the Royal Air Force and the Royal Army Service Corps, the Royal Air Force airfield commander and the Royal Army Service Corps colonel working together as one. At the airfield I visited it is claimed that if a fresh airfield is reached at midnight it will be ready to receive transport and aircraft by 8 a.m. This has imposed a great strain on the ground crews and pioneers, who have been working at least 12 hours daily during the advance with no time off. "They are the finest bunch of boys with which I have ever had to work," said the wing-commander in charge of the airfield. "There has never been a grouse or grumble despite the hard, slogging work— and all supplies have to be manhandled from the aircraft to the lorries and then removed from the lorries at the depot." I have been on many airfields throughout the war, but have never seen a scene equalling what I, saw this morning. Once we watched four aircraft touch down with intervals between them of only four seconds. Then there was a lull of 12 seconds until the next landed. There were three great rows of Dakotas, standing nose to tail, some being unloaded into lorries, others waiting to return to England._ The transport planes take off at intervals of only ten seconds and fly back in formation. They are, of course, all American aircraft but are operated by both British and American Air Force members. There are no mixed loads and each aircraft is "offloaded" by five men. Visited By Montgomery Field-Marshal Montgomery visited this airfield recently and was greatly impressed by what he saw. The hard-worked ground crews were particularly glad to see him. He left them 10,000 cigarettes. There is no doubt that when the history of this campaign is written this system of air supply will rank as one of the •most important features of its success. A particularly interesting point is that the Dakotas are operating without the slightest opposition from the Luftwaffe, which if it had any virility could find plenty of targets both in the air and on the ground.