BRITISH AIR-SEA EXERCISES

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25677, 14 December 1948, Page 5

BRITISH AIR-SEA EXERCISES

WEAKNESSES IN R.A.F. REPORTED COMBINED MANOEUVRES WITH NAVY (Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, December 13. Senior naval, Royal Air Force, and territorial officers are preparing reports for an assessment of the combined sea and air exercises. The “Daily Telegraph” says: “Preliminary reports show (1) that the Home Fleet was able to steam 1000 miles almost to the approaches of Plymouth without suffering more than superficial damage; (2) that the Royal Air Force’s dwindling bomber forces placed the Bomber Command in the embarrassing position of being unable to put sufficient bombers in the air to guarantee the bombing of the Fleet; (3) that the Territorial Army units had to be scoured for sufficient men to man the Plymouth coastal batteries; and (4) that the long-range Coastal Command Lancasters have remarkable stayi» g power and airworthiness, and remained continuously on duty when the Bomber Command Lincolns .were grounded.” Extremely bad weather caused the cancellation of part of the air-sea operations carried out off the coast of England by the Royal Air Force Bomber Command and the Fleet returning from the Azores. A naval officer. Captain J. L. Storey, said the exercises had shown that aircraft and submarines could co-operate even in the worst weather. It had also been shown that in very bad weather a fleet could approach the coast without being attacked by Bomber Command aircraft. One correspondent says that a serious shortage of trained airmen was revealed. Of 12 Lincolns which were to bomb the Navy, three failed to take off and the fourth had to return after half an hour’s flying when a fire broke out. In two cases the trouble was caused by a radar set, and it was stated that there were only two regular airmen trained in radar maintenance on the station. Commenting on this incident, the "Daily Mail” said: “This happened in la service which has been regarded as the last word in shining efficiency. The public will find it hard to believe—but it is tragically true. From 1940 to 1945 the Royal Air Force was the admiration of the world. But it has plainly softened and slackened since those great days. It seems that those who said that the Royal Air Force was ‘dying on its feet’ were not talking wildly.” During the exercises a Lancaster dispatched to attack the approaching fleet "atom bombed’’ a battleship, reporting a near miss, and then dropped a second "atom bomb" on a cruiser. It was later reported that the first "atom bomb" consisted of three flares producing a total flash of 9.000,000 candlepower. The bomb, which was dropped from 1500 ft, exploded 30ft above the stern of the target. In actual practice the explosion would have pulverised the Lancaster, which was piloted by a "suicide" crew. The "Sunday Times” says that deficiencies in the Bomber Command have been exposed as a result of the operations. “Bomber Command from this operation appears to be at the nadir of its strength, lacking skilled ground crews and unable to attract long service technicians into the force. It seems starved of new equipment and generally neglected.” says the “Sunday Times.”