ALLIED AIR MIGHT

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 21, 19 October 1944, Page 5

ALLIED AIR MIGHT

Jet-Planes Goering’s Last Slim Hope UNDERGROUND PLANT (By Telegraph.—Press Assn. —Copyright.) (Special Correspondent.) LONDON, October 17. The impressive striking power of the British and American air forces in the west is commented upon by the “DailyTelegraph’s” air correspondent, Air Commodore E. L. Howard Williams. Every German city, he says, is now completely at the mercy of the Allied air forces, which include 4000 heavy bombers of the Bomber Command and both the Eighth and Fifteenth U.K Air Forces, 2000 medium and light bombers, such as the Mosquito, Marauder, Mitehell aud Havoc, and 0000 or more fighters and fighter-bombers like the Typhoon, Thunderbolt, Spitfire aud Mustang. , . , „ The Allied air forces have gained a great benefit from the occupation of the Low Countries, for today the enemy s coastal radio-location system has vanished. As a result, on occasion, the bombers can cross the German lines without warniug, aud the Germans can no longer easily discern the target area which is being threatened. No longer do bombers have to fight their way through hundreds of miles of air defences. With the repeated use of night fighters accompanying the bombers there has been a low rate of loss. Thus, on October 14 and 15, 2500 aircraft of the Bomber Command alone dropped 10,000 tons of bombs for the loss of 23 aircraft, or under 1 per cent. The Bomber Command can now dispatch upward of 1500 aircraft at night when it has already mounted 1000 on a daylight raid. Enemy’s Situation.

The Luftwaffe also is in a changed gosition. Whereas it could once, reach (ritish ports and even London within a few minutes without waruing from Continental bases, it would now be compelled to fly over a region which can 'be dominated by any Allied night fighters that may be based in Belgium and Holland. The correspondent thinks the . Luftwaffe's only chance of survival is the hope that its armies may be able to hold the West Wall all winter so that jetpropelled fighters, rockets and flying bombs may be developed. He thinks, however, that it would be unwise to discount the possibility that the Germans may be able to stage something in the nature of a tactical comeback in the air. No amount of bombing can seriously disturb their underground aircraft and engine factories, which are well dispersed and are capable of turning out many aircraft daily. When these aircraft are jet-propelled the Allies may have to face a challenge to their present air supremacy, which for long has been based on the orthodox international combusition engine. Fortunately the Allies, too, have jet-fighters coming off the production lines. In order to challenge the Allied air supremacy the Germans would require a first-line strength of 4000 jet-fighters with adequate reserves behind- them and a vast and efficient industry aud transport system. Only by those moans could the enemy maintain an effective organization nil .round the circle of Germany and Austria capable of concentrating 500 jetfighters anywhere at any time. “It is not in my view within the bounds of possibility that this could happen,” Air Commodore Williams says. “To begin with, the German jet types still have ‘bugs in them,' and are by no means yet fully operational.” The correspondent thinks the Germans may attempt to use jet types of rockets and flying bombs, but that they will be beaten by the clock, besides not being allowed any latitude.