NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 155, 28 December 1940, Page 8

NOTES ON THE WAR NEWS

BATTLES IN THE AIR

TACTICS OF FIGHTERS

BRITISH SUPERIORITY)

News of the large bag of Italian planes made by a single British fighter squadron in the operations over the Western Desert once again proves the superiority of Empire airmen to the crews of the Regia Aeronautica. That superiority is not merely a matter of machines, of armament, and engine power, it extends to the personnel of the air force, the training of the pilots, and the skill and coolness of the flyers when suffering attack and returning it. In these days of highspeed air battles the flash and dash of combat leave the people on the ground little notion of what goes on. Battles fought at 300 miles an hour or over and at great heights are not things to be watched for long or with any clear idea of what is taking place. In these circumstances observers in. Britain, even during the great battles of August and September, found themselves watching part of the sky and losing track of what happened elsewhere. Planes would appear from a haze or in the direction of the sun, others would slant edgewise and unnoticed into a cloud bank. Suddenly a machine would go into a dive or emit smoke. There would be a cheer, and it would be assumed to be German. Limited Vision. The vision of the airman is limited, considering the vast distances he has to fly and the confusion of some of the engagements in which he figures. Consequently it is only when the whole range of reports of a battle has been studied and sorted out that a clear picture:of what has happened in any action begins to emerge. One of the tales which is suffering from experience is the story of a small force of fighters facing the odds of a huge opposing force. It is known today that British fighters are often outnumbered because of the deliberate policy of attacking in small formations. The Germans have preferred to fly in large formations, the R.A.F. tacticians to employ their planes to wage war from many directions in many ways. This making the most of the mobility of the modern plane is not necessarily giving the enemy any advantage. Fluid Combats. Another aspect of these actions is that combats are so fluid, and that considering the range of the fighter its weapons are relatively so limited in their reach that only a few of the enemy can get within effective range of the outnumbered planes at one time. In addition, the sky being a big place, there is always the chance of breaking off the battle, and, for the damaged plane, the chance of hiding in cloud. Furthermore, in a big battle, other machines can come from a distance before all those on the spot are able to manoeuvre for a shot at one another. There is constant shifting of formations, and a fight which lasts for only 15 minutes or so may result in the fighters flying over 50 or 60 miles of terrir tory. By that time it is quite on th'a cards that new machines have come up and that the original pilots have had to break off the action because of exhaustion of ammuntion or because their fuel is running low. For these reasons the British fighter formations appear to have developed a system of strictly regional work, one fighter handing over the task of turning back bombers to a force further inland when mass raids have been tried. Battle Plan Laid. With, all these qualifications, it is established that British fighters are superior to the Germans as well as to the Italians. The Germans, having better planes than the Italians and being better airmen, are closer in merit to the R.A.F., but do not approach equality. When the fighter pilots go into action against Germans or Italians the sky may to be a chaos to the watcher. In the winter months the only sign of a battle in progress may be the patterns of vapour which the planes leave in the sky. But behind this apparent purposelessness there is a battle plan, built up on the system of operations which both sides hope to carry out. In the case of the British squadrons the plan will be made on the ground before a fighter has taken off. When the enemy is sighted the squadron-leader will' decide his method of attack, and pass his orders on to the rest of the squadron by radio. Seeks a Surprise. In approaching the other fighter, the pilot always strives to, bring off a surprise. He tries to close in unseen, and thus, as in the World War, he flies as much as possible from the direction of the sun, for it is impossible to pick up another aircraft when looking towards the sun. In addition, the pilot will strive to close in on the enemy in such a way that the other machine presents him with the maximum target area. This will help him to put the enemy out of action with less expenditure of ammunition; or, at all events, wili give him v more of the adversary to shoot at. The pilot also tries to make his approach from a great height, so that he has an extra margin of speed when he dives, and thus will be able to turn away quickly should his first attack fail. When a pilot is attacked, he immediately, almost instinctively, puts his plane into a turn to escape his enemy's fire, and also to obtain sight of the foe. Operate in Tiers. Big formations of defending and raiding aeroplanes operate in tiers. Bombers fly with one, and sometimes with two formations of escort fighters, above, and behind them, so that they are in position to dive into battle as soon as the bombers are attacked. -It is when such escorted bomber formations approach that mass dog-fights of the type which have proved so expensive to the Nazis develop. Sometimes the fighter escort is attacked first, and those bombers which do not turn away fall an easy prey to the defenders. Determining the size and disposition of the enemy formations is the first vital and difficult task of the fighter patrols. The leaders of these patrols look down, see the enemy as mere specks thousands of feet below, and must reach a decision and plan an attack in a few seconds. Then on the radio the remaining pilots of the patrol will hear the voice of their commanding officer giving them orders.