NAZI AERIAL LOSSES

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 December 1940, Page 8

NAZI AERIAL LOSSES

£l2O MILLIONS IN PLANES The remarkable losses suffered by the Germans in flying personnel since the war began are going to have a very important effect on the result of the war (wrote the Air Correspondent of the London “Daily Telegraph,” early.in October). In arriving at any exact figure the difficulties are considerable, owing to the lack of definite information on several important points, but my calculation is that the total is 13,500. Similarly, it would appear that, to the end of last month, something like 6,500 German machines have been destroyed in combat, compared with 1,417 of our own. Official claims of the most conservative kind show that we have definitely brought down 3,644 German aircraft. But to this total must be added not only a very large number that R.A.F. pilots are practically certain they destroyed, but others so badly damaged that they would need replacement if.they got back to their bases. Quite reasonably we may assume that 20 per cent, should be added on this basis to the official claims. This would bring the total of enemy aircraft we have destroyed since the beginning of the war to 4,372. ALLIES’ TOLL.

This, however, does not end the matter in any comprehensive calculation. In May, after the invasion of the Low Countries, the French, Belgians, and Dutch, are credited with, 'having brought down. 1,075 planes, raising the German losses to 5,447. To this again must be added the losses inflicted by the Poles, the Norwegians, and, an unknown quantity, by the French in June before their collapse. These might well bring the total to 6,500 machines. , ' Of this number a very large proportion, let us say 3,500 consisted of bombers carrying crews numbering from two to five men. If we take three as an average complement the total of pilots and other highly trained personnel lost in German bombers is 10,500, to which must be added the 3,000 fighter pilots. Also of interest are the colossal losses in material. If we reckon the cost of a bomber to be £25,000 or £30,000, and a fighter at from £lO,OOO to £ 13,000, we are justified at the lowest estimate in saying'that the enemy has lost £90,000,000 worth of bombers and £30,000,000 of fighters.