Air Odds Now Overwhelmingly Favour Allies

Manawatu Times, Volume 68, Issue 161, 9 July 1943, Page 5

Air Odds Now Overwhelmingly Favour Allies

Enemy Ultimately Crushed by Sheer Weight of Numbers (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Received Thursday, 7.10 p.m. WASHINGTON, July 8. Air experts agree that the odds in air operations have smrtea overwiienningly in favour of the Allies since the United States expansion became effective. Summing up the developments General Arnold (Air Chief) in an interview to-day said: “Our strength is increasing faster than the enemy can huild up to meet us. He cannot possibly meet us on even terms unless he inflicts losses on us at the rate of four to one. Instead of that the overall picture shows that we are getting two of his planes for .every one we have lost, and in some cases we are inflicting losses of four to one. •‘That is the European picture, and the campaign against Japan adds up to about the same.”

Experts say General Arnold’s statement reveals that the Axis air forces are bringing down only one-eighth the number of Allied planes. necessary for them to avoid ultimate crushing by sheer weight of numbers. This is quito apart from the damage to German plane .factories.

The odds in the Pacific are better than in Europe because Japanese production is far below German. Japan, however, is better situated in respect to distance. The Allies have to go much further to reach the vital targets than they do in Europe. The New York Times says that as an indication of Japan’s severe air losses the Tokio radio announced that Japanese air cadets' three-year training period had been halved and the entrance age for the army and air training schools had been reduced from 15 to 14 years.

In their first year’s operations in Europe the United States Eighth Air Force carried out 68 daylight missions, dropped 11,423 tons of bombs. It destroyed 1199 planes, probably destroyed 525 and damaged 501 for the loss of 276 heavy bombers. The American losses averaged 3.91 per cent, iu 7076 sorties.

Guinea. “His barge traffic is not only soundly based but well organised and could be availed of to push swift reinxorcements at any of the points the enemy has retained in the lace of our advancing forces.” Offsetting the enemy’s power of reinforcement is the Allied air superiority which allows our aircraft to attack Japanese positions whenever the weather permits. The enemy airfields at salamaua and Lae have been so persistently hammered that they are now used only as staging fields for aircraft based out of range of Allied medium oombers.

In the skirmishes that have so far taken place in the area the Japanese have clearly met tjieir masters at jungle fighting. Thus the Allied air and ground superiority augurs ill for the Japanese at Mubo—whatever may ne ahead in the subsequent fighting. Australian machineguns at Bodubi are ranged along the enemy’s solitary supply line from Salamaua. So rough is the country that large carrier parties will be required to bring forward stores and these would have to move along the track at night, running grave riSK of ambush. Mubo has no native garden to help solve the.problem. The native name for the area “Tambu,” meaning taboo, shows what the natives .hink of it.

“In this area the scenes of the Kokoda Trail are being repeated again,” writes a war correspondent. 4 ‘ Our men at Bobdubi walked for days over a track incredibly slippery with mud and dank with perpetual mist. The track snaked up and down high mountains. Our soldiers cursed the track—but they cursed even more strongly the Japanese who made them walk it. If any spur was needed to increase their enthusiasm to attack the Japanese, then this track has provided it.”