FIGHTER SWEEPS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 29 April 1942, Page 1

FIGHTER SWEEPS

MOUNTING STRENGTH OF R A.F. ATTACKS ; In the past few weeks it lias Income I obvious that the bmpo of Britain’* air attack on Germany and Gennanoenij.ied territory in w*«torn Europe has mounted considerably, and that I the Nazi air defences are being given j little rest except when elimatic <on--1 dilions render air operations inadvisable. This increasing tempo was discussed in a recent, talk by Bindley Frawr, the well known radio commentator who speaks regularly in the Empire service. Mr. Fraser remarked that it. i« now more than 13 mouths since “tighter Bwop|is” over northern France were begun bv the Royal Air Force, hut that the early swoops were insignificant in comparison with those which take place almost dally nowadays. A .sweep, he explained, was different from the normal type of raid in that no definite objective to he attacked was assigned to the force carrying out the | sweep. The force was simply ordered • to cover a certain area in the opera--1 tion and it carried out cannon and ! machinegun attacks on any military objectives it might encounter. Thus railway engines, jwwer plant* gun emplacements, searchlight* installations, convoys moving on the roads, aerodromes, aircraft on the ground and in the air. ami similar objective* might bo attacked indiscriminately. It must not be thought, however, * aid I Mr. Fraser, that fishier Mvecfw wetcapable of inflicting the damage that an attack by bombers could inflict. A railway engine might be put out of acseverely strafed by cannon or machinegun lire, while shipping in transit along the coast or in port might is* interrupted in its work relieving die seriously strained railway system of the Continent. Thus while fighter sweejM inflict little damage in comparison with other types of raids, they have considerable value in the disorganization they spread in enemy military dispositions and arrangements. But they have :t greater value than that. They keep the iiersonnot of the German forces always under strain, and that applies not only to the Luftwaffe, but also to the laud forces. A convoy of troops on the move never knows at what moment it may he subjected to a deadly hail of bullets from the roving British squadrons. Gun crews never know when next their gun-pits and quarters may not lie the subject of concentrated niacliiucgun fire. It is, however, oil the Luftwaffe tlmr. Hie greatest strain is placed. Fully no per cent, of the Luftwaffe's fighter strength is kept tied down to the defence of lbe Western seaboard of Europe, so that the Eastern Front is kept much shorter of these essential aircraft than the German High Command would wish. Against Russia, | Germany is unable to concentrate less than half her fighter strength, for a considerable number of this type of aircraft is also tied down in the Mediterranean by the British squadrons <»f the Middle East Command. Thus, Russia is able to maintain air parity with the Luftwaffe, no small gain to them in the clash which mav break at any time now. The relative air position on the Western Front now is that Britain holds a numerical superiority, apart from any question of Individual superiority of pilot and machine. This i* why, for the most part, our fighter sweeps encounter only minor opposition. Germany simply cannot afford, Mr. Fraser says, to court even equal losses with the ILA.F. Equal numerical reduction of the opposing forces would make the pro)>ortional superiority of the RAF. still greater, and would lead to speedy establishment by the ILA.F. of absolute air supremacy jiu the area. This Germany cannot afford to permit. Therefore her flgbtI ers only interfere when a situation | arises in which they have local null merieal preponderance, ij This it can lx» safely said, the air [: initiative on the Western Front, from , Northern Norway to Spain, lies wholly with the R.A.F., and, Mr Fraser said, it is possible that this position may l| yet lead to the establishment of air t supremacy, despite German caution, •j Air supremacy would he no small as- ., set, should major operations develop in i the area in other elements than the > j air.