NAZI TACTICS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24413, 26 September 1940, Page 8

NAZI TACTICS

REASON FOR RECENT CHANGE INFERIOR EQUIPMENT NEW TECHNIQUE COUNTERED (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, Sept. 24. (Received Sept. 25, at 7 p.m.) The German tactics in the great air battle in which the whole might of the Luftwaffe has been thrown against the British fighter force are designed with the object of providing compensations for their relatively inferior fighter equipment. For this reason the Nazi mass formations—chiefly fighters, probably accompanied by a few bombers — approach England at a great height in the hope that contact with R.A.F. fighters will be made when the British machines are at a lower level, and therefore at a disadvantage. That technique has been adeauately dealt with by the British Fighter Command, as shown by the great reduction of German day bombing activity during the past few days. Climbing inland towards the Thames the British fighters attain the requisite height and turn back to bring the enemy into action. The result of these tactics is that many air battles take place over Kent, and some of the more forward aerodromes are not used, as it would be impossible for aircraft starting from them to reach the height, which is frecmently as great as 30,000 feet, at which the enemy come in. These forward aerodromes have not. however, been in any way given up. Fighter aerodromes which have been attacked by the enemy are in full use. Neither the strength nor the fighting efficiency of the British fighter force is any less since the Nazi attacks opened on August 8, and the R.A.F. awaits the result of the battle with full confidence.