HANDING OVER GERMAN AEROPLANES.

Patea Mail, Volume XLIII, 21 March 1919, Page 4

HANDING OVER GERMAN AEROPLANES.

TWO THOUSAND ENEMY MACHINES IN SERVICEABLE CONDITION GREAT WORK OF THE R.A.E. A peculiarly interesting feature of the Gorman surrender lias been the handing over of 2000 enemy aeroplanes. Some light is thrown upon what this gigantic surrender of aircraft means to the Germans by the following ofliend British figures of air lighting upon the British Western front from January 1, U)fß, to the date of the armistice (November 11) : Enemy machines destroyed in aerial combat by th.o British 30b0 Enemy machines driven down out of control 1174 British machines reported .•misslug 1318 Thus, withouot counting the h;v; air losses indicted upon the enemy oy the formidable French and American Air Service, Germany is known to have lost over GOOO aeroplanes (destroyed and surrendered) during the year. On the other hand, the resources of the Allies, who have suffered far fewir air casualties, arc being re>uioreed hy 2030 German machines of modern tvpe, and in “good serviceable condition.’' These ligures serve to indicate the overwhelming superiority enjoyed hy the Allies in the air. It is further worth notifying that the terms of the armistice include the giving up of the complete equipment of the various reconnaissance and bombing machines, including a large number of Gorman aerial cameras, bomb-sighters, machine-guns, wireless transmitters, etc. TEX MONTH’S WORK. Tim ontont to which the final victory of the Allies wa.s due to the less spectacular aspects of R.A.E. efficiency nas never fully been appreciated. Public interest naturally centred in the brilliant ami often sensational exploits of our lighting airmen, rather than in the more prosaic routine work of tihe R.A.ff. The immediate results of this fighting were indeed very striking, as the following figures for period January 1 T November 11 show : Enemy machines destroyed by R.A.F. on British Western front, and in Italy, Macedonia. Palestine ami Mesopotamia 3530 Enemy machines driven down out of control by R.A.F. in above theatres '. 1251 Brilish machines missing 1420 It should never bo forgotten, however, that all this fighting was priimvily undertaken to enable other, and even snore vital, work of the R.A.U , such as strategical reconnaissance (including photography), contract patrol, and bombing, to be carried out. As an illustration of the magnitude of tlie.se little-recorded aspects of Royal Air Force routine, it may ho mentioned that since January 1, 1918, no fewer than 261,(185 R.A.F. negatives wove taken in the air over German territory on the Western front alone. From these negatives the gigantic total of over 5,800,090 prints (each one being separately enlarged) were made for tno use of the General Staff. During the same period 5129 tons of bombs were taken up into the air by Royal Air Force machines and dropped upon military objectives behind the German lines, whiF a literally incalculable number of observational High Is were made For the purpose of spotting for our artillery and maintaining contact with our troops.