COST OF WAR IN AIR

Southland Times, Issue 24138, 29 May 1940, Page 7

COST OF WAR IN AIR

HUGE LOSS BY NAZIS

DEPLETION OF TRAINED MEN ESCAPE OF BRITISH PILOT (British Official Wireless) (Received May 28, 6.30 p.m.) . RUGBY, May 27. Referring to German air losses, a British correspondent on the battle front says that the enemy’s losses are now estimated at between 100 and 125 aeroplanes a day. According to figures reliably quoted in London, 1575 German aeroplanes are officially recorded to have been brought down by Allied aircraft between May 10, when the Low Countries were invaded, and Sunday. The French claim that 62 other German aeroplanes have fallen to anti-aircraft fire. Adding those which crashed and others brought down by the Allied infantry, the German losses can be reckoned to be 2000 aeroplanes. The loss of trained men is stated to be more serious to the enemy than the wastage of machines. About one-third of the machines brought down were fighters, which means that 700 enemy pilots were lost. The other 1300 machines would be bombers, reconnaissance and army co-operation aircraft, and a fair estimate would be that about 4500 more pilots, navigators, machinegunners and observers were lost. The Air Ministry announces that last night bomber aircraft of the Royal Air Force attacked aerodromes in the hands of the enemy, including those of Flushing, Brussels and Antwerp. Operations Were also continued against the enemy’s lines of communications in Belgium and Western Germany. Hits were made on railway junctions, sidings, convoys and armoured vehicles. An anti-aircraft battery was also put out of action. BOMBING OPERATIONS Later in the evening much damage was done by medium bombers to a concentration of enemy mechanized vehicles near Boulogne. Today bombing operations have been carried out against various objectives in Flanders. So far all the aircraft have returned safely. >

Preliminary reports show that 28 enemy aircraft have been destroyed or seriously damaged by British fighters. Today one patrol of Boulton Paul Defiants shot down five enemy bombers. Five of out- fighters are reported to be missing.

The story has now been told of how a British pilot who was shot down over enemy territory was able to make his way back to his base, says a British Official Wireless message. Over East Belgium in the early day of the German. push, a flight-lieutenant was returning after engaging enemy bombers. He was attacked by six fighters, but managed to get away. However, his engine had been holed and it became evident that he would not be able to reach home. He landed in a field and with the help of peasants working nearby he pulled branches to cover the aircraft. He had just time to hide in a ditch when German bombers came over.

“I thought they had spotted my aircraft for certain,” said the pilot “They kept cruising around for about 10 minutes coming quite low, and all the time I expected them to open up with machine-gun fire; but the camouflage must have been quite good, for they finally flew away.”

The pilot dodged from the ditch, examined the engine and found two small holes, but the aircraft was otherwise undamaged. Walking to the nearest town, he obtained a motor-car and petrol and oil from a garage and persuaded several men to act as bearers. Next he bought a packet of chewing gum at a grocer’s shop. CHEWING OF GUM “I chewed the gum a bit to get it tacky, then I plugged the holes,” he said. “It set very well, I got the petrol and oil, put them in, then took off and so home.” A London message says that in the course of their operations last night squadrons from the Bomber Command heavily bombed enemy air bases in Belgium and Holland and disorganized road, rail and river traffic over a wide area from the Rhineland to the French frontier. Raids on aerodromes began shortly after midnight when almost simul-. taneous attacks were launched at Flushing, Brussels, Antwerp, Venlo and Charleroi. Salvoes of heavy bombs at Flushing and Antwerp started several fires. Nearly 150 high explosive incendiary bombs were dropped on the aerodromes at Brussels and Charleroi. Buildings in Venlo were wrecked by direct hits and fires were started. A railway bridge across the Belgian main road was destroyed. > The Royal Air Force in France pounded away day and night on German reinforcements heading for the Amiens gap to support the German bid for the Channel ports. Three-Royal Air Force pilots have shot down nearly 100 machines among them. The chief ace is a New Zealander, believed to be Flying Officer E. J. (“Cobber”) Kain, D.F.C. His bag exceeds 40. Further details are now available of Sunday night’s Royal Air Force attacks. Typical of the scope and effectiveness of the achievements was the record of one heavy bomber which within less than 30 . minutes scored direct hits on a mechanized column on a main road near Brussels, extinguished a searchlight by bombing, put out another by machine-gun fire, wrecked a railway line and a bridge and finally demolished a machine-gun post on the top of a hill by a direct hit with a salvo of three bombs. FIRES AT FLUSHING A salvo of heavy bombs falling cTose"' to the main hangars at Flushing started several fires, which were still blazing when the raiders left. At Venlo, on the Dutch-German border, aeroplanes attacked from a height of only 1500 feet. The buildings on the aerodrome were wrecked by direct hits. Fires were started by incendiary bombs.