R.A.F. BOMBING POLICY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 55, 6 March 1942, Page 5

R.A.F. BOMBING POLICY

OUTLINED BY AIR MINISTER RESUMPTION ON LARGEST POSSIBLE SCALE (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.) Rugby, March 4. The Secretary of State for Air (Sir Archibald Sinclair), introducing the Air Estimates in the House of Commons, announced that the bomber offensive against Germany would be resumed on the largest possible scale at the earliest possible moment. The Minister said: “It is true that tlu* Guinan bomber force has acquired other occupations since a year ago. but there has never been a time during recent months when there has not been a very substantial number of bombers within easy reach of all cities in this country. Our temporary exile from our own Chamber is a warning against discounting too lightheartedly the menace of the bomber, but 1 feel sure that members will join me in giving credit to the R.A.F. that so much remains intact and that Ih-itain's armourers can work almost unhindered by the German air force.”

Sir Archibald Sinclair paid a tribute to the R.A.F. squadrons which had the privilege of fighting alongside their Russian allies, and spoke of the increasing numbers of British aircraft on the- Russian front, adding that this was not the * most important way in which the R.A.F. was helping Russia. “Not only have our squadrons in Alalia i and in Africa engaged large num-; bers of German fighter squadrons. I but also, by fighter and bomber, sweeps over north-western Franco. I by constant fighter patrols and activity in the same region, by I fighter and bomber attacks upon j shipping in the narrow seas, and I by.our bomber attacks upon indus- ’ trial Germany and targets of great [ importance to Germany in the occupied territories, xve have succeeded in keeping a larger number of German fighter sriuadrons facing the west than llie Germ a ns can spare from their eastern front.” said the Minister. “Coal mines and factories in Bel- | gium and Northern France, which are , xvorking perforce for the enemy, have i suffered severely. For five months. 1 for example, the industrial ac ivity of , the wide area around Lille has been , curtailed for many weeks by as much ’ as 50 per cent, on account of damage I to power plants. The remarkable | thing is that, although the lighting I over the enemy’s territory has, of ; course, been hard, our fighter squadrons have managed to keep the balance of casualties in their favour. “In offensive fighting from this 1 country during the last twelve months, we have destroyed 823 enemy lighters, compared with the loss of ■ 537 of our own.” Guarding; the Straits. Saying that he could not express an opinion about the recent passage of enemy warships inrough the Straits ot Dover, but lha‘. the ‘ report of the official inquiry was . | completed and would immediatcI ly be, examined by the Admiralty and his department. Sir Archibald j Sinclair said that the Si rails were j virtually closed to the enemy’s | i merchant vessels by combined air ; I action with the Navy, anu only a I tew fast motor vessels had been able to slip through in the last : five months, whereas an everagc I of 25 enemy merchant ships, of | 1009 tons or over, had passed j through monthly hitherto. Speaking of the Far East, Sir ; Archibald Sinclair said that, despite , the problem of transporting main- j tenance crews, petrol, bom os. and : ammunition, large numbers of aircraft had been sent. Extreme risks had been taken to get them there. ' Some had beten lost on the way, anu many had been lost in heavy fighting, but reinforcements continucA \ > arrive in that theatre of war. t here had been close and successful cooperation with the Army in Burma. In the Middle East, during the six months preceding General Auchinleck’s advance, the R.A.F. and naval aircraft sank some 175,000 ions of enemy merchant shipping in the Mediterranean. , “To send a ship to the bottom with , 50 tanks on board is a big contribu-1 tion to success in the land battle,” he, said. When the battle was joined, British 1 air superiority, which by hard bomb-1 ing and fighting had been gradually acquired during the preceding weeks, j was quickly asserted. It enabled the | Air Force Io throw their whole ' weight into the land battle. The same I air superiority and the same slashing attacks by British lighters and I bombers upon enemy troops and vehicles supported General Auchinleck, both in advance and withdrawal Army Co-operation. Sir Archibald Sinclair deprecated > uninformed criticism of co-operation between the Royal Air Force and the other Services, and said that it it was, not moderated and brought into relation with the facts, co-operation was bound to become less cordial. “The Royal Air Force has beaten the Germans in every other form of air lighting, and it means to beat tin m at army co-operation,” said the Minister. “A new arrangement has just been made to foster co-operation with the Services from the very bottom. Pilots and air crews, trained in such great numbers overseas, on arrival back in this country go to army and naval units, for a week at each before going on with their air crew training. The Minister spoke in warm terms of appreciation of the gallant defenders of Malta, who were going up to fight handicapped by short warnings, and the island’s anti-aircraft fire. Dealing with personnel and training, Sir Archibald said: “There has been a huge expansion of the training organisation during the past year. An immense organisation in Canada where air crews recruits in Canada. Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, and the United Kingdom trained [ side by side, was completed months [ ahead of schedule. Considerable 1 training organisations are now fully ‘ developed in Australia and New Zea-1 land, and have been providing trained) crews in substantial numbers. Otu•; squadrons fighting in the Middle East [ have been reinforced by pilots and' crews trained in Rhodesia and South! Africa. Pilots trained in India have I been in battle against the Japanese. | “Last summer the United States. Army Corps placed at our disposal a substantial portion of their pilot training organisation, and the United States Naval Air Service also undertook to train crews for us. We were also able to organise flyinp training at civil schools in the United States. We have been at particular pains to .secure uniformity of training standards throughout the world-wide I organisation. | “Our policy is not only to reach the j highest standards, but also to develop in each man a fighting spirit, and

these particular personal qualities, which, matched with the best obtainable equipment, have given our airmen indi\ idual ascendancy over the airmen of Germany, Italy, and Japan. “The closest attention has been paid to the provision of the great, number of skilled maintenance staff which the R.A.F, required. During the last six months no fewer than 10,000 men and women of the R.A.F. have passed through the hands of psychologists, and the results have beer helpful and encouraging. "The process of installing in our older and well-tried types of fighters more powerful engines and offensive armament has gone steadily ahead. “The armament of our lighters is very greatly superior to that of the best German fighters yet encountered. The latest types of Hurricanes and Spitfires have so improved as to be virtually new types of aircraft. This year will see still further improvements in these two famous breeds. Further, new types, some of revolutionary design, are ripening.” Bigger and Stronger Bombers ’I he Minister said that divebombers had been ordered in the United States in June, 1940, when the evidence was all in their favour. Though the German type had not proved effective in the Battle of Britain or in Libya, the new type, which was superior to the Junkers 87, would be useful in more than one theatre and would shortly be available. Stirling, Halifax, and Manchester heavy bombers were emerging in a new, bigger and stronger form known as the Lancaster, which, with great range, heavy bomb loads, high speed, and power! ul defensive armament, was coming into service in increasing numbers. “These bombers are the most powerful in the world,” said Sir Archibald. Bombs regarded as exceptionally large a year ago were in full supply, while others of still larger size and greater powers for destruction were w« H advanced in design and should shortly be Delay in resuming the bomber offensive against. Germany on the largest possible scale at the earliest pos•i!/ moment had been due to a number ol causes. “A substantial part of our bomber effort has been diverted to the other theatres,' he said. “A still larger part has been employed in attacking the warships at Brest and other tar gets connected with the Battle of the Atlantic. We have suffered disai.-

pointments in the delivery of aircraft which prevented us taking all the advantage we hoped of such good spells as were available last autumn. By far the most important cause haj been the weather, which since October has been the worst, for air operations lor fifteen years, with the exception of 1937. Nevertheless, quarter by quarter, comparing 1941 with the active months ot 3940. wc dropped twice the weight .of combs as in the previous year. ‘Thai excludes the still more greatly-iacieased weight dropped in the Mediterranean theatre. More Bombs Dropped "Despite the exceptional inactivity of the past two months, ine tonnage dropped in January ami Feoraary was 50 per cent. ..r?H_*r than in the same months of 1911. -her,? was a steady increase in ininc-laying activities. “Reports of damage to the enemy's war potential accumulate. At Wilhelmshaven, out of eight U-boats due for launching by a certain date, only three were left on the slips. At Hamburg only three were launched instead of six and vessels of the type normally launched alter two months had been seen on the slips after three months. Aachen and Munster are in a worse condition than Coventry and Plymouth. In many places in the Ruhr, in Wilhelmshaven and Emden, our photographs show areas devastated by bombing. At Dusseldorf, after one of our heaviest homos had been dropped, the whole built-up area, in the words of the pilot, ‘appeared to boil.’ Neutral and indepenuent observers agree that compulsory retirement to shelters has told on the morale o! the German people and has slowed down production. These results have been achieved in spite of a very considerable increase of sorties and operations. Indeed, the rate Oi. loss lor the three months ending February 28 was lower than the preceding three months. As we expected, the heaviest types of combers proved less vulnerable than the Wellington*. Whitleys and Hampd?ns. Wc have not had all the aircraft we wanted. ne setback in production has been mainly tne result of German bombing.” 8.0.W.