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1945
1945 - 1571.PDF
r 154 FLIGHT AUGUST O.TH, 1945 IS THE BOMBER OBSOLESCENT ? Alfred's fleet not driven off Rollo the Norseman, Normandy might have been founded in England instead of in France. About a century and a half later the Normans slipped across the Channel unopposed. It was after the defeat of the Armada in 1588 that Shakespeare wrote the famous lines: — '' This precious stone set in the silver sea "Which serves it in the office of a wall, " Or as a moat defensive to a house, " Against the envy of less happier lands." William of Orange brought Dutch troops into England in 1688, but he came at the invitation of Englishmen, and the majority of them welcomed him. Napoleon's attempt to invade was baulked by British sea poweT, and in the war of 1914-18 the Royal Navy always ruled the surface of the seas. On the other hand English or British armies have landed on the Continent on innumerable occasions. So long as English or British battleships controlled the seas, England was safe at home and could attack con- .tinental enemies. Now sea power by itself is not enough. Britain must rule the air before sea power can become effective. On the water as well as on land -th^ dictum of Field Marshal Montgomery -holds good: '' First we must win the air battle, and then we win the land (or sea) battle." So it all boils down to the question of whether air attack or air defence is to be the master in the future. We have suggested above that the Battle of Britain provides no conclusive answer to the query, because the Germans mismanaged their attack. It may also be held that the bomber offensive against Hxermany fails to solve the problem. Though anti-aircraft. guns are a valuable part of the defence, the only real counter-weapon to the bomber is the fighter aircraft. Germany failed to stop the Allied bombers from achieving their object; but it may be held that that was due to another German mistake. At one point they slowed down the production of bombers in OTder to concentrate on fighters. It has been suggested by some students that if the Germans had taken that step earlier they might have mastered the attack of the Allies. It is not much use arguing about " ifs " which did not happen. For the moment we are glad enough to have beaten Germany, even though our success was largely due to German mistakes. Against some more clever enemy in the future (the very distant future, we all hope) our sur- vival may well depend on air defence proving stronger than even well-planned air attack. If the rocket is developed into a weapon of accuracy and no antidote to it is dis- covered, then no sort of defence may avail us. But if air attack is to remain a matter of piloted bombers, then we must concentrate every nerve and brain and sinew on seeing that our defence is able again to beat off air attack. Target Analysis Tonnage of Bombs Dropped and Number of Sea Mines Laid by R.A.F. Bomber Command Monthly from September, 1939, to May, 2945I N the following analysis the employment of every single bomb dropped by Bomber Command in the 1939-45 war in Europe is shown. Students of military strategy and historians will find endless interest in these figures. The continual fluctuation and change in the fortunes of war can be traced, as can also the ever-growing strength of Britain's bomber effort. Industrial towns, which received no attention until after the Luftwaffe started indiscriminate attacks on Britain in 1940, received by far the heaviest punishing. Naval targets had pride of place in 1940, but by 1945 they were fifth in the order of bomb tonnage. ON THE CITIES Target Tons. Berlin 45,517 Essen 86,428- Colpgne 34,711 Buisburg 30,035 Haraburp x ... ... 22,880 Dortmund '. ... 22;242 Stuttgart ... 21,1)10 GeJsenkirchen JSI,Bli6 Mannheim Ludwigshaven ... ... ... 18,114 Dusseldort 17,789 Kiel 16,712' Frankfurt 15.096- Hanover 14.776 Le Havre T3.4+0 Nuremberg ];!,0i!l Bremen 12.831 Bochum 10,78+ CaJais 0,73ti, Brest 8,428 Boulogne... ... ... ... ... ... 7,827 1939 September ... OctoberNovember ... December ... Total 1939 ... 1940 January February .,March AprilMay JuneJuly AugustSeptember ... October November ... December ... Total 1040 ... 1941 January February March' April May JuneJuly August September ... OctoberNovember ... December ... Total 1041 Industrial Towns —— ^ —— — — —— z— ——— ——137 1S7 07 513 716 972 1,513 2,1881,348 1,411 082 U101,062 «97 •12,330 Troops anil Defences — —— — — — — 1,245 621 — .— — — — — 1,880 — — — — — —— — — —— — — Transporta- tion — —— — — — 249 616 225 147 •241 1-67 338 105 2,148 107 80 18 2132 rm1,532 1,874 708 1,029. — 6,10ft Naval Targets 6 — 25 31 — 1-11 18 22 176 97 1,399 623 2«4 281 2,892 372 491 687 1,035 941 665901 5*6 001 686482 *HI 8,847 OH Targets — — — 117 377> 219 807120 299 204 88 1,719 112 140 153 7934 448 6 __ — 576 A/Fi. & AC. Factories — — - 1 ^_20 70 50274 488 445 181 275 231 105 2,149 25 96 101 108 59 103122 144 80 16458 8 1,048 Specific Industries — — — - — 102 39 201 J72 187183 104 1,085 • 45 45 3 32 152 115iU 103 204 144 8 •58 1,333 Military Installations — —— — — __ — —— — . — — — Miscel- laneous — —— — — — 18 200 no178 223 10096 112 1,037 19 66 66 149 11) 3179 158 34 51317 91 1,392 Total Tons — 25 31 1 131 112 1,668 2,300 1.257 1,365 2,339 1,651 1,316 992 13,033 777 1,431 1,744 2,398 2,846 4,3104 381 4,242 2,889 2,9841,907 1 794 81,704 NO. Of Mines Laid — — — — 118 7097 156 138 49 56 SI 47 782= 510 tons 45 «6 70 129 121 76133 61 101 75111 47 1,055= 707 tons
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