At this time, RAF Fighter Command, headed by Air Marshall William Sholto Douglas, was carrying out its new policy, Lean towards France.” The policy was suggested by retired Air Marshall Hugh Trenchard, who had commanded the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Unfortunately, Trenchard failed to absorb the lessons of the Battle of Britain, which had finished in victory for the RAF in 1940: principally, that the German Luftwaffe had suffered from tying their Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters too close to their bombers to be effective against the attacking Hurricanes and Spitfires.
This new policy resulted in RAF Fighter Command losing aircraft and pilots over France at the rate of four to one during 1941 and 1942. Any pilots who survived being shot down were captured.
Sholto Douglas had been initially skeptical of Trenchard's suggested policy, but on reflection and after writing a paper about it, he changed his mind. His reasoning is difficult to understand, as the fighters that were shot down over France would have been far better used in either the Western Desert campaign or in the defense of Malta or Singapore.
In a hot sweat of fear, keep turning and turning
In his book, Wing Leader,” James Johnnie” Edgar Johnson of 610 Squadron described a typical Circus mission to Lille,
France in July, 1941:
Fighter controller A.B. Woody" Woodhall gave us our course to steer for home on the way out: Course for Dover—310 degrees.” Woodhall fades out, for he has done his utmost to paint a broad picture of the air situation. Now it is up to our leader, Wing Commander Douglas Bader, callsign Dogsbody.”
“Dogsbody, from Blue one. Beehive at twelve o'clock below. About seven miles.”
この記事は Flight Journal の November - December 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Flight Journal の November - December 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Scourge of the Allied Fighters
IT HAD TO BE THE MOST HELPLESS FEELING in the world: you're at 25,000 feet over Europe knowing that your primary function is to drop bombs-or flying escort for the bombers while being a slow-moving target for some of the world's finest shooters. However, you have John Browning's marvelous .50 caliber invention to give some degree of protection. Unfortunately, you're absolutely helpless against flak. Piloting and gunnery skills play no role in a game where sheer chance makes life and death decisions. For that reason, the Krupp 88 mm Flak 18/36/37 AA cannon could be considered WW II's ultimate stealth fighter. You never saw it coming.
ZERO MYTH, MYSTERY, AND FACT
A test pilot compares the A6M5 Zero to U.S. fighters
Fw 190 STURMBÖCKE
The Luftwaffe's \"Battering Rams\" against the USAAF heavy bombers
American BEAUTY
\"Forgotten Fifteenth\" top-scoring Mustang ace John J. Voll
BANSHEE WAIL!
Flying Skulls over Burma
KILLER CORSAIR
Albert Wells, Death Rattlers Ace
BACKSTREET BRAWLER
A young man, his Hurricane and the Battle of Britain
Still Flying After All These Years
One of the oldest airworthy J-3 Cubs
NOORDUYN NORSEMAN
Canada's rugged, fabric-covered workhorse
A good landing is one you can walk away from
NO, THIS IS NOT A SCENE FROM A MOVIE where the hero staggers away from a \"good landing\" on Mindoro, Philippine Islands, after being shot down by a Japanese Zero.