AERIAL COMBATS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 227, 24 September 1940, Page 6

AERIAL COMBATS.

TERMS AND TACTICS. SPITFIRE PILOT EXPLAINS. The war in' the air goes on, and day by day the Royal Air Force iis smiting the enemy with well-aimed, ■ damaging blows. It is becoming more and more probable that the war will be won in the air. For that reason the public are becoming even more interested in aerial warfare and the tactics employed. And, in particular, it wants to know the meanings of the various terms that recur in the descriptions of aerial combats. Some of the many inquiries that are commonly made on this subject were referred by the Glasgow '"Sunday Post" to a Spitfire pilot. His answers were as follows: What is meant by a dog fight? I thought most folk knew that one. It seems that they don't. It means a rough-and-tumble between single-seat er fighters. The name was first given early in the last war. We may start a battle in squadrons, but the formation is apt to break up into a series of single combate. And, you know, we are just like a bunch of di>gs growling round each other. How do the fighters manage to avoid each other in a dog fight? Occasionally we don't. Collisions have occurred when there has been a big bunch of us engaged. But there is a lot of sky, and we are not often as close together as we appear from the ground. How do the diiierent members of a flight, or squadron, manage to communicate during a fight? AH single-seater fighters have twoway radio so that pilot* can speak to each other. And there have been times when I've been glad that was the case. Often we are able to warn a pal that there is an enemy aeroplane on his tail. How do anti-aircraft guns avoid hitting our fighters in a dog fight? That was a point that worried me when I first joined up. I didn't relieh the idea of our own guns chasing me. I soon found they don't fire at all wfien we are tangled up in a scrap. But they are ready to get busy if an enemy aeroplane manages to get away. Who takes command of a formation if the squadron-leader is shot down. I'm glad to say that is one I can't answer from actual experience. But in any -case, once the commanding officer has given the order to attack the scrap usually develops on individual lines—

and a pilot is left to use his own judgment. You pack up when your ammunition ie finished. The officer next in command is the official "boss" once the leader has been snot down. What is meant by a "burst of fire"? .We are buzzing around pretty fast when we are up there—and the enemy is only in the sights for short spells at a time. We smack home as manv bullet* as we can in that time —a "burst, in fact. A burst may average between one second and five seconds. A Spitfire or Hurricane fires 9600 ehots a minute—which means 160 each second. It's a lot of lead if you're in ths road. What are tracer bullets? Tracers are designed to leave a trail of smoke behind them, thus showing if the bullets are hitting the target. There is always a number in every belt of ammunition—and very useful they are. And. by the way, when they come in contact with inflammable material, s"ch as petrol, fabric, balloons, etc., they have incendiary effect. What is meant by a pilot "blackina out" in a turn? Most of us can tell you that from actual experience. And not a pleasant experience either. If you go into a steep turn at high speed, centrifugal force—the same force which keeps water in a glass when you swing it over your head—drains the blood from your head and eyes. You are liable to lose consciousness. Even if you regain it you may find yourself blind. But once the turn is stopped everything becomes normal again. How fast can a Hurricane climb to intercept the raider? It doesn't take long, believe me. A Hurricane can get to 10,000 feet in four minutes, 20,000 in nine minutes. The vertical rate of climb ie 25 mile* an hour, though the aeroplane may be travelling horizontally at 200 miles an hour in a climb. How do we react to high speed? Actually we never notice it. It's as comfortable in a Spitfire or a Hurricane as in a taxi. Always provided, of course, that the pilot is an experienced man. You've got to get used to high-speed power dives of 400 miles an hour—but you eoon stop thinking about speed altogether, except for its use in chasing the enemy. How are victories reported after a combat? When we have been in a scrap we have to give even the smallest details of it in what ie known as a "combat" report. If you see an enemy aeroplane hit the ground you tally one! But if you have only seen it go down out of control you don't count it as an official victory— which is why the Nazi air losses are a sight bigger than you think.

To amplify the written report, mechanics also carry a camera which takes photos eo long as the trigger is pressed. Has a German aeroplane ever surrendered in the air? Yes, eir! I've seen a badly-disabled German aeroplane "pack in* myself. The usual eign of surrender is when they lower their undercarriages and shut off their motors. ■ Once a Nazi bomber pilot did it—then tried to shoot down the Hurricane which came alongside to escort him to the ground. He didn't have time to surrender a second time! What sort of advice is given to a pilot before his first combat. Speaking for myself, I was warned to keep an eye on the weak spot behind my "tail," to watch for an enemy attacking out of the eun, to guard against turning away from an attack on an enemy bomber in such a way as to leave myself exposed to their attack, and to conserve my ammunition until I was well within range. I took good care to stick to orders— and it paid.