POWER GROWS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 56, 16 March 1943, Page 6

POWER GROWS

o> I STRENGTH OF THE R.A.F. ! EXPANDING MORE RAPIDLY The R.A.F. lias climbed from the numerical inferiority with which it began the war to a strength greater than the German ancl Italian air forces combined, and now is; more than a third greater than it was a year ago (writes: A. W. V. King, Sydney Morning Herald staff correspondent in London). The R.A.F 1 . commentator who gave me this information said: "The R.A.F. is "still expanding, but its commitments also are expanding. It will have to discharge greatly extended duties in the strategy of trition in 1943. The things it has to do are expanding more rapidly than the means of carrying them out. "We are still lagging behind, what an air force should do in a total war.'" For example, the Bomber Command would have been able to double its efforts in 1942 except for the diversions due to the Japanese entry into the war and the Libyan and Atlantic battles. It has even suffered as the. result of America's entry, because the U.S. Army and Navy took over bombers which other wise would have come to the R.A.F. The commentator added: "If we [ could have a sufficient scale, of attack we could get Germany down to such a condition that Allied lane! forces could close in for the kill without, the prohibitive holocaust of a Passchendaele. We are now trying to soften Germany's crash without undue losses of life and equipment." Air Aid 1 to Soviet Troops Pointing out that Russia must be the greatest factor in the defeat, of Germany, and that, the Bomber Command is co-operating w 7 ith the Soviet by stopping materials used against it and ruining the transportation system the. commentator said there was no doubt that the great efforts of the bomber crews were affecting German war industry. If the Bomber Command, was; to finish off in 1943 what it had begun so , well, the. effect of the bombing would become something like last war's naval blockade, which was decisive against Germany in 1918. "The R.A.F. in 1942 played a great part in preventing the loss of the war by assisting in the Battle. of the Atlantic and lightening Russia's burden,'' the •commentator said. "'Twenty-eight of the 50 or GO key towns in Germany were attacked during the year in 88 night raids by forces of at least 100 bombers, and there were, six daylight raids by heavy bombers. lin addition, there were from 2000 to 3000 sorties by medium and light bombers over Germany and German-occupied countries.