HITTING BACK

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 250, 19 September 1940, Page 9

HITTING BACK

CRIPPLING GERMANY. BRITISH OBJECTIVE. (United Press Association—Copyright.) (British. Official Wireless.) (Rec. 10 a.m.) RUGBY, Sept. 18. A comparison between the purpose of the R.A.F. and Nazi night bombing raids was made in a speech by the Air Minister (Sir Archibald Sinclair), who said the German bombers flew at about 20,000 ft, carelessly unloading their bombs on the dark mass of London beneath, while bombers of the R.A.F. concentrated on specific military targets and, to ensure hitting them, came down to a low level—as low as 50ft over very important targets.

“Some people,” said Sir Archibald, “say we ought to repay the Germans in kind for their attacks upon our civilians. The truth is it would be a betrayal of the suffering of the people of London to divert any of our resources from military objectives. If the air war resolved itself merely into a slogging match, by the advantages which she possesses both in numerical strength and, above all, in the dis-tance-.her aircraft have to fly, Germany would be bound eventually to win. “What we are doing is to use our available resources to -smash Up the German transport system, and thus slow down the manufacture and distribution of munitions of war of all kinds,- to smash up the factories in which the Germa.ns make their aircraft or instruments without which aircraft could not be flown here, or the power houses which supply electricity to the factories or the oil which supplies the motive power.

PRODUCTION IMPEDED. “But don’t let us fall into the vulgar error of supposing that the bombs fall any less heavily in Germany because they arc well and shrewdly aimed. We have received information of a very heavy fall in the industrial output of the Rhineland, and the principal reason given for that is the workers’ lack of sleep.” After pointing out some of the difficulties of defence against the indiscriminate night bombing, Sir Archibald Sinclair said: “It is yet by no means an insoluble problem. German airmen will find that their reception here is increasingly warm, as indeed they have already found over London, and I am able to look forward to the time when the pleasure of night bombing over Britain and of blowing to pieces a number of humble London homes will cease to be attractive to Goering and his aerial minions.” DETAILS OF LOSSES. The Air Minister concluded by giving details of German and British air losses since August 8, when the blitzkrieg started. The R.A.F. had lost 621 machines of all types— fighters, bombers, and general reconnaissance planes. The Nazis, during the same period, ha.d lost 1867, while their losses in air crews 'had amounted to over 4000 and those of the 11.A.F. to less than 600.

In the air fighting in the Middle East during the same period the R.A.F. had lost 15 aircraft, but bad destroyed 56 Italian planes. Further, these figures of enemy losses referred only to confirmed German and Italian losses, for the number of aircraft damaged was very large.