NIGHT RAIDING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24406, 18 September 1940, Page 13

NIGHT RAIDING

R.A.F. SUPERIORITY NAZIS ALTER OPINION BIGGER ATTACKS EXPECTED (From Our Own Correspondent) LONDON. Aug. 6. The fact thai the Royal Air Force is greatly superior to the German Luftwaffe in carrying out night bombing raids is an interesting aspect of the war in the air. The night attacks of the R.A.F. over Germany have been taking a heavy toll of Nazi industry, but. so far the Germans had inflicted only minor damage in Britain during thenexcursions after dark. Until recently, the Germans had apparently discarded night bombing as an accurate means of inflicting military damage. They preferred bombing by day. and devoted comparatively little training to night flying. So far. there are indications that they have lingered considerably in reorientating their outlook. Germany started her new phase oi aerial warfare against Britain on June 18-19. when she began a policy oi harrying the country by night with flights of 50 to 100 aircraft. This has not been regarded as a very serious or determined attack, but more, as Goering has stated, in the nature of armed reconnaissance. The crews seem to have been sent over with the intention of gaining experience in night operations, which have also enabled. Goebbels to claim that Germany is returning the R.A.F. raids with interest, Ten Times More Experience Actually, on comparative results, the Royal Air Force have proved to be much more effective. Their night aviation has been much superior, their navigation has been better, and. for the war period, thev have actually 10 times as much experience at night raiding as the Germans. From the start of the war they made long reconnaissance and leaflet-dropping flights over Germany, gaining valuable experience. So far Royal Air Force casualties at night have hot been.heavy. This has been largely because no effective answer to the problem of interception of bombers by fighters at night has yet been found. It is a riddle both for the British home defence, as well as for the German. It is expected that when massed German raids begin—and they are anticipated within the next fortnight—the British public may become querulous as to the presence of British fighters. . The present policy is for the fighters to patrol a belt over which raiding enemy aircraft must pass on their wav to drop their bombs. The raiders will be attacked both on the way " in " and " out." But once they have passed the fighters over Britain, they still have to meet anti-aircraft fire and the balloon barrage. Easier to " Find " Another reason why British aircraft have had greater success in bombing Germany, compaied with the Nazi efforts over the British IsAgs, is that pilots can "find their way about more easily over Germany. The great autobahnen—the concrete roads which run for miles—the network of .canals, and the sprawling German rivers are all excellent signposts for R.A.F.pilots. On the other hand, the English roads are not very good landmarks for the Nazis. Chesterton said:-"The rolling English drunkard made, the rolling English road," and the Nazis no doubj agree.. Apart from the Thames, there are ho very helpful rivers, and even the Themes is said to resemble a "ribA proof that the R.A.F. have carried out far more extensive raids over Germany than the Nazis have over Britain is the fact that for the last monthly period no fewer than 33,430 British bombs have been rained on enemy territory, while the Nazis have replied with only 6987. The black-out has also hampered the Germans considerably, and it has been noticeable to Royal Air Force authorities that, although there were many complaints about the seven ly of the black-out before the raids began, there have been none since! Cautious Attacks

For day bombing raids, both the British and the Luftwaffe pilots seem to have been issued with similar instructions. They are told to take advantage of all the " cloud cover " available and to return without unloading their bombs if they think that the odds against them may be too great. This is no doubt (he reason why there have been several reports of Germans disappearing quickly when opposed by British fighters. Their Dolicv seems to be to conserve their strength, and not to take undue risks. It is felt that, when the Nazis "select the appropriate time for their blitzkrieg against Britain, their pilots will be instructed to take risks. There have also been reports that the morale of the Nazi pilots has been considerably shaken by their heavy losses over England. Informed opinion tends to discount this theory. In one month 307 German aircraft were shot down and 172 British. It is pointed out that in. view of the undoubted numerical superiority of the German Luftwaffe over the Royal Air Force the percentage of Nazi losses is not unduly high. Nazi airmen prisoners show no signs of "dither," but are decidedly truculent, and they seem not to have lost "nerve." "The tendency to overestimate the losses of German air crews is also deprecated. It is realised that Nazi losses have been great and that many expert crews have been lost. At the same time, it is estimated in reliable quarters that the Luftwaffe may not yet have felt the pinch for crews. Another point discounted is that the Nazi airmen are "callow" youths, driven to the slaughter. In fact, the average age of a German crew is 26, which cannot be regarded as " callow." Britain's defensive forces are growing day by day. The number of fighters has been substantially increased in the last few weeks., and still more are coming along in good shape, ready for anything. The R.A.F. is stronger than ever before. It has more reserves, and it has more experienced pilots. Already the results of this arc showing. For example, the proportion of enemy aircraft shot down in the raids on shipping off Dover was better than air experts in Britain ever expected. Production has gone up by leaps and bounds, and has certainly exceeded Air Ministry hopes. On the other hand, the Germans have been suffering some production handicaps lately, and it is doubtful whether their production has increased in the same proportion as has ours.

Now both countries are running a production race neck and neck, but Britain is gaining. Despite all these favourable factors, it still cannot be stressed sufficiently that the real air war, the real raids on Britain, with all Germany's potential air might behind them, have not yet started. When they do the R.A.F. will give a better account of itself than ever.