BRITISH BOMBING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 August 1940, Page 5

BRITISH BOMBING

RAIDS BASED ON CAREFUL

STUDY

ACCURATE LOCATION OF TARGETS. METHODICAL USE OF CHARTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS. (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY. August 22. In view of the estimate that the Royal Air Force bombers in their raids since Ylay 10 have flown more Ilian. 3,000,000 miles over country where General Goering had boasted that no British aeroplane could penetrate, a description of the care with which the bombers’ targets art* selected and the raids planned is of interest.

A detailed knowledge of the target is the duty of station intelligence officers who have spent hours over photographs and reports of reconnaissance flights and of previous raids, and they are as familiar with the layout of the objective as if they had built the place themselves. The next step is to convey this information to every member of every crew taking part. Naturally, the navigators are most intimately concerned, and at the information conference which is held before a raid each navigator is given the most accurate chart of the target and the surrounding country. Then the target is described by an intelligence officer, with the aid of photographs and plans projected on a screen. Every aspect of the matter is fully discussed and the plan of attack is formulated. As each bomber becomes an independent unit as soon as the aerodrome is left the crews then work out their own plans. As the zero hour approaches, the crews assemble ready for the journey, and, dead on time, the first bomber leaves the ground. In the operations room the intelligence officers await wireless messages reporting on the raid. The signal they most dread is that intimating that one of the aircraft has been hit, and when this happens the aeroplane concerned tries to keep in touch, but sometimes there is a silence, and the log book then reads: “Last heard of at such and such a time.” Eventually the final signals are received that the last bomber has dropped its load on the target area.

On their return the pilots and navigators are carefully examined on their stories, and each statement is tested against the other. This is done by one well accustomed to weigh, evidence, and often the examiner is a barrister. From these reports a single accurate picture is built up and the result of the whole thing reflected in the success of British raids. '