LUFTWAFFE BEATEN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 January 1942, Page 4

LUFTWAFFE BEATEN

OUTCLASSED BV RUSSIAN AIR FORCE SOVIET PLANES & WEAPONS SUPERIOR. EXPERT GIVES SOME DETAILS. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 12.45 p.m.) LONDON, January 23. The Russian Air Force has beaten Germany’s strongest card —the Luftwaffe. Despite modifications, the Germans are unable to surpass the flying capacities of the Russian planes. A Russian Air Force official, Colonel Stefanovsky, who regularly inspects German planes which have been shot down, says this in an article in the Soviet ’ “War News.” He adds that a study of hundreds of German planes has enabled the detection of German plane modifications introduced under the influence of the Russian-German war. The Germans began with fighters 20 to 25 miles an hour slower than Russia’s and bombers 23 to 30 miles slower. The necessary modifications were a serious embarrassment to the Germans, but they embarked on an unprecedented programme of modernisation. They improved flying and tactical qualities, particularly speed, chiefly by increasing horse-power. They also modernised the structure of planes wherever the mere replacement of the engine did not improve flying qualities. The Germans mounted powerful new arms on old and therefore most vulnerable planes. The German air weapons, particularly cannon, are markedly inferior to similar Russian types. The Russian cannon surpasses the German in rate of fire, range and piercing power, and the Russian planes so far generally are far better armed than the German.