COMRADES IN ARMS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 June 1942, Page 4

COMRADES IN ARMS

.. AMERICAN AIR FORCES ’ CONGRATULATIONS TO BOMBER ; COMMAND. ’ ON THE COLOGNE RAID. i "(British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.10 a.m.) ■ RUGBY, June 1. : Lieutenant-General Henry Arnold ■ has written to Air Marshal Harris as • follows: “As Commanding General of ! the United States Army Air I ■ desire to extend my congratulations to ■ you, your staff and combat crews for the great raid made last night on Co- ; logne. It was brilliant in conception ; and superlative in execution. Please convey to your officers and men my admiration for their courage and skill, and say that our Air Forces hope very soon to fly >and ‘fight beside them in these decisive blows against our com-, mon enemy.” Air Marshal Harris replied: “All j ranks of the Bomber Command highly ■appreciate your mesage. We too look forward to -the time, now so near, when the United States (Army Air Forces, ■which so gallantly and effiec-tively-bear their share of ‘the burden in the Far East and elsewhere, com--I'mence operations 'at our side in this theatre of war. We are supremely confident that with their aid our common I enemies, faced with the certain devasl tation of their own lands, will soon have cause bitterly to rue the day on ■ which they forced our two countries , into war.” COMBINED ACTION GENERAL ARNOLD’S HOPE. OFFENSIVE THAT WILL CRUSH ENEMY. (Received This Day, 12.55 p.m.) LONDON, June 1. “A wonderful exhibition” was the description applied by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Air Corps, Lieutenant-General Arnold, to the Cologne raid. He added: “The sooner we have them going over nightly, with the United States Air Force forming a component part, the better it will be, and the sooner will Germany feel the effect of the war. It is obvious that n'o offensive against Nazi-oc-cupied Europe can succeed without air superiority, and we mean to have it. In gaining air superiority in any theatre we have no time to wait for ideal aerodromes, planes or situations. It has been agreed that the best results can be achieved if American crews fly American planes in American units except when emergency conditions dictate another course. The allocation of planes is being arranged with this principle in mind.” General Arnold explained that his conversations with Mr Churchill, Air Marshal Portal and other Service leaders, which had now almost concluded, aimed at the further development of the original agreements between Britain and the United States, looking to a maximum impact of the combined air strength against the common enemy. “The chief consideration of our conversations has been to ensure that the increasing demands of American units on United States plane production shall not impair the British air offensive, now or in the future. I hope my visit has hastened the day when our air arms will join in an air offensive against the enemy which he cannot meet, defeat or survive A