Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-04-08
Flying Fort
Fights Off
II Jap Zeros
Mechanical Basis ofWar
Set-Output Is Issue
BY PAUL MALL0N

i
at low altitude the other day.
The Zero naval pursuit plane
Is the best ship the Japs have,
and one of the best in the bust
ness. 1t can climb faster than
our P-40 and has greater ma
neuverability. To get this SUI
periority. it has sacrificed
armor so that if you hit one,
you are apt 10 collect.
But when u of these speedy
fighters catch one fortress, the
fight is generally over before it
starts. This is especially true
at low attitudes where the
greater maneuverability Of the
Zero has full play. The fort
reSses generally try to escape by
going higher than the Zero can
climb.
Nothing could be done this
time, except fight il out. Every
body stayed around as long as
his ammunition lasted or until he
dropped. When the ] a st bull
let had been fired, the flying
fortress went on home, counting
II Jap planes missing from the
squadron Of u.
+ In an encounter against inn
possible odds, it actually shot
down nearly half the enemy
planes and escaped.
L
| NOTHING could better tell
~ superiority of our big
bomber, the type of ship best
suited to the long hauls of the
Far East. 1t is proving its name.
It's armament seems TO have
made it invulnerable to the ex-
plosive type Of bullet which the
Japs favor.
The Zeros can theoretically
shoot it down. They carry 50
caliber machine guns and a 20
nm. cannon, but they must get
their planes in the right spots.
They have an idea that if they
can get on top they have our
fortresses at their mercy. But
getting on top is difficult in
view of the loftier range OF the
fortresSeS.
At any rate. very few Of our
prize battle wagons of the clouds
have been lost in the far eastern
skies. Most of those wrecked
have been caught on the ground.
The only things these ships re-
spect are weather and engine
trouble.
HITLER has new tank. At
H least he is selling it as new
TO his adverSaries. Fact is, he
has merely made a few additions
or corrections in his old medium
model.
Three OF the improvements
are important. The firepower
has been stepped up from 81
nm. to so nm. A flame thrower
has been added to the equip
ment, no doubt TO catch those
Russian guerrillas who are al
ways providing around at night,
tossing vialS of explosives. Also
he has added arTnor in front, so
the tank can take greater blows
from straight ahead.
Gone is the day when Hitler's
new weapons cast fear. He con-
ceived this war and secretly built
slightly better weapons than he
thought he would have to en-
counter at the outset.
But now everybody knows his
secrets. and in the course of con-
flict his opposition has improved
its weapons constantly beyond
his. What we have added to the
| FLYING fortress, for instance, is
what has made it superior TO
any long range bomber.
|hNO ONE can change models
~ radically now, without
throwing his production line out
of gear. The day of surprises is
waning. The mechanical basis
OF the war has been set.
From now on it will be war
of mass production and improve
ments. No nation has ever been
better than the United States
at that game.
,THE sensational Jap raid on
Il Ceylon has been ovcr-inter-
preted sometimes as preliminary
to invasion of India It's limited
objective was somewhat like
that of Pearl Harbor.
When the Japs took Java. the
British and Dutch sent their
ships to Ceylon, a military secret
the JapS were not long discov-
ering. We sent ours on 10 Aus
tralia. as they also well know.
The Is Jap planes went into
Colombo from two or three air.
craft carriers which had sneaked
up southwark of Ceylon. They
were seeking the British and
Dutch naval fighting ships from
Java.
Also the British apparently
were building some ship facili-
ties there on the inner shore of
Ceylon, more than 100 miles
away from their established but
more exposed naval base at
Trincomalee.
In one respect the attack was
different from Pearl Harbor. The
British picked up news of the
Japs coming by scouting or de-
tectors and were ready for them.
Distributed by King Features synd.. Inc.
Reproduction IN whole or In part