Milford chronicle., 1943-05-28
LAST WEEK in THE WAR

While American land forces were
sweeping back the Japanese on fog
bound Attu Island for last-stand
fight on the neck OF land between
Holtz Bay and Chichagof Bay,
American air forces roaRed through
the skies over Europe, Asia and the
.South Pacific to deliver crashing
blows on Axis strongholds. The
battle for Attu progressed stub
bornly with two American columns
forcing their way across the island
from Holtz Bay on the north and
Massacre Bay ON the south. Ac-
cording to Secretary of War Stim-
son, American casualties were COM
paratively light up to the time the
two columns joined on the central
ridge for the attack on the main
Japanese positions in the Chichagof
Bay area.
Secretary Stimson also announced
that several new U. S. Army Air
Force units have recently gone into
combat against Germany from
Great Britain. At a press confer
ence the Secretary. declared that
the American air offensive against
the continent is being stepped up
not only in frequency of attacks but !
also in power of individual raids. |
He added that large numbers of the |
new American fighter plane, the
P-47 Thunderbolt, are now engaged
in almost daily sorties. He said the
Thunderbolt-a powerful high-alti-
tude fighter-was proving highly
satisfactory in combat.
The net results of the coordinated
use of air power in the Tunisian
campaign was summarized in a
War Department announcement last
week. According to the announce
ment, in the six months and three
days of the African campaign the
USAAF and the Raj destroyed
1900 enemy planes while losing 770
of their own. In the first IL days
of May alone, the score was 300
Axis planes downed against 40 AL
lied planes lost-a ratio of to l.
And from May Z, the announce
ment said, the enemy's air strength
was almost at the mercy of the AL
lies, with the Axis losing approxi-
mately IL planes for every plane
the Allies lost. May was the day
Tunis and Bizerte fell to the British
First Army and the U. S. Second
Army Corps. On that day. Allied
planes flew 2,74S sorties. an aver
age of almost two a minute for the
"a hours. "a sortie is a single
flight by one plane)
But this record of plane against
plane, impressive as it is, relates
only fragment, the War Depart
ment said, of the Air Forces con-
to the victorious North
African campaign eliminating in
the Axis debacle on Cape Bon. The
Mediterranean Air Command. under
Sir Arthur Tedder, provided in the
Tunisian campaign the first large
scale demonstration of the resist
essness" of an aerial striking
'orce employing all its capabilities
n an integrated pattern.
Air Division Explained
Here, in this announcement, the
War Department explained the COM
position of the Mediterranean Air
Command and made clear the divi- .
sion of U. S. air power into the
strategic force, the tactical force,
he reconnaissance wing, the coas- \
al force, the troop carrier COM L
nand, and the air service COM 4
nand. 4
The Strategic Air Force cut the 4
,nemy's lines of supply and COM !
which began in Italy
nd led through Sicily to Tunis and Il
3izerte. Composed of heavy bomb 4
rs, medium bOmbers, and long
ange fighters, it struck continu-
usly at Axis shipping, ports, har- II
ors. bases, and other points from
'hich the Axis might dispatch rein
Orcements of men and material. II
The Tactical Air Force, operating !.
l close cooperation with it's Allied \
round forces, threw its weight into /.
support bombing" striking at en- II
my troops, armored forces, fortifi- 4
atoms, airfields-targets in the \
rea of actual fighting or in the II
lpport of a battle at sea. ll
To the Troop Carrier Command !
ent the job of operating scheduled H
lrrier planes to transport mill 1
Try personnel, mail, and supplies 4
the entire Allied-held
Orthwest African coastline, the u
arial Droection of our cOnvOys and