The Expanding R.A.F.
The Royal Air Force has displayed in the past week activity unprecedented in its history. In accordance with Mr. Churchill's declaration it has been bombing enemy territory by day as well as by night, and to the effective daily sweeps over occupied France adding still more effective attacks on munitions-centres or naval bases in Germany. The losses—thirteen bombers were missing after one night-operation—have on occasion been heavy, but that was due partly to the fact that weather con- ditions happened to favour the defenders, but chiefly to the number of machines engaged, which appears to have been such that the actual percentage of loss was not unduly high. The importance of the daylight-raids is not confined to the actual damage they do. In both Germany and occupied France they are calculated to disorganise industry seriously, and so far as France is concerned it is very much to be hoped that the broadcast by an R.A.F. Staff Officer on Saturday was widely heard. The speaker gave notice that R.A.F. daylight- raids would be becoming more frequent, warned his hearers to take cover the moment they heard the siren or the sound of engines, and if the management made any difficulty about that to go on strike. Since these are warnings that can be, and are being, made good they constitute as good propaganda as could be devised. The R.A.F. is, even to the casual observer's eyes, becoming more formidable every day.
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