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Show U. S. AIR FORCES SOON TO EQUAL THOSE OFR. A. F. Major-General Ira C. Eaker, Chief of the United States Eighth Air Force in Great Britain, says that in the near future, his forces will be of a size "very nearly approaching ap-proaching that of the R. A. F." The General looks forward to the time when Americans will assume as-sume "full partnership" in the air offensive against Germany. He says that American operations will1 be chiefly conducted in day? light, with the great mass of the American air force being' flying fortresses. These will be better armed and equipped to defend themselves and carry bigger cargoes car-goes of destruction. The American commander is satisfied that they will "beat off the best enemy fighter opposition without excessive or uneconomical loss" and that his men "will hit any target they can see." General Eaker says that he prei fers to bomb by daylight when targets tar-gets can be seen and that, considering con-sidering the over-all war effort, this is desirable because the enemy will get no rest, being subject to attack any hour of the day and night. This interesting forecast of increasing in-creasing American aerial activity from Great Britain indicates that the air offensive against Germany will be stepped up during the next few months. This makes pertinent perti-nent a question recently asked in a London newspaper: "What has become of those 1,000 bomber raids on Germany?" The air expert of the London Observer points out that a five per cent loss ratio on a 1,000-bomber raid means the loss of fifty aircraft air-craft and 350 members of the crews. Ninety such raids would mean the loss of 4,500 machines and more than 30,000 air crew men. Moreover, a 1,000-bomber raid requires about 3,500 tons of high-octane fuel, which means about a million gallons, or the capacity of a small tanker. |