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Show 1 . MOTOR FUEL The United States Office of War Information has issued some details of the vast proportion of the production of American motor fuel used by the United Nations directly for war. In their enumeration of its many uses in the field are included interesting- sidelines; for example, fuel to operate oper-ate blood plasma-refrigerators, for cooking troop meals, and for generators used in operating AA location instruments and searchlights. But it is the direct part fuel plays in modern warfare that is most interesting. No less than 80 times more is needed need-ed per day in this war as in the last. TIiq requirements for fighting aircraft and bombers are obvious. But the air force also needs fuel to operate the equipment used in constructing and maintaining airfields. In North Africa 130 airfields were repaired, expanded or constructed in the first 30 days of the operation. Navy needs are equally obvious, and these include fuel for machinery used in operating ports. For any large land operation the need for motor fuel has expanded tremendously. Strategically the power of moving armies over large distances and effecting enormous concentrations concen-trations of men and weapons is entirely due to motor fuel. There could be no better example than the success of the Russian advance southward across the Dniper. A great army in battle has received its day-to-day requirements from railheads a hundred miles away because motor transport and fuel in vast quantities were available. Tactically every modern weapon needs motor fuel to get it to the field of battle and keep it operating once it is in action. As a result, motor fuel has become the life blood of the modern military machine and a very great part of the needs of the Allies is provided by the United States of America. Ameri-ca. Every gallon so contributed, shortens the war. From The Stars and Stripes, newspaper published daily except Sunday for U. S. Armed Forces in the European Theatre of Operations. V |