tabpub
Posts: 1019
Joined: 8/10/2003 From: The Greater Chicagoland Area Status: offline
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Or, re:CAP, as in..... Memorandum To: SEAC Fighter Command – attention Lord Barkley From; USAAF Air Coordinator Far East – Major Mel Content Re: Combat Air Patrol over friendly bases Sir Charles: We have heard of the increasing enemy air commitment over your air bases in Northern Burma/Eastern India over the last two days. One of your subordinates has been on the teletype, requesting the accelerated release of the re-constituted AVG group from the States for immediate deployment to the SE Asia theater. At this time, we will have to deny this request. Higher authority in the States says that this group is still undergoing ground and basic air flight training; most of the pilots are at the bare minimum USAAF standards at the moment, committing them to air combat would be an act of a criminal nature. All further P38G production has been routed to your command for the duration of this declared emergency. Suggest re-equipping USAFF groups in your area with this plane. Also, recommend re-combining any separated groups back together ASAP. While separating a group is more flexible, finding good command officers is difficult and expensive. Have noted some commanders seem more like morale officers than combat leaders in some fragmented groups. I think that with these changes, and a policy change to increase the level of air patrol over our bases in the area, that we can avoid further “Ledo Incidents”; which are bad for both morale and our combat efficiency. Our Chinese brethren are being pushed on in the Yenen area; and while there are at least two Corps proceeding there to reinforce the Red River line, they are in dire need of any assistance that we can provide. The supply paucity in China prevents them from re-equipping more than a handful of units at one time; and limits their combat abilty when they do get re-equipped. Good luck. Major M. Content
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Sing to the tune of "Man on the Flying Trapeze" ..Oh! We fly o'er the treetops with inches to spare, There's smoke in the cockpit and gray in my hair. The tracers look fine as a strafin' we go. But, brother, we're TOO God damn low...
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