|
The North Atlantic air ferry route was a series of Air Routes over the North Atlantic Ocean on which aircraft were ferried from the United States and Canada to Great Britain during World War II to support combat operations in the European Theater of Operations (ETO). The route was developed as one of four major routes along which United States aircraft were ferried to the major combat areas. It originated at several Army Air Bases in New England, which permitted short range single-engined aircraft to be flown to Britain using a series of intermediate airfields in Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland and Iceland. Long-range multi-engined aircraft could be flown from Newfoundland directly using Great Circle routes to airfields in Ireland and southwest England; or via the Azores to the UK or airfields in French Morocco to support Allied air forces in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO). Later in the war, air routes over the North Atlantic were developed from South Florida via Bermuda to the Azores. ==Origins== Although many air route surveys of the North Atlantic had been made in the 1930s, by the outbreak of World War II in Europe, civilian trans-Atlantic air service was just becoming a reality. It was soon suspended in favor of military activities. The increasing need for Britain and France to obtain military aircraft in the United States revived interest in intermediate airfields along the "stepping stone" of the North Atlantic.〔(Northrop A-17 )〕 〔(Curtiss P-40D (Kittyhawk I) )〕 〔(Airacobra I for RAF, P-400 )〕 〔(Mitchell with Royal Air Force )〕 〔(Brewster F2A-1 )〕〔(Global Networks Before Globalisation: Imperial Airways and the Development of Long-Haul Air Routes )〕 Although airports existed in Newfoundland, and Britain built an airfield in Reykjavik, Iceland (1940), the only practical way to get short-range aircraft to Europe was by cargo ship. With the Fall of France in June 1940, and the loss of much war materiel on the continent, the need for the British to purchase replacement materiel from the United States was urgent. Aircraft ordered by France and also by the Netherlands were impounded. The aircraft purchased in the United States by Britain were flown to airports in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, partially dis-assembled and loaded on ships and transported to England where they were unloaded and re-assembled, a process that could take several weeks, not counting repairing any damage to the aircraft incurred in the shipment. In addition, German U-boats operating in the North Atlantic Ocean were a constant menace to shipping routes in the North Atlantic making it very hazardous for merchant shipping between Newfoundland and Great Britain.〔(The Early Development of Air Transport and Ferrying )〕 Larger aircraft could be flown to the UK and the "Atlantic Ferry Organization" was set up to manage this using civilian pilots. On 2 September 1940, the Destroyers for Bases Agreement was completed. In exchange for fifty obsolete destroyers, the U. S. got ninety-nine-year leases for air and naval bases in the Dominion of Newfoundland, Bermuda, British Guiana, Antigua, Trinidad, St. Lucia, Jamaica and the Bahamas. (Technically, not all bases were exchanged; some were "gifted.")〔( The New Bases Acquired for old Destroyers )〕 Although Iceland was viewed as a part of Europe, Greenland was considered a part of North America and subject to the Monroe doctrine. President Roosevelt vetoed Canadian and British plans for the occupation of the island. In 1940, Greenland was subject to a U.S. protectorate enforced by the U.S. Coast Guard, and a survey for airfields was made. On 9 April 1941, the United States signed a treaty with the defected Danish Ambassador in Washington, allowing for unlimited U.S. military use of the island. The agreement, after explicitly recognizing Danish sovereignty over Greenland, granted to the United States the right to locate and construct aircraft landing fields and other facilities for the defense of Greenland and for the defense of the North American continent. President Roosevelt then authorized the War Department to build airfields and other facilities in Greenland. The United States had also taken over the defense of Iceland under an agreement with Britain in July 1941, relieving the British Empire troops then in Iceland. United States Army engineers began improving the airstrips previously begun by the British.〔(The North Atlantic Route )〕〔John D. Carter, “The Air Transport Command,” The Army Air Forces in World War II, vol. 7, Services Around the World, ed. Wesley Frank Craven and James Lea Cate, 42, 44–45 (Washington, D.C., Office of Air Force History, new imprint, 1983).〕 Using these new airfields in Newfoundland, Greenland and Iceland, land based air routes were developed to transport United States aircraft, soldiers and war supplies between the United States and the United Kingdom. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「North Atlantic air ferry route in World War II」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|