JANUARY 8 T H ,

1942

FLIGHT

CABLE CUTTERS
Pictorial Comparison Between the British
and German Methods

H E photographs on this page will come as somewhat of a

shock to people of that tiresome section of the populace
who wrongly imagine Germany has a monopoly where
clever implements of war are concerned. In the two lower pictures
is shown the cumbersome and hideous fend-off bar, weighing
several hundreds of pounds, which the enemy is fitting to some
of his Heinkel Ills. What happens to the e.g. and bomb load
with all this weight projecting in front can be guessed.
On the right is the Avro Manchester, on the leading edge of
which can be discerned the neat cutters which we employ. In
all there are eighteen of them. A close-up of two of the cutters
is shown below. Apart from the difference in bulk and weight,
the German device, it should be remembered, is only a fendoff, whereas that used by ourselves is a cable cutter.
With
either form of protection de-icing becomes a problem of no
small magnitude.

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