IN THE AIR: Impressive

Of late the British press has been demanding more activity of the Royal Air Force. Last week it got plenty.

Late one afternoon a squadron of British bombers left their North Sea bases and flew toward the German coast. Near Helgo land Bight they sighted, through a thin mist, a German battleship, a cruiser, sev eral destroyers, a submarine. The sub marine opened fire, then submerged. A few minutes later a squadron of Messerschmitt pursuit ships came up. For an exciting half-hour the British were under fire by turns from above and below.

Down went three of the British bombers (according to the British) and five Messerschmitts, before the British ran for home in the growing darkness. Said the British formation leader: "The German planes burned for some time after hitting the water. . . . They looked like enormous beacons. . . . They not only lit up the water but illuminated the sky, which added to the impressiveness of the fight." According to Berlin, 20 British bombers were engaged, ten of them shot down; the German loss was one plane.

Four days later the British went back to Helgoland Bight and found the Messerschmitts waiting for them. In what the British called "fierce fighting" and the Germans "a terrific battle," the British (according to the British) got twelve Messerschmitts and lost seven bombers. According to Berlin, the British lost 34 bomb ers, the Germans two Messerschmitts.

Statistically, the war in the air had turned into a neutral editor's shambles.