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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0376.PDF
132 FEBRUARY 13TH, 1941 WAR IN THE AIR (Continued) Feb. I 3 4 5 ., 6 7 , 8 AIR GERMAN AiivraFt 4 14 4 — 3 It LOSSES TO FEBRUARY 8. , HRITliH * A.rcraft 1 7 — 1 9 Piioti 1 7 — 1 9 , MIDDLE EnemyAircraft 14 624 4 5 9 62 EAS1 , BritishAircraft 1 —2 — — 1 4 Total : 6. German .osse. by R.A.F and ground defences in Northern Area 4,224. R.A.F. aircraft lost in Northern Area 1,729.in the Middio East he R.A. F. have destroyed about 811 enemy aircraft and have lost 95 for just three weeks, spent his time between taking pictures in having his hair cut by a tough Australian who had never cut hair before. We were queer specimens. A hail of earth and chips of rock fell all around us. The Yank got a superficial wound in the hand. When at last things sub sided we got to the hangar. I found one lad lying on a bench with a deep wound in his leg, but smoking and joking as if tne whole thing was a lark. "Then we saw the gladdening sight of a formation of Hurricanes coming zooming overhead to attack enemy bombers and fighters. We watched enthralled. One enemy aircraft crashed in flames less than half a mile away. It was smashed to smithereens when we dashed up. We guessed which squadron had done the damage and drove as fast as we could to its landing ground. We were lucky. The pilots had just landed when we got there. It had been a grand victory. That afternoon no fewer than five enemy fighters had been shot down, two G50S by a Canadian pilot from Toronto and three CR42S by the inimitable " Imshi." This is the nickname of a flying officer who hails from Blackpool, and who has just been awarded the Distin- guished Flying Cross. This last three brought ' Imshi's' total bag up to 13 since December 9. He was still in his flying suit when I saw him. He had been obliged to force- land after shooting down the third Italian, and had been brought in by Australians. ' Imshi' loves fighters; he loves speed in almost anything. Some time ago he acquired an Italian tanK. This he guards jealously and calls it his car. ' Imshi' and I flew into a beautiful sandstorm on the way back to Group Headquarters. When the air did clear we found we were far over the sea. We dined with a reconnaissance squadron. Dinner was bully beef and dry biscuits washed down with neat whisky, as there was no water. Prisoners of War " CUDDENLY the flap of the tent opened and a head *-* poked in ' Have you a doctor here? said a Cockney voice. It was an ambulance driver who had lost his way in the dark and had a full load in his car, among them six wounded Italians. In a few minutes the patients were re- ceiving attention from the Royal Air Force doctor. Four' men were put to bed with sedatives, others had their wounds dressed. There had been a tank battle and the Italians were picked up after the fray. One, who came from Carmona, was badly injured, with a gashed hip, and when the doctor took a pair of scissors to cut away the fellow's trousers he screamed. It was, I think, the most dramatic scene I have ever witnessed. We were in semi-darkness, just the flickering light of a hurricane lamp. The Italian was given morphia, and he lay muttering and glistening with sweat. The doctor sat with him throughout the night, giving him oxygen. He seemed to revive a little and repeated the name ' Ricci, Ricci.' Perhaps that was his brother, or best friend. At dawn he died. "It is not all drama here in the desert; there are often some amusing scenes. On one occasion a motor cyclist arrived—a grubby, tousled and cheery signaller. On the pillion was an Italian prisoner The signaller explained that he had been sent forward with telephone wire when the prisoner came innocently toward him. It took him a split second to knock the Italian off his bike, mount it himself, and compel the Italian to jump on behind. Then he rode back triumphantly with his spoils. '' How can I picture this amazing war in the Libyan Desert, where simple human episodes blend with great military strategy ; where our airmen camp on sandy wastes making tea with salty water and for days eating nothing but biscuits and bully, and where a loaf of bread baked a week ago is luxury. It's got to be seen and lived to be fully appreciated, but my, it's good! " The Luftwaffe is certainly making.an effort to show the Regia Aeronautica what is meant by the word energy. Some of its machines have flown over the Suez Canal, and, according to claims made by both the Germans a Italians, German bombers have raided the harbours at both. Sollum and Bardia. Perhaps it was also German bombers which attacked a merchant ship conveying Italian prisoners of war from Libya. The ship was hit, and-many of the Italian prisoners were killed and wounded. The Fleet Air Arm have scored again. Swordfish T.S.R. machines have raided Sardinia and dropped bombs and tor- pedoes on a dam on the River Tirso (the name is given in the Italian communique), doing much damage to the dam, and so presumably interfering with the electric power for the island, which depends on that dam. One Swordfish was shot down, but the Italians say that the crew were taken prisoner. This part of their communique, at any rate, may be taken as true. Mr. Churchill's Broadcast '"THE Prime Minister's broadcast last Sunday evening •*-. (incidentally delivered during an Alert) must have stirred the hearts and confirmed the courage of all who heard it and of all who have since read it. The tribute which he paid to (among others) Air Chief Marshal Long- more will have been noted. Not only did the Prime Minister comment on the recent glorious victories in Northern Africa, but he actually gave us all some news. He told us how the fleet of the Western Mediterranean had steamed up to Genoa and bombarded the place. Three hundred tons of shells were poured into the military targets round the harbour and inland. Not far off the Fleet Air Arm bombed targets at Leghorn and Pisa, losing only one Swordfish. Not the least impressive part of his broadcast was the passage in which Mr. Churchill summed up the recent victory won by the defences of Malta over the dive- bombers of the Luftwaffe. He described that island one of the most strongly defended fortresses in the world against air attack, and he recounted how the Germans had concentrated an entire Geschwader of their machines in Sicily. Although H.M.S. Illustrious, undergoing repairs at Malta, was a great prize, and the German airmen attacked it for several days, out of 150 dive-bombers they lost go machines, 50' in the air and 40 on the ground, and then accepted the defeat. The necessary repairs to the aircraft carrier were completed at Malta, and she steamed away under her own power at a speed of 23 knots to the safety of Alexandria. Everyone had felt some anxiety about the Illustrious, and this news of her safety came as a welcome relief. This fight was another great victory for air defence (dynamic defence, to use the words of Capt. Liddell Hart) over air attack. Seldom has the bombing of hostile aerodromes had a more gratifying and concrete result than this British assault on the German stations in Sicily. The German assault on British shipping in the Atlantic was also mentioned in grave terms by the Prime Minister, but he expressed his full confidence in the ability of the Royal Navy and the Coastal Command of the Royal Air Force to deal with it, helped by supplies of ships from the United States, and relying 011 the determination of British merchant seamen. In this confidence all our readers will concur.
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