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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 0026.PDF
FLIGHT JANUARY IST, 1942 1941 N RETROSPECT Britain) and sometimes so very effective, as in East Africa and Crete. Somaliland was conquered by the middle of March; Eritrea was in our hands by the middle of April. Addis Ababa was occupied by our troops about the same time, and the remaining Italian forces in Abyssinia were reduced one after another. , The last place to hold out was Gondar, and it was left alone during the rainy season, and finally forced to surrender by the end of November. In all these operations, aircraft, mainly the South African Air Force, played a most prominent part, both by reconnaissance (a very important matter in such difficult jungle country) and as a striking force. The Germans Come South The failure of the Regia Aeronautica all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean induced Hitler to send a force of German aircraft to the help of Italy, and a large con tingent, with a high-proportion of Ju 87 dive-bombers, was stationed in Sicily. Germany was also showing signs of preparing to invade Greece, and it became important to send stores and troops to that country. On January 10th an important convoy, mainly intended for Greece, was escorted through the Sicilian Straits by the Mediterranean Fleet. It was heavily attacked by Stukas on the way, and the carrier, H.M.S. Illustrious, was damaged internallv by bombs. The cruiser Southampton was also hit and had to be sunk by our own ships. The Illustrious was taken into Malta harbour, where first aid was administered, and then she steamed off to Alex andria, and was finally repaired in an American dockyard. While she was lying at Malta the Stukas made great efforts to destroy her, but they failed, with heavy losses to them selves. At the same time, our bombers raided the Sicilian airfields. As a result of the whole incident, the Germans lost 90 Stukas—50 shot down in air combat and 40 de stroyed on the ground. The place of H.M.S. Illustrious with the Mediterranean Fleet was taken by H.M.S. Formidable. Meanwhile, transports were taking British troops to Greece. Warships had to guard the convoys, and aircraft had to add their protection. It was not possible to watch the crossing from Italy and Sicily to Africa at the same time, and the Germans succeeded in getting a large force, with tanks, across there. There was a rumour that a German expedition was to sail from Genoa for some port in Africa, so the western part of the Mediterranean Fleet, under Admiral Somerville, accompanied by the Ark Royal, bombarded Genoa in February, while the aircraft from the carrier bombed objectives round Leghorn and Pisa. Shortly afterwards a party of British parachute troops landed in Southern Italy, but the objects and details of the raid have not been diseased. Then, towards the end of March, the Germans advanced on Cyrenaka, defeated a too venturesome British column, and took two Generals prisoner. General Wavell, with his force depleted by the needs of Greece, withdrew, only hold ing on to Tobruk, and the Axis forces once more reached the frontier of Egypt. , With the Germans massing in the Balkans and the r In June the Germans captured the island of Crete by the use of airborne troops. Gliders were used in large numbers. This photograph shows Junkers Ju S2S — mostly wrecked — on Maleme airfield. British retreating in Libya, the Italian Fleet plucked up heart to sally forth. A Sunderland spotted their ships and sent in an urgent report. The result was the battle of Matapan, in which T.S.R. machines from H.M.S. For midable planted torpedoes into the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto, Blenheims bombed other Italian ships, and Admiral Cunningham's battleships sank two or mort' Italian cruisers. This was some consolation for the British setbacks in Libya. The Failure in Greece But in April the Germans fell upon Yugoslavia and Greece in strength. Their aircraft outnumbered those which the Empire and Greece could muster there, and German air superiority, accompanied by overwhelming numbers of Panzer divisions, speedily overcame all oppo sition. After hard and gallant fighting, the British troops and squadrons, as well as some of the Greek troops, were evacuated, some to Egypt, some to Crete. During the month of April, 250-odd Axis aircraft were destroyed by the Middle East Command, but too many were left over. There promptly followed Rashid Ali's revolt in Iraq, which had been pretty well denuded of British troops and aircraft. For a short while the R.A.F. station at Habbaniyah seemed to be in danger, but prompt and daring air action averted the danger. Indian troops were flown up in bomber-transport machines, and R.A.F. squadrons were found somehow and sent to the scene of action. The revolt speedily collapsed. The Germans, at the time, were busy invading Crete by air. We had left no aircraft on the island, and the Navy undertook to see that no enemy troops should reach it by sea. It was decided to try whether our ground troops could hold the place without air support. The experiment may well have been worth making, but it failed. At great loss to themselves, the Germans poured in men by troop-carriers and gliders, some of them landing by parachute, while Stukas battered our gun posts and infantry. As a result, an air attack, unsupported by Panzers, over- H.M.S. Victorious, the aircraft carrier which played a prominent part in the sinking of the Bismarck. H.M.S. Formidable has also been completed and taken part in operations.
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