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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1375.PDF
JULY 2ND, iq42 FLIGHT 3 War in The Air The Convoy Battle : Our Loss of Cyrenaica : Much Damage to Emden The R.A.F. Air-Sea Rescue Service at work. Here the rescue launch is manoeuvring towards a rubber dinghy containing the crew of a Halifax. MR. ATTLEE gave some more facts about the convoy battle in his address to the House of Commons on June 23rd. The eastern convoy, which started from Alexandria, got some supply ships into Tobruk, but did not reach Malta. The Italian fleet cut it off, and the convoy ships used up their fuel in taking avoiding action. So, when it was known that the western convoy from Gibraltar had reached Malta, Admiral Vian turned the eastern con voy back to Alexandria. At the moment it is not clear whether the ships which reached Tobruk succeeded in escaping again, or whether they and their cargoes fell into the hands of the enemy. Other facts about these fights are well worth putting on record and bear ing in mind. The Royal Navy lost one flight cruiser, four destroyers, and two escort vessels, all of which were sunk. The Italian fleet which intercepted the Alexandria convoy included the two 35,000-ton battleships, Littorio and I'itlorio Veneto, both of which had previously been damaged by our air torpedoes. An American report had given only one of these as present, to gether with a battleship of the Cavour class. On this occasion one of them was hit by a torpedo, though Mr. Attlee did not say whether that missile was discharged from an aircraft or from a warship. The Trento class cruiser was first disabled and set on fire by air attack, and then a British submarine loosed off one or more o£ the powerful 2iin. class of torpedo, and the cruiser went to the bottom. Two enemy destroyers and one U-boat are also known to have been sunk. Other ships were doubtless damaged. In the two engagements the enemy lost at least 65 aircraft, while we lost 30, some of them naval machines. The western convoy and its escort shot down 43 enemy aircraft for certain and 22 more were probably destroyed, while many more were damaged. The R.A.F. and the Navy are both so scrupulously modest in distinguishing between, certainties and probables in air combats that readers may well reckon the 43 probables as dead losses to the Axis. Our Set-back in Libya A NYTHING like full news about our •**• defeat in Libya is not probable for the present. Some facts, however, emerge clearly even at this stage. The sustained air attacks on Malta did not reduce the island, but they evidently gave the enemy a chance to get large supplies across the Mediterranean to Libya. The majority of the British tanks, apart from the splendid but not numerous General Grants, were out gunned by the heavy German tanks. Ours had mainly little two-pounder guns, which proved useless against the 47-mm. guns in the German tanks. It had been understood that we had starved the garrisons in the Pacific and in India and Burma so as to equip Libya adequately, but we did not accomplish that object. It seems likely that the majority of the heavy tanks which have recently been turned out in Great Britain and the United States have been sent to Russia, and With the rescued Halifax crew safely on board, the launch speeds towards its base. Many lives have been saved by the Air-Sea Rescue Service. VD '
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