Fly Past

WORLD WAR TWO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

42 FLYPAST November 2018

ANTHONY ROGERS CONCLUDES HIS STUDY OF AIR ACTION OVER THE AEGEAN SEA BY

FOCUSING ON THE EVENTS OF OCTOBER 9, 1943

A

llied forces waged a disastrous

three-month campaign in the

Aegean during 1943, with

many losses on land, at sea and in

the air. But the German victories

came at a cost.

As explained in A Minor Affair in

FlyPast’s August issue, in September

that year British-led forces joined

resident Italian troops in occupying

the Dodecanese and other islands

in the Aegean. A significant Allied

presence was also maintained on

the islands of Leros and Kos, but

the latter fell to the Germans after a

short battle on October 4.

On that day, six squadrons of

P-38 Lightnings of the USAAF’s 1st

and 14th Fighter Groups arrived

at Gambut, in Libya, in support of

continuing British efforts in

the Aegean.

Leros, garrisoned by Italian army

and navy personnel and several

thousand, mainly British troops,

was the next major objective for

the Germans. To prevent or at least

delay them invading, submarines

and warships struck at their

shipping, achieving a major

success on October 7 by sinking

an Axis troop transport,

the Olympos, together with

accompanying vessels.

The Luftwaffe responded with a

Ju 87 ‘Stuka’ attack that damaged

the cruiser HMS Penelope – with

bomb splinters also striking the

cruiser Sirius, killing more than 20

personnel and injuring nearly 60.

SPOTTED

Also in the Aegean at the time

was another naval formation,

Credential Force, comprising the

cruiser HMS Carlisle and four

destroyers: Petard and Panther

plus Aldenham (initially) and the

Greek RHS Themistocles – this

second pair being relieved by the

destroyers HMS Rockwood and

RHS Miaoulis during the afternoon

of Friday, October 8.

On the Saturday morning all five

ships were proceeding at 12kts on

a course of 160 ̊ some 70 miles

(112km) northeast of Crete when

two low-flying Arado seaplanes

appeared at 0750hrs, evidently

shadowing the force. One of these

‘spotters’ was claimed damaged by

a patrolling Bristol Beaufighter and

the other driven off.

The convoy sailed on unescorted

for about 40 minutes until the

arrival of several P-38s (probably

of the 1st Fighter Group’s 27th

Fighter Squadron), and air

cover remained for the rest of

the morning, each formation of

Lightnings staying until after the

arrival of their relief flight.

Towards midday, however,

several minutes passed with no

aerial protection – when, as fate

would have it, Ju 87 Stukas of I./

Sturzkampfgeschwader 3 (I./St.G

3), operating from Megara, in

mainland Greece, arrived overhead.

One Stuka after another dived

on their respective targets before

releasing their bombs at around

3,000ft (914m). The ships’ guns

put up a tremendous barrage, but

the aircrews were undeterred, and

HMS Panther took a direct hit. The

Fleet-class destroyer split in two

and quickly sank.

Three or four bombs struck

Carlisle on its aft section, at least

one detonating on impact. Others

burst just after passing completely

through the ship, which remained

afloat but immobilised. In all, some

60 officers and ratings lost their

lives and 20 were injured.

All but one Stuka returned to

base. The exception was a Ju 87D-4

(S7+AK) which had been struck by

anti-aircraft fire. The pilot, Uffz

Siegfried Martens, and wireless

operator Ofw Ernst Kröger were

reported missing. The remaining

I./St.G 3 aircraft narrowly

avoided contact with approaching

Lightnings of the 37th FS operating

from Gambut.

The squadron’s commander,

Major William Leverette, described

Above right

Among those who took

part in the convoy

attack was Uffz Friedrich

Eisenbach of 1./St.G 3. In

November he supported

ground troops during the

fi ve-day battle for Leros.

‘Fritz’ Eisenbach was

reported missing over

Russia on March 31, 1944.

Right

In 2004, wreckage of a

Ju 87 snagged the net

of a fi shing boat. After

being brought nearer

to Rhodes it was left at

a depth of 50ft, from

where it was recovered

by the Hellenic Air Force

Underwater Operations

Team in October 2006.

Indications are that it was

one of several Stukas shot

down on October 9, 1943,

and likely to be S7+GM.

Neither Lt Rolf Metzger

(pilot) nor Uffz Hans

Sonnemann (wireless

operator) survived. HAF

MUSEUM/AVM GEORGE J

BELDECOS, HAF

Bottom right

Ju 87Ds of I./St.G;

Sturzkampfgeschwader

3 was redesignated

Schlachtgeschwader 3

in mid-October 1943. ALL

AUTHOR UNLESS STATED