FlyPast – August 2018

WORLD WAR TWO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

52 FLYPAST August 2018

WORLD WAR TWO

52 FLYPAST August 2018

WORLD WAR TWOWORLD WAR TWO EASTERN MEDITERRANEANEASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

for in addition to providing cover

for the Royal Navy, P-38s carried

out shipping sweeps and strafing

attacks and bombing raids

against Kos.

The Lightning squadrons were

recalled just as they were making

their presence felt. For British

forces in the Aegean, the loss of

these superb machines would be

keenly felt.

Operations continued with

whatever aircraft were available.

Without suitable fighters, the

British retained a tenuous hold in

the Aegean.

BOWING TO THE

INEVITABLE

On the morning of Sunday,

September 26, the destroyers

HMS Intrepid and the Greek

Vasilissa Olga were bombed at their

moorings at Lakki. The later vessel

went down with much loss of life;

Intrepid sank in the early hours

of the 26th. Thereafter, bombing

raids became the norm until the fall

of Leros nearly two months later.

Unlike Kos, there was no suitable

airfield at Leros. Men and materiel,

therefore, were transported to the

island by sea. By early November,

Leros had been reinforced with

several infantry battalions and

supporting units.

Beaufighters and other types were

often in action but far from view

of those on Leros. On November

5 alone, Beaufighter units lost six

aircraft and four crews.

On the 6th, a low-level shipping

strike left the German auxiliary

vessels R34 and R194 disabled,

with at least three crew members

killed and many more wounded. In

return, 603 Squadron lost one and

47 Squadron lost two machines,

together with a crew. Another

belly-landed on returning to

Gambut. Two pilots of 7./JG

27 were each credited with a

Beaufighter destroyed.

The following day, a Beaufighter

of 252 Squadron was written off

and the crew injured in a take-off

accident. On the 10th, a pilot with

47 Squadron was killed and a 603

Squadron crew taken prisoner

when two more Beaufighters fell to

Messerschmitts of III./JG 27.

German forces began to land

at Leros early on November 12

and continued to do so until

the night of the 15th. On the

afternoon of the 16th, the main

British headquarters was overrun,

and its staff taken prisoner.

To spare further unnecessary

bloodshed, Brigadier Robert Tilney

surrendered his command.

Throughout the five-day battle, the

Luftwaffe had played a crucial role,

maintaining a menacing presence by

day, with just a short interruption

due to inclement weather.

Beaufighters and USAAF B-25

Mitchells had in the meantime

struck at Axis shipping, but with

little or no effect. An effort

was also made to reduce the

scale of the German air attack,

with Allied bombers targeting

Luftwaffe airfields.

Bad weather had prevented

Mediterranean Air Command from

mounting heavy raids on mainland

Greece, where most enemy bombers

attacking Leros were based.

The Aegean had been disastrous

for Churchill. If proof were needed,

it was shown that without air

support, such operations had little

to no chance of success. Ignoring

this fundamental rule, Churchill

had pressed on regardless.

Afterwards, the War Office

commented: “Our available

resources compared with those

required for the operations in

Italy, were very small. Activities in

the Aegean were, after all, a

minor affair.”

That ‘minor affair’ had cost

Britain an entire infantry brigade

and, together with other allied

forces, 20 naval vessels and

approximately 100 aircraft.

Hundreds had lost their lives and

thousands became prisoners of

war. The Germans, too, had paid

dearly, but in return retained

Rhodes, Kos and Leros for the rest

of the war.

“Without air support, such operations had little to no chance of

success. Ignoring this fundamental rule, Churchill had pressed on

regardless”

Below

Junkers Ju 87Ds, very

likely of I./StG 3, in

formation over the

Aegean. ALL VIA AUTHOR