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 viewof 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