A History of the Mediterranean Air War, 1940-1945: Volume One: North Africa, June 1940-January 1942: Volume 1 - North Africa, June 1940-January 1942 - Hardcover

Shores, Christopher; Massimello, Giovanni

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908117079 ISBN 13: 9781908117076

Verlag: Casemate Publishers, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

It is now more than 40 years since Fighters over the Desert was published, and nearly as long since this was followed by Fighters over Tunisia. Both volumes have long been out of print and collectors' items, but, despite much prompting, Christopher Shores has resolutely refused to permit their reprinting until he amassed so much more information. He has also long nursed a desire to expand the coverage to encompass the operations of the other types of aircraft involved in this interesting and important theater of war - the bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and maritime units. Further, it is his intention to extend the period covered to include the later operations over Sicily, Italy, the Aegean area, the Balkans and Southern Europe.

This then represents the first volume of a seminal series dealing with all these aspects and areas, which will also tie in with the earlier Grub Street volumes which he and his collaborators have produced. Thus a full coverage of all aspects of aerial operations throughout the whole of the Mediterranean area will be the ultimate result. Further, these volumes will link appropriately and directly with his other works of this nature, dealing both with the Far East and the war in Europe.

Readers will then be able to follow the wartime careers of units and personnel involved from volume to volume throughout the war. Operations directly over the main battlefronts will be dealt with as previously, on a daily basis. However, to allow a clearer view to be obtained of operations elsewhere in the theater, or of a different nature, separate chapters will deal specifically with the night bombers, the air defense of the base areas, and the naval co-operation activities. Wide use of maps will be made throughout this and subsequent volumes together with a considerable number of photographs integrated into the text. Long awaited by many, if any work can be said to be comprehensive and definitive, this is it.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Christopher Shores began by writing the occasional book about military aviation, then quickened the pace as he grew older. By now, readers and reviewers are hard-pressed to keep up with him. Meanwhile, he pursued a career as a land surveyor and director of one of Europe's largest firms of property advisers.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945

Volume One: North Africa, June 1940 – January 1942

By Christopher Shores, Giovanni Massimello, Russell Guest

Grub Street

Copyright © 2012 Christopher Shores, Giovanni Massimello and Russell Guest
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-908117-07-6

Contents

Introduction, 
Chapter 1 Background, 
Chapter 2 The Opening Rounds, 
Chapter 3 Graziani Makes a Move, 
Chapter 4 Operation Compass, 
Chapter 5 Enter the Luftwaffe, 
Chapter 6 Reverses and Reinforcements, 
Chapter 7 Cretan Diversion, 
Chapter 8 Midsummer Crisis, 
Chapter 9 Operation Battleaxe, 
Chapter 10 Operation Crusader, 
Chapter 11 A New Year Dawns – Darkly, 
Chapter 12 The RAF's Night Bombing Offensive, 
Chapter 13 Blitz on Egypt, 
Chapter 14 In Defence of Tripoli, 
Chapter 15 In Support of the Royal Navy, 
Bibliography, 
Indices, 

CHAPTER 1

BACKGROUND

The Royal Air Force's Command Structure

Command of the RAF in the area termed 'the Middle East' divested from 11 June 1940 on the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOCinC), Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Longmore, GCB,DSO, who had taken up the appointment as commander of what was already known as 'Royal Air Force, Middle East' from Air Chief Marshal Sir William Mitchell as recently as 13 May 1940. At that time the command was essentially responsible only for Egypt, but Longmore's brief was clear from the start. On the outbreak of war with Italy, he would become liable not just for this country, but for units in Iraq, Aden and British Somaliland, the Sudan, Palestine and Trans-Jordan, and Malta. Additionally, his responsibility would encapsulate any operations which might occur in East Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya), Cyprus, Turkey, the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria and Rumania), and over the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea and Persian Gulf. This was a massive task, which would soon prove to be beyond the abilities of any single commander.

Royal Air Force, Middle East, thus covered potentially a vast area of some four and a half million square miles for which it fielded just 29 squadrons, equipped with around 300 aircraft, most of which were obsolescent if not actually obsolete. Nearly half of this force was based in Egypt for the primary duty of securing the Suez Canal, the main Mediterranean Fleet anchorage and base at Alexandria, and the route via the Red Sea to India and beyond. To aid Longmore in his new role were his Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), Air Vice-Marshal R.M. 'Peter' Drummond, and his Air Officer i/c Administration, Air Vice-Marshal A.C.Maund. His fellow supreme commanders of the other services were, for the army, General Sir Archibald Wavell, who had a similarly wide-ranging area of command, and for the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, who was Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean and East Indies. Fortunately for the purposes of liaison, Longmore's headquarters were located in the same building in Cairo as were Wavell's; however, Cunningham insisted in carrying on the naval tradition of living aboard his flagship.

Just as Longmore took up his new and demanding position, the German breakthrough at Sedan was taking place, so soon to lead to the withdrawal of France from the war, and the entry of Italy into the conflict. The operations which followed the latter event and which affected those locations outside Egypt and Libya particularly, have been detailed in other titles in this series (see Malta: the Hurricane Years, 1940-41; Malta: the Spitfire Year, 1942; Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1940-41; and Dust Clouds in the Middle East).

Within RAF, Middle East, Egypt Group had been formed on 18 April 1939 with headquarters at Heliopolis, controlling initially Advanced Wing which incorporated 33, 45, 208 and 211 Squadrons. In command of this very important unit was Air Cdr R.Collishaw, DSO, OBE, DSC, DFC, who had been one of the leading scout (or fighter) pilots of the First World War. Three days after its formation, Grp Capt L.O.Brown, DFC, AFC, arrived from London to become Collishaw's SASO.

Other units formed around this time were 1 (Bomber) Wing with 14, 30 and 55 Squadrons, 2 (Bomber) Wing with 60, 84 and 113 Squadrons, and the Bomber Transport Wing with 70 and 216 Squadrons. However, the majority of these units were based in Iraq or Trans-Jordan at this time; 60 Squadron was actually in India.

Not included within the establishments of any of these wings at the time the new group was being formed, and initially held for the defence of Alexandria and the Suez Canal, were 80 Squadron which had reached Ishailia from England in May 1938, equipped with Gladiators, and a second fighter unit, 112 Squadron, which had disembarked on arrival from the UK during May 1939. However, once established, this unit would be required to despatch detachments southwards for the defence of Port Sudan.

On 4 August 1939, just prior to the outbreak of war in Europe, but with the threat very present, the units of Advanced Wing moved to their war stations. From Ismailia 33 Squadron went to Qasaba, 45 Squadron to Fuka and 211 Squadron to Daba, while 208 Squadron moved from Heliopolis to Mersa Matruh. All these new bases were on the Egyptian Mediterranean coastline, between the Delta and the frontier with Libya. A month later Grp Capt Brown moved from Heliopolis to HQ, Advanced Wing, at Maaten Bagush as commanding officer. His place as SASO of Egypt Group was taken by Wg Cdr E.B.Addison, OBE.

As the Advanced Wing units moved forward, those of 1 (Bomber) Wing began flying into Ismailia, 14, 30, 55 and 70 Squadrons all arriving there during the latter days of August.

Following the outbreak of war with Germany on 3 September 1939, a wholesale renumbering of units occurred. First, however, on the 18th of that month 201 Group was formed from elements of 86 Wing and the Hal Far (Malta) detachment of that wing. The genesis of this unit was somewhat complicated; originally formed in 1937 as 1 (General Reconnaissance) Wing aboard HMS Cyclops, the depot ship of the 1st Submarine Flotilla, it was shore-based at Kalafrana, Malta, to control flyingboat squadrons seeking to counter Italian submarines operating off the Spanish coast during the civil war in that country. It reformed in the UK on the RAF depot ship MV Dumana on 9 May 1939, and on the same day became 86 Wing for Mediterranean Command. It sailed for Malta, but after arrival there moved on to Alexandria at the start of June 1939. Here 201 Group was formed, but shortly thereafter Dumana and the balance of 86 Wing returned to Malta. Thus the new group was based upon Alexandria, to control all General Reconnaissance (GR) units in Egypt, including disembarked squadrons of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Commanding officer was Grp Capt H.W.G.J. Penderel, who in practice initially had control of no squadrons pending the arrival of units equipped with Sunderland flyingboats.

Three days after the formation of 201 Group, HQ, Egypt, became 202 (Operations) Group, responsible for the control of all RAF operations over the Western Desert. This same date, 21 September 1939, saw the formation of four new wings. These were:

250 (Bomber) Wing – created by the renumbering of 1 (Bomber) Wing at Ismailia. The wing was to control only 30 and 55 Squadrons, for 14 Squadron was about to depart for Amman in Trans-Jordan, and then for the Sudan.

251 (Bomber) Wing – similarly created by the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Casemate Publishers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1908117079
• ISBN 13: 9781908117076
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 416
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: preigu; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; 49078; Deutschland