Bryn Evans - The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force 1942 - 1945

Other titles by Bryn Evans:

With The East Surreys in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy

19421945

(2012, Pen & Sword Books Ltd)

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by
PEN & SWORD AVIATION
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
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Barnsley
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Copyright Bryn Evans, 2014

HARDBACK ISBN: 978-1-78346-260-5
PDF ISBN: 978-1-47383-657-0
EPUB ISBN: 978-1-47383-481-1
PRC ISBN: 978-1-47383-569-6

The right of Bryn Evans to be identified as the author of this work has been
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Dedication

For Jean,
and for all who have served in the blue of the RAF,
and other Allied air forces.

The Lost (extract):

Think of them. You did not die as these
caged in an aircraft that did not return.
Whenever hearts have song and minds have peace
or in your eyes the prides of banners burn,
think of these who dreamed and loved as you,
and gave their laughter, gave their sun and snow,
To them this debt you owe.

Their lives are ended, but dreams are not yet lost
if you remember in your laugh and song
these boys who do not sing, and laughed not long.

Herbert Corby

The Lost, p. 80, from The Terrible Rain The War Poets 193945, Brian Gardner, Methuen & Co. Ltd, London, 1966.

Contents

List of Plates

three Wellington torpedo-bombers led by Flight Lieutenant Lloyd Wiggins of No. 38 Squadron RAF.

List of Maps

Acknowledgements

My very first acknowledgements must be to Roderic Owen and Sir Arthur Tedder GCB. In 1948, for his ground-breaking book on The Desert Air Force, Roderic Owen was fortunate to gain an interview with Tedder who, at the time, was Marshal of the Royal Air Force Baron Tedder of Glenguin. In the Air Ministry in London an apprehensive Owen was ushered in to the office of the Chief of the Air Staff. In response to a previously formal request, Tedder, who had been the architect of the Desert Air Force (DAF), gave Owen a draft text of a Foreword for his book. Owen was both pleased and relieved to find it most appropriate and acceptable.

Owen, himself a veteran flyer of the DAF, recounted how he then asked if he could next write Tedders biography. In his typically self-deprecating way, Tedder responded by asking, Why? After discussion Tedder reluctantly agreed to Owen taking it on. One of the arguments Owen used to persuade Tedder was that an Air Force interpretation of the war was required, to counter those orthodox military and naval interpretations. Later, in 1966, Tedder would publish his own autobiography, With Prejudice. My efforts in writing The Decisive Campaigns of the Desert Air Force rest on many shoulders that have come before me, but none more so than those of Owen and Tedder.

There is another connection to those times, more than sixty years ago. Much of my underlying motivation for this book comes from my parents. My father Cliff served in RAF Bomber Command from 1939 to 1945. My mother, Tamar, told me of lying in bed in the months before I was born, and listening to the Luftwaffe bombers droning above as they flew over Doncaster on their way to bomb Sheffields steelworks. Consequently, during my childhood in the late forties and early fifties in the UK, my parents imbued me with the deepest respect and awe for what the RAF had done to turn back the German bombing raids.

Before going any further I must make two important apologies. The first is to the Allied navies, whose operations I was unable to cover in the scope of this book. The Allies naval forces were the foundation rock without which the North African and Italian campaigns could not even have been commenced.

The second apology must go to the ground support staff of the Desert Air Force, whose gruelling, round the clock work and dedication can never be understood fully and appreciated. From as early as 1942 until 1945 their sustained ability to keep DAF aircraft serviceable and flying combat operations, even on the very day on which they relocated to a new airfield hundreds of miles distant, is beyond comprehension.

I cannot begin to find the words to thank the many veterans of those times, to whom I have spoken in my research. In particular, I must sincerely thank Jack Ingate, Frank Jensen, Lloyd Leah, Bill McRae and Lloyd Wiggins, but the interest and support from everyone, veterans families and friends, has been inspirational to me. And again I must apologize for not being able to include all the contributions I have received. Yet, without such help, I could not have written a word.

Once again I am indebted to my editor, the well-known military historian and prolific author, Richard Doherty, for his passionate advice and suggested revisions. Drawing on his encyclopaedic knowledge and his many books on the North African and Italian campaigns, Richard has uncovered some quite unique and invaluable research material. As with my previous book on the East Surrey Regiment, I am especially grateful to Brigadier Henry Wilson at Pen and Sword Books, for taking on my proposal for this book, and making me get it done!

I am particularly appreciative of the many military histories on the air war in the Mediterranean, North African and Italian theatres, and must sincerely pay tribute to authors Chaz Bowyer, Andrew Brookes, John Herington, Christopher Shores, Andrew Thomas and, of course, Roderic Owen and Sir Arthur Tedder. There are too many research sources to list in their entirety, but a special thanks goes to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, the Imperial War Museum and Kings College in London, and the Royal United Services Institute of Australia in Sydney for access to their archives and collections. I have tried to attribute the most influential sources I have consulted in my research, and I can only apologize if I have inadvertently missed any.

Above all I owe everything to my wife Jean. Her love, interest and encouragement have been indispensable to my writing of this book.

Bryn Evans
Sydney
January 2014

Note

Owen, Tedder, p. 911.

Authors Note

During the Second World War, and for many years after, certain German aircraft manufactured by Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), such as the Bf109, were commonly referred to as the Messerschmitt 109 or Me109, particularly by Allied pilots and air crew. The terms were derived from the well-known designer Willy Messerschmitt, and his partner Robert Lusser. Airmen from those days still use the term Me109. I have used the technically correct, and now widely accepted, Bf109, except where direct quotes use Me109 from referenced sources.