Africa

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German and Italian Ju-87 dive bombers attack Tobruk, sinking the armed boarding vessel HMS Chakla. "

 

HMS Chakla under attack at Tobruk

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Investment of the last Italian stronghold in Abyssinia is complete. The garrison is surrounded and under air and artillery bombardment, but the British ground commanders are reporting that it is invulnerable to siege due to its position and supplies of fresh water.

 

Vickers Wellesley during a take off from an East African airstrip 15 May 1941"

[Cybermat47]

7 minutes ago, cardboard_killer said:

Vickers Wellesley

 

?

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Two sloops and two Australian destroyers are escorting the coastal tanker Pass of Balmaha which is taking 750 tons of fuel to beseiged Tobruk. About thirty miles out, they are attacked by Italian Ju-87 and SM-79 aircraft. Sloop HMS Auckland is hit by one or two bombs that blow off her stern and break her back, with 34 killed. Sloop HMAS Parramatta rescues 162 survivors while still under attack. The tanker is damaged by near-misses and will be towed into Tobruk by the Australian destroyer Waterhen.

 

HMS Auckland sinking "

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Destroyers HMAS Waterhen and HMS Defender are running supplies to Tobruk at high speed when they are attacked by seven Ju-87 Picchiatellos of 239ª Squadriglia Bombardamento.

- Chief Warrant Officer Ennio Tarantola lands his 500-kg (1,100 lb) bomb on the stern of the Waterhen. The detonation causes immediate flooding of the engine and boiler rooms, but miraculously there are no casualties. The crew transfers to HMS Defender, which takes Waterhen under tow but she founders several hours later.

 

Crew of Waterhen abandoning ship

 

HMAS Waterhen sinking"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Destroyers HMS Defender and HMAS Vendetta are returning from Tobruk at night in bright moonlight when spotted by a single Ju-88 on patrol. They are carrying the survivors of HMAS Waterhen, sunk earlier by Italian aircraft. The bomber lands a near miss that detonates beneath Defender, breaking her back. The crew and passengers are all transferred to Vendetta and a tow attempted, but she has to be cast off and scuttled off Sidi Barrani. There are no casualties.

 

HMS Defender with her back broken. "

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "While flying to his base alone, over northwest Egypt on 29 August 1941, [top Australian ace of the war, and top P-40 ace of the war Clive "Killer"] Caldwell was attacked by two Bf 109s, in a simultaneous approach at right angles. His attackers included one of Germany's most famous aces, Leutnant Werner Schröer, also of JG 27, in a Bf 109E-7. Caldwell sustained three separate wounds from ammunition fragments and or shrapnel. His Tomahawk was hit by more than 100 7.92 mm bullets and five 20 mm cannon shells, but he shot down Schröer's wingman, and heavily damaged Schröer's "Black 8", causing Schröer to disengage.^[13] On 23 November, Caldwell shot down an Experte, Hauptmann Wolfgang Lippert, Gruppenkommandeur (Group Commander) of II./JG 27, who bailed out. Lippert had struck the stabiliser and following capture had his legs amputated but 10 days later, a gangrene infection set in and he died on 3 December.^[14][15] For this action, Caldwell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.^[16]

 

[cardboard_killer]

[An interesting tangential fact from the Med, 80 years ago today] "• Generale Cesare Amè, head of the Servizio Informazione Militari (SIM, Italy’s military intelligence), approves a break-in of the American embassy in Rome. Since Amè has keys to all the embassies in Rome, it is a simple matter to gain entry at night. The burglary team consists of two Carabinieri (national paramilitary police) specialists and two Italians employed by the embassy. One of the latter, messenger Loris Gherardi, opens the safe in the military attaché’s office.

- Among the items inside are the Black Code (named after the color of its binding) and its super-encipherment tables. The material, used by U.S. military attachés and ambassadors worldwide, is taken to SIM headquarters, photographed and returned. Information gained by reading American traffic will be invaluable to both the Italians and Germans."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today]

A Stuka crew assembles its equipment in North Africa on 16 September 1941 (Billhardt, Willi, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0859-12).

 

A Luftwaffe officer checks his flare gun in North Africa on 16 September 1941 (Billhardt, Willi, Federal Archive Picture 101I-433-0859-09).

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The East African campaign is wrapping up as isolated garrisons surrender. Today, 3,000 Italians at Wolchefit Pass capitulate to the King’s African Rifles after being besieged for several months.

 

• Operation Halberd

• An Italian CANT Z-506 seaplane spots the Halberd Convoy south of Sardinia. Less than five hours later SM-79 and SM-84 strike aircraft escorted by CR-42 biplane fighters attack with bombs and torpedoes in several waves. Sergente Maggiore Luigi Valiotti from 354a Squadriglia begins performing aerobatics over the convoy in an attempt to distract the astounded ship’s gunners, who after a while start to shoot at him. He lasts 6 minutes before being killed when his Fiat is shot down.

- Torpedo bombers bear in and one SM-84 is downed by a Fulmar and three by AA fire. One SM-84 hits flagship Nelson in the bows, slowing her down. They narrowly miss destroyer Lightning. An SM-79 torpedoes and sinks the 12,400 ton troopship Imperial Star. Two more steamers are damaged by bombs. Battleship Rodney shoots down two Fulmars in error and Prince of Wales one.

 

 

- Although HMS Nelson is damaged and capable of only 16 knots, Vice Admiral Somerville keeps her and her destroyers with Force H and the convoy rather than weaken the escort. Ark Royal re-launches a group of Fulmars which strafe the Decimomannu airbase on Sardinia after the strike aircraft have landed, damaging several.

- At this time Ammiraglio di squadra Angelo Iachino is only 70+ miles away with battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, five cruisers, and fourteen destroyers. Despite the Regia Aeronatica being in contact with the convoy, the Regia Marina has not been apprised of its location, course, or speed.

- A Martin Maryland from Malta reports Iachino’s force to Somerville and he orders Vice Admiral Alban Curteis aboard Prince of Wales to proceed with Rodney and escorts to engage the enemy while he remains with Nelson and the convoy.

- Knowing he’s been spotted, and with his promised fighter cover not having shown up, Iachino reverses course in anticipation of air attack. Ark Royal launches twelve Swordfish with four Fulmars but they are unable to locate the Italian fleet.

- All total, the Italians lose 21 aircraft, including two search planes, ten MC-200 fighters that ditch after running out of fuel, and one CR-42 fighter that eventually shows up over the Italian fleet to be shot down by destroyer Lancieri.

 

Savoia-Marchetti SM-84s

 

HMS Nelson low in the water forward after being torpedoed"

The picture shows the Fiat BR20 attacking, with the splash (right centre) of the torpedo which hit the NELSON. (Imperial War Museum)

EDIT: The IWM is wrong; the bomber is an SM-84 according to the RN history site and Italian records.

Edited September 27, 2021 by cardboard_killer

[hebog5]

Just want to thank you cardboard-killer [and others] for providing historical snippets of great interest and value.

I always look forward to reading them.

[Stig]

On 8/29/2021 at 7:07 PM, cardboard_killer said:

[80 years ago today] "While flying to his base alone, over northwest Egypt on 29 August 1941, [top Australian ace of the war, and top P-40 ace of the war Clive "Killer"] Caldwell was attacked by two Bf 109s, in a simultaneous approach at right angles. His attackers included one of Germany's most famous aces, Leutnant Werner Schröer, also of JG 27, in a Bf 109E-7. Caldwell sustained three separate wounds from ammunition fragments and or shrapnel. His Tomahawk was hit by more than 100 7.92 mm bullets and five 20 mm cannon shells, but he shot down Schröer's wingman, and heavily damaged Schröer's "Black 8", causing Schröer to disengage.^[13] On 23 November, Caldwell shot down an Experte, Hauptmann Wolfgang Lippert, Gruppenkommandeur (Group Commander) of II./JG 27, who bailed out. Lippert had struck the stabiliser and following capture had his legs amputated but 10 days later, a gangrene infection set in and he died on 3 December.^[14][15] For this action, Caldwell was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.^[16]

 

 

So who was Schröer wingman that Caldwell shot down? According to Shores History of the Mediterranean Air War vol. 1, Jg 27 suffered no losses this day, and the only damaged aircraft was Caldwell's Tomahawk.

[cardboard_killer]

27 minutes ago, Stig said:

So who was Schröer wingman that Caldwell shot down?

 

I don't know. Maybe an over claim? The source for wikipedia is from https://web.archive.org/web/20060228073335/http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/caldw/caldw.htm

[JG1_Vonrd]

On 9/27/2021 at 11:57 AM, cardboard_killer said:

 

The picture shows the Fiat BR20 attacking, with the splash (right centre) of the torpedo which hit the NELSON. (Imperial War Museum)

EDIT: The IWM is wrong; the bomber is an SM-84 according to the RN history site and Italian records.

That's a damn good shot... almost down the throat.

[cardboard_killer]

1 hour ago, JG1_Vonrd said:

That's a damn good shot... almost down the throat.

 

We've been discussing it on another forum I'm on. The records states that the Nelson was hit on the port side, which seems like a hard thing based on that picture being from the Nelson. The speculation has been that the photo is actually from the Rodney (Nelson's sister ship); or, the ship was in a tight high speed turn to starboard exposing its port side; or that the photo was somehow a mirror image (doubtful).

[Stig]

14 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

 

I don't know. Maybe an over claim? The source for wikipedia is from https://web.archive.org/web/20060228073335/http://www.elknet.pl/acestory/caldw/caldw.htm

 

The MAW vol. 1 account is somewhat different, but less detailed. Caldwell was flying as weaver when Schöer jumped him and set his Tomahawk on fire; Schöer flew back to base and claimed a P-40. Caldwell was preparing to bail out, when the flames died out, he remained with the aircraft, claimed a Bf-109 and returned to base.

 

As to Lippert's loss, November 23 was a busy day; DAF fighter pilots claimed 9 Bf-109's destoyed (+ 4 probables, 14 damaged). Caldwell claimed two of them; and apart from Lippert, a 109 and pilot of 5. Jg27 was also lost. There is nothing that specifically points to Caldwell being the victor in this case of either Lippert or the other 109.    

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• A heavy German and Italian air raid on Suez sinks the British 4,900 ton Thistlegorm, along with her cargo of Bedford trucks, universal carriers, motorcycles, Bren guns, rifles, and cases of .303 ammunition as well as radio equipment, Wellington boots, aircraft parts, and two steam locomotives for Egyptian Railways. Three other merchant ships are damaged.

 

Jacques Cousteau will discover and document the wreck in 1955, and today Thistlegorm is considered one of the top ten wreck dives in the world."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• With the fall of Asmara in April, 1941, Capitano Amadeo Guillet realized that the only way to help the Italian troops operating on the North African front was to tie down as many British as possible in Eritrea. Stripping off his Italian uniform and assuming the identity of Cummandar es Sciaitan, he gathered around him a hundred of his most loyal coloniale soldiers and began a guerilla war against the British. His legend grew out of all proportion and the British unleashed a massive "manhunt", offering a bounty of a thousand pounds gold, but Guillet was never betrayed by his men.

 

 

- To the end of his life, Guillet will proclaim that “the Eritreans are the Prussians of Africa without the defects of the Prussians”.

- The guerrillas of Cummandar es Sciaitan cost the British dearly: for almost seven months they attacked and plundered warehouses, railway trains and outposts, blew up bridges and tunnels, making every communication route unsafe. However, by mid-October 1941, the ranks had dwindled and Guillet falls ill with malaria in addition to the combat wounds he had received. He thanks his loyalists by promising them that Italy would be able to reward them adequately and goes into hiding.

- He will work his way to Italy via Yemen where he will train the Imam of Yemen’s army, and immediately request payment for his loyal coloniale soldiers. Payment will be denied, but his advocacy over the years will see them compensated by one of the post-war goverments as veterans of the Regio Corpo Truppe Coloniali.

- After the war he will be a diplomat, representing Italy in Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Morocco, and ambassador to India. He will retire and live in Ireland for 34 years, spending his winters in Italy. Amadeo Guillet will die in Rome in 2010 at age 101.

 

Amadeo Guillet and an Amhara cavalryman

Guillet during a visit to Wellington's birthplace in Ireland"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "

• Operation Crusader begins with a heavy pre-dawn artillery barrage followed by a sortie by British XXX Corps over the Egyptian border into Libya. The Tobruk garrison is prepared to join the offensive. The British forces have been reorganized into the Eighth Army under Lieutenant General Alan Cunningham, brother of Mediterranean Fleet commander Andrew Cunningham. This is the first combat use of the M3 Stuart light tank.

- General der Panzertruppe Rommel, discounting reports of the impending offensive, had flown to Italy and is taken by surprise. [Despite having been warned repeatedly by the Italian intelligence services, who had great success against the US diplomatic service and Royal Navy codes]

 

[The Desert Air Force (DAF) planned on striking German and Italian airfields at dawn, but downpours during the night caused cancellation of morning sorties.]

 

25 pounder north africa

Matilda tanks 18 November 1941"

 

The crew of a 25-pounder gun in Tobruk, 18 November 1941. They are members of the Royal Horse Artillery. [Imperial War Museum E 6572]

Edited November 18, 2021 by cardboard_killer

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring, commander of Luftflotte 2, is appointed Commander-in-Chief Armed Forces South (Mediterranean). Around this time [wikipedia notes 15-Nov] 2. Fliegerkorps is ordered to withdraw from the Eastern Front to join Italian formations in a renewed bombing campaign against Malta."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "Axis tanks continued the attack on Ruweisat Ridge near El Alamein, Egypt, making little progress; British aircraft flew 900 sorties on this day against the Axis offensive. The Allies, believing the Axis forces had lost their initial momentum, launched a limited offensive with elements of the South African 1st Division and New Zealand 2nd Division toward the Ruweisat Ridge"

 

 

 

RAF Baltimores flying to attack Axis motor transport at El Alamein

 

Italian troops under air attack at Alamein

 

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "Allied air raid on the airfield at Martuba, near Derna, Libya"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] USS Ranger launches 72 P-40s and S2BU Vindicators off the Gold Coast for flight to Palestine for workup then to Egypt.

 

"P-40s of the 57th FG and SB2U Vindicators aboard Ranger"

[MisterSmith]

16 minutes ago, cardboard_killer said:

[80 years ago today] USS Ranger launches 72 P-40s and S2BU Vindicators off the Gold Coast for flight to Palestine for workup then to Egypt.

 

"P-40s of the 57th FG and SB2U Vindicators aboard Ranger"

Any idea what the paint schemes were?

 

Smith

[cardboard_killer]

16 minutes ago, MisterSmith said:

Any idea what the paint schemes were?

 

Smith

 

Unfortunately not.

[DBFlyguy]

15 minutes ago, MisterSmith said:

Any idea what the paint schemes were?

 

Smith

Appears to be the 57th FG

 

http://www.57thfightergroup.org/history/launching/index.html

 

 

 

[MisterSmith]

It's what I figured but they appear jarringly light (almost white) against the flight deck.

[cardboard_killer]

Perhaps "Desert Pink".

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 Years ago today] "• Rommel’s forces push their way through the minefields by mid-day. Running behind schedule and short of fuel, they turn North without going as far East as planned and run into the 2nd New Zealand and 44th Territorial Divisions backed by the 22nd Armoured Brigade with 92 Grants and 74 other tanks.

 

- The Germans and Italians are under constant attack by American B-25s and Commonwealth Hurricane tank busters and Boston light bombers. German and Italian fighters are kept off by American P-40s and Commonwealth Spitfires and Kittyhawks. Greek No.335 is just one of the squadrons involved:

 

 

 

- Generalmajor Georg von Bismarck, commander of 21st Panzer Division, is killed by New Zealand mortar fire. An attempt to outflank the Allies is thwarted by batteries of 6 pounder anti-tank guns and 25 pounder artillery. With night beginning to fall and fuel running short because of the delays and heavy consumption over the bad ‘going’, Generalmajor Gustav von Vaerst - the new Afrika Korps commander, orders the Axis forces to fall back.

 

- The night brings no respite for the Axis forces, as the Albacore and Wellington bombers return to the attack, concentrating on the Axis supply lines. Coupled with B-24 raids on the Tobruk docks, Rommel is getting very little forward.

 

SAAF Bostons simultaneous take off Egypt"
 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Overnight, RAF Wellington bombers disrupt Rommel’s overland supply lines from Benghazi and Tobruk, destroying valuable fuel. American B-24s attack the harbor at Candia, Crete. B-25s along with Commonwealth Blenheims, Marylands, Baltimores, and Bostons continue to pound German and Italian positions.

 

• While 21. Panzer Division halts out of fuel, 15. Panzer Division continues the attack on Alam Halfa. The Germans are stopped by the 8th and 22nd Armoured Brigades.

 

• In three sorties over Egypt, Luftwaffe Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Marseille is credited with shooting down 17 Allied fighters (One Spitfire, eight Hurricanes, and eight Tomahawk/Kittyhawks) while flying a new tropicalized Messerschmitt Bf-109G. He will be awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds and promoted to Hauptmann.

 

- The RAF will deny losing any aircraft this day, but a USAAF inquiry (one of those shot down is an American P-40) will confirm most, but not all of Marseilles’ aerial victories. He will be credited with shooting down more Western Allied aircraft than any other Luftwaffe pilot.

 

- Ironically, Marseilles has previously been shot down twice by a Hurricane flown by distant relation and Free French pilot Sous-Lieutenant James Denis. In the first instance he took thirty rounds in the cockpit, all of which miraculously missed or just nicked him as he leaned forward."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Brigadier General James Doolittle flies from the UK to Gibraltar to take up his duties as Commander of the Twelfth Air Force. The passenger modified B-17 lacks most of its defensive armament, leaving it with only four machine guns. The flight path calls for them to fly over the Bay of Biscay outside of German air patrol radius, but the range estimates of are off. Four hours into the flight the pilot, Lt John Summers, spots four Ju-88 fighter-bombers approaching. The Germans split into two two-plane elements and take up flanking positions straddling the bomber, apparently to size up their quarry before they attack. Summers firewalls the throttles and puts the four-engine bomber into a dive, intending a high-speed run just above the waves. As the Ju-88s make a head-on attack, Summers kicks the B-17 into a skid that throws off their aim.

 

- With a second pass bullets rip into the number-three engine and cockpit. Alerted by Summers, Doolittle pulls the wounded co-pilot into the passenger compartment and takes his place. Though an expert pilot, Doolittle has never before flown a B-17. While Summers wrestles to keep the B-17 flying, Doolittle feathers the propeller of the damaged engine to reduce drag and further damage.

 

- The Ju-88s made a few more passes then break off, probably low on fuel. The B-17 reaches Gibraltar safely and Doolittle assumes his new command, being promoted to Major General."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "

• French Général de brigade Antoine Béthouart, who had commanded the elite 1er Chasseurs at Narvik in 1940, is now in command of the Casablanca Division in Morocco. He attempts a coup d’etat against the Vichy administration of Charles Noguès which fails and alarms the defenses. Under arrest, he will be unable to order his troops to stand down, but will be liberated on the 14th.

 

• As several Abwehr agents confirm the sheer size of the convoys that passed the Strait of Gibraltar, Hitler notes to his staff, “This is the largest landing operation that has ever taken place in the history of the world.” The Italians still think French North Africa is the target, while OKW thinks Tripoli is most likely to trap Rommel. Hitler’s fear is that it will be a landing in southern France or a direct strike at Rome. Orders go out to units all along the Mediterranean Basin to be ready to transfer on short notice.

 

• The five separate major convoys adjust their speeds of advance to all arrive off the beaches of Morocco and Algeria in the early morning.

 

Troop convoy visible on horizon

 

3rd Infantry Division troops preparing for tomorrows landing in Morocco"

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• RAF No 349 (Belgian) Squadron is formed in Nigeria, equipped with Curtiss Tomahawks. In 1946, it, along with No 350 (Belgian) Squadron will form the core of the new Belgian Air Force.

 

• Buoyant at the successes in Egypt and Algeria/Morocco, Winston Churchill addresses the Lord Mayor’s Luncheon at Mansion House:

 

 

 

• French submarine Le Tonnant unsuccessfully attacks carrier USS Ranger; submarines Méduse and Antiope conduct similarly fruitless attacks against battleship Massachusetts and heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa. Méduse is damaged in counter-attacks and beached at Mazagan. She is then destroyed by an SOC from light cruiser Philadelphia.

 

• American troops capture the French fort of Kasbah, which leads to the fall of Port Lyautey. At Casablanca, American ships sortie to respond to an attack by French sloops only to be surprised by an operational Jean Bart; aircraft from USS Ranger make another airstrike on the battleship. • Escort carrier Chenango flies off 75 Army P-40s, which begin operating out of Port Lyautey.

 

P-40Fs of the 33rd Fighter Group aboard USS Chenango. Note the American flags painted on for further identification.

 

• French submarine Le Tonnant unsuccessfully attacks carrier USS Ranger; submarines Méduse and Antiope conduct similarly fruitless attacks against battleship Massachusetts and heavy cruiser Tuscaloosa. Méduse is damaged in counter-attacks and beached at Mazagan. She is then destroyed by an SOC from light cruiser Philadelphia.

 

• U-561 fires four torpedoes at the carrier Argus but misses.

 

• U-77 fires four torpedoes at the aircraft carrier Furious but misses.

 

• Sloop HMS Ibis is sunk by a torpedo from an Italian aircraft off Algiers.

 

• A cease-fire is arranged in French North Africa by Amiral François Darlan and American Major General Mark Clark. Orders go out via radio and courier plane for all French forces to halt all attacks and observe neutrality. Most forces stand down with relief but scattered fighting continues as several commanders question the authenticity of the orders.

 

 

- Pétain dismisses Darlan and assumes command of Vichy forces. A formal armistice will go into effect tomorrow morning and all fighting will cease.

 

• The Axis launch Case Anton, the occupation of Vichy France. German 1. Armee advances from the Atlantic coast, parallel to the Spanish border, while 7. Armee advances from central France towards Vichy and Toulon. The Italian 4ª Armata occupies the French Riviera and an Italian division lands on Corsica. At armistice levels, the Vichy forces can do nothing. Naval units at Toulon make quiet preparations for scuttling."

 

[DD_Arthur]

Admiral Darlan; the epitome of idiocy.

”Once bought, he stayed bought”.

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Commonwealth forces take Benghazi. The Germans and Italians have mostly demolished the port facilities.

 

Armoured cars at Benghazi with burning facilities in the background. Wounded Axis personnel have been left behind along with Allied prisoners for whom no transport was available.

 

• French 19e Corps units link up with the leading elements of British First Army at Oued Zarga, Tunisia. American and British liaison personnel have been attached and are calculating the materiel needed to refit the 1939 equipped units with lend-lease equipment.

 

• British light cruiser Delhi is making smoke in Algiers harbor to screen ships from an Italian air raid. She is bombed and has her stern blown open with two men killed. She'll be under repair in the UK until April, 1943.

 

HMS Delhi at Algiers"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The British First Army continues attacking towards Tunis but is slowing down as the Axis defenses continue to solidify. Blade Force, an armoured reconnaissance group consisting of the British 17th/21st Lancers and American 1st Battalion of the 1st Armored Regiment with infantry support from a battalion of Senegalese tirailleurs, is probing aggressively east of Sidi Nasr.

 

- Through lax German security, seventeen M3 Stuart light tanks of Company B arrive at a low ridge overlooking newly built Djedeïda airfield, finding German Bf-109Gs and Ju-87Ds parked on the ground. After radioing in the report, Major Rudolph Barlow receives the following reply: “Attack! For God’s sake get them!”

 

- The Stuarts sweep towards the airfield with the Germans initially believing them to be Italian. Once the Americans open fire, pilots scramble madly for their aircraft. The tanks shoot up the aircraft, buildings, supplies, and defending troops while aircraft take off in all directions with several narrowly avoiding collision. Luftwaffe 2cm flak units fire but are overrun. Several Stuarts drive over the tails of aircraft, shearing them off. German sources list twenty-four Stukas and seven Bf-109s destroyed. Those in the air strafe the tanks until Barlow’s force withdraws to the west. Only one M3 is lost, while Company C has lost two men killed.

 

- US Army P-38s and A-20s will attack the airfield tomorrow. These actions prompt evacuation of the decimated Luftwaffe units to other fields further back.

 

• General der Panzertruppe Walther Nehring, commanding XC Armeekorps, is reportedly panicked by the reports of Allied armor only 19 miles from Tunis and requests permission to contract his lines. This is denied by Kesselring. When German forces in Tunisia are upgraded to 5. Panzerarmee in December, Nehring will be replaced in overall command by Hans-Jürgen von Arnim.

 

• 11th Brigade of British 78th Division under Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh recaptures Medjez el Bab with French support."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Thirteen P-40Fs of the American 33rd Fighter Group are transferred to the French Groupe de Chasse II/5 “La Fayette” at Casablanca, replacing the Escadrille’s Curtiss Hawk-75 (P-36) and Dewoitine-520 fighters.

 

- The French pilots have been training on the P-40s and flying missions alongside the Americans since late November. Throughout early 1943, the Armée de l’Air squadrons in North Africa will be re-equipped with Spitfire, P-39, and P-40 fighters, A-24 Dauntless, Martin Baltimore, and B-26 bombers, and F-5 photo-reconnaissance versions of the P-38. Integration with the already existing 900 aircraft strong Free French Air Force will be complete by the end of the year.

 

- The H75s will be used for training and the De-520s for ground support missions. II/5 (along with II/4) will receive P-40Ls later in the year and P-47Ds in 1944.

 

Handover to the Escadrille La Fayette 09 January 1943"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• HMS Turbulent torpedoes and sinks the Italian 5,300 ton Pozzuoli off Sicily. She fires torpedoes at a second ship that stops to pick up survivors but misses.

 

• U-66 sinks the French fishing boat Joseph Elise off the Moroccan coast by deck gun.

 

• While B-17s are bombing port facilities at Tunis, a fighter (variously reported as an Fw-190 or Me-109) is knocked out of control by defensive gunfire. It strikes one bomber, tearing off its wing and causing it to crash. It then crashes into a B-17F called “All American III”, cutting the fuselage nearly in two, wrecking the rudder, and tearing off one horizontal stabilizer.

 

All American III returning to base

 

- Although the tail bounces and sways in the wind, a single elevator cable still works, allowing Lt Kendrick Bragg to keep the crippled bomber aloft. The tail gunner is trapped and unable to bail out. Along with the waist gunners he uses parts of the German fighter and parachute straps in an attempt to keep the tail from ripping off and the two sides of the fuselage from splitting apart.

 

- The bomber returns to her Algerian base and lands. When an ambulance pulls alongside, it is waved off because not a single member of the crew is injured. The 414th gets a new emblem and the Boeing Company gets a new slogan: “If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going!”

 

All American III after landing

 

New Emblem of the 414th Bombardment Squadron"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Rommel and all Axis units have now crossed from Libya into southern Tunisia, pursued by Commonwealth aircraft and Eighth Army reconnaissance units.

 

 

 

• Winston Churchill visits the Eighth Army in Tripoli and attends a parade.  The harbour is being repaired and cleared.

 

- General Sir Alan Brooke writes of the parade: “The last time we had seen them (8th Army) they were still pink and white, now they were bronzed warriors of many battles and of a victorious advance. I have seldom seen a finer body of men or one that looked prouder of being soldiers.” 

 

- Churchill addresses the troops: “In days to come, when asked by those at home what part you played in this war, it will be with pride in your hearts that you can reply: ‘I marched with the Eighth Army.’ And, remember, you nightly pitch your moving tents a day’s march nearer home.”

 

Churchill with Montgomery reviewing the 51st Highland Division in Tripoli

 

Wellington mine clearance aircraft over Tripoli Harbour"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• HMS Una torpedoes and sinks the Italian 3,300 ton Petrarca off Calabria.

 

• 15. Panzer Division cautiously attacks Gafsa to find it has been evacuated.

 

• An Allied air raid on Naples sinks two cargo vessels, but they will be repaired and returned to service.

 

• CCA of US 1st Armored Division is joined by elements of CCC but gathering a striking force is delayed as the American armor had been scattered all over II Corps front to provide infantry support.

 

American M3 tank destroyers in Tunisia

 

- When the force finally attacks, it suffers heavy losses to German and Italian anti-tank guns, artillery, and aircraft. Once the attack is broken, German and Italian tanks counterattack, driving the Americans from the field with the loss of 46 tanks, 9 self-propelled guns, and 130 other vehicles. Most of the surrounded American troops on Djebel Lessouda succeed in escaping during the night but without their heavy equipment.

 

- While the action at Sidi Bou Zid is in progress, General Anderson directs General Fredendall to withdraw all forces to positions defending Sbeïtla, Kasserine, and Fériana. He also alerts the French 19e Corps to move back to Shiba though its refit isn’t complete and it lacks its armored component.

 

Wrecked Shermans of the 1st Armored in Tunisia"