14.8.43 - No.4 THE LUFTWAFFE IN SICILY to Karl the official air correspondent for the According Seppelin, German superiority 1 principal Spanish Newspaper Arriba* * the Luftwaffe had air over Sicily at the time of the Allied invasion* "The stabilisation of the military situation in he wrote few Sicily" * a days "is primarily due to increased air activity the part of the ago, on Axis, Complete air superiority has been Wrested from the enemy. The enemy is feeling the catastrophic effects of the Luftwaffe 's continual attacks," It is therefore interesting to the facts revealed by the Allied study now in that theatre to idea of the sort of which the Headquarters gain struggle - an Luftwaffe actually put up 4 In the to date, the Axis has so far left behind 999 aircraft upon Sicilian airfields which have been captured by the Allies* In addition, over the Axis has far had 422 of its aircraft shot down Sicily alone, so by the Allies for loss of 161 of their 1400 Axis aircraft lost in a own. Over Sicily alone - since the Allied landing* Between July 9 and 17, Spitfires, Kittyhawks and Warhawks flew nearly 6,000 sorties and lost only 30 half cent. Most of these 30 were - one per destroyed by Axis ground forces and not by fighters in combat. In these 9 days the Italian and German air forces, together -with all the resources of their ground defence, destroyed 91 Allied aircraft - and lost 208 of their own. The considerable Axis Air in .and around had excellent airfields Forces Sicily - far more than were available to the Allies, who had at first chiefly to rely upon Malta, Yet both German and Italian aircraft entered the battle in a half-hearted particularly by day, and such opposition as they offered at first rapidly manner, collapsed, German and Italian fighter aircraft avoided combat as often as they accepted it. They -were victims of an acute ’Spitfire psychosis’. This is revealed by an analysis of Malta’s fighter effort in the critical initial stages. On when Sicilian airfields available to the the July 10, no were Allied from Malta flew in of the beach fighters nearly 1,100 day sorties, protection Malta’s chief role in the initial the protection landings. Indeed, stages was of the Allied landing beaches. So limited was Axis opposition, however, that the Allies wore able rapidly to reduce their beach protection sorties and transfer the fighters, instead, to the harrying of the Axis armies in the field. Four days after the first landing, Allied by beach beach patrols shrank to 431 sorties, and, July 17, no patrols were since the beaches longer threatened with attack. in those required - were no Yet, important early the failure of the Allied landing hung in the days, success or balance and the whole invasion might easily have been frustrated had the Luftwaffe been able to attack the newly landed forces upon a sufficient scale. Individual combats also reveal the lack of initiative of the Axis air forces. On 12, for formation of Spitfires encountered single Ju*52, July example, a a guarded by a very strong escort of German and Italian fighters* The Spitfires shot down the transport in flames together with 6 of the escorting fighters, without loss. the met 12 unescorted Ju*87’s Gerbini* The On following day a squadron near British fighters shot down five of the Stukas and severely damaged the remaining seven without loss* This to he the last day which the put real show of proved on enemy up any resistance. Thereafter, our fighters roamed the skies at will, almost completely unchallenged, the the skies cleansed of Axis aircraft that nearly 200 By 15th, were so sorties flown, the day and not single German Italian Spitfire were during a or aircraft was seen* AIR AFFAIRS 14/8/43 - No.5. NORTH AFRICA COMMUNIQUE Allied command Post, Saturday, We continued to advance in all sectors yesterday making considerable in the centre. Here close co-operation between progress British and American forces resulted in the fall of the important tactical centre of Randazzo, which has been fiercely defended by the enemy. of the seventh the town Troops army entered yesterday morning. the eastward from Our troops arc now steadily pushing enemy rearguards Randazzo. The Eighth army have captured Riposta on the cast coast and are also in possession of Giarre on the Coast and Milo on the eastern slopes of Mount Etna. The enemy is making determined resistance on this front. North of Randazzo the mobile American forces of the seventh Army captured Floresta on the Randazzo - Cape Dorlando road. Continuing the successful thrust along the Northern coast road, American troops captured piraino. 14.8.43- - No, 6 NOT FoR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 0830 D.B.S.T. (i.e. NOR' EVENING: RADERS) ON SATURDAY- AUGUST 14, 1943 , THIS EMBARGO SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING .ANY MESSAGES PILED PITH THE EMBARGO. Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry Bulletin No. 11122 THE "OLD TUB" OF MALTA ..Her crew refer to her affectionately as the "Old- Her .official designation is H.S.L.107, and as a veteran of the R.A.F. ' s- Air/Sea Rescue Service at Malta she has established proud record since she took her station there in a up pre-war days. Now operating from .a base on Malta’s rocky coast which was established when Italy entered the High Launch 107 has effected 82 her war. Speed rescues during service in Mediterranean waters,, and to the vigilance' of her crew some German and : Italian airmen, in addition to Allied their lives. personnel, owe Malta’s passing-from .the defensive to the offensive and the increasing swing of war’s in favour of the Allies have found their pendulum reflection in the work undertaken from the launch base. high speed The officer in charge. Flight Lt, E.G, Price, of Felixstowe, who has been in Malta 16 and who served in the Merchant before months, Navy entering the R.A.F., says: "When Malta was in the front line we took considerable risks when we went about business 20 miles off the coast. when our Then, the North African campaign had closed and the Axis aircraft had other than. Malta places to think about, we could afford to venture further afield and within we consistently poked our noses striking distance of Sicily, Now we’ve pretty well got carte blanche, and with the refusal of the Germans and Italians to fight it out in. the air over Sicily we’re finding ’business’ pretty hard to come by," One of H,S,L,’s "cheekiest" rescues was effected three days before the invasion of The craft sent out to search for the of of American Sicily, was crew seven an Mitchell bomber which had "ditched" 13 miles south-east of the south coast Licata, on of Sicily, arriving at the given trace could be found of the Mean- On position, no crew. had been provided and the launch followed the guiding aircraft while, a fighter cover in direction. Six miles off Licata dinghy sighted,. It a north-westerly a was con- tained the entire crew of the Mitchell, which had been shot down after a raid on member sustaining fractured leg. The paddling their dinghy Catania, one a crew -were towards the Sicilian coast when they were picked up. In carrying out the rescue, the launch had remained within sight of the Sicilian coast for close high speed on three but throughout that aircraft hours, period no enemy was seen. Two the launch rescued German pilot who had been shot down in days earlier, a the sea twelve miles off Sicily and who was paddling his dinghy with a flag - his only item of equipment - when picked up. On another when the lauch had to 15 miles off occasion, proceeded a position the Sicilian Ju.88 down to height of 600 feet and encircled the coast, a came a craft, "He thought we were in for a hot time" said F/L, Price, "but either the of his of pilot refused to believe the evidence own eyes or was too apprehensive of to take action. At continued being ’jumped’ by one our fighters any any rate, we unmolested and two Spitfire and homeward rescued picked up pilots, on our run a third, ” A which the launch crew particular satisfaction was that of the rescue gave of which had "ditched" 20 miles off the coast of Malta, The crew a Beaufighter and after the light of night was pitch black, a three hours’ search the crew spotted the discovered the and an electric torch. On drawing alongside light, they pilot observer of the Beaufightcr sitting together in a one-man dinghy, the other dinghy been lost when the aircraft into the having plunged sea. /The crew - 2 - The crew of. -the. launch had a diversity of Jobs before ■-they Joined the R,A*F# The "No,2" plying officer Leonard Baker, of Leeds, was in the Merchant service, and among civil occupations represented are those of bank clerk, advertising agent, apprentice architect, solici- tor's clerk, shop assistant, insurance agent and school attendance officer., England, Scotland end pales all and from arc represented, ’the Dominions come’ and Strickland. The former L*A»C. Humphreys L»A»C* was employed in.his father's salmon canning factory at Vancouver, whose home is at Newfoundland and who is and-Strickland, pogo, a former sailor, was. working with the Forestry commission as a. timber feller in Scotland before he returned to the sea. NOTE; pictures avail able P.N.A. 14/8/43 No. 12 HUSBANDS on LEAVE fROM GIBRALTAR REUNION PARTY FOR EVACUEES A social is to be held in London for husbands gathering on Monday leave from and their families* Miss Florence on Gibraltar, Hersbrugh, Parliamentary to the of will be and Secretary Ministry Health, hostess, the party is to take place at the Royal Palace Hotel, Kensington - one of 34 centres where 12,000 Gibraltarians evacuated from the fortress are accommodated. The men left in Gibraltar .have not seen their families for three years* Under a new arrangement, they arc being brought to England, rota system, for six weeks' leave. The first arrived last on a party week* MINISTRY OF HEALTH 14/8/43 N0.14. - R.A.F. Headquarters, Middle East, August 14, 1943 MIDDLE EAST AIR COMMUNIQUE A strong force of Liberator bombers of the 9th U.S.A.A.F. carried out successful attacks yesterday in daylight on the main production factories and the assembly plant at Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, preliminary reports show that many bombs fell in the and buildings, but full details target area amongst hangars factory not available. are yet An Me.109 was shot down in the course of these operations, from which all our aircraft taking part have been accounted for. hit scored merchant vessel in the A torpedo was on a Aegean Sea the night The vessel by R.A.F. Wellingtons on of 12/13 August, enemy was last seen-to be settled by the stern. From this and other operations all our aircraft returned safely. 14.8.43 - No. 15 INDIA JOINT WAR COMMUNIQUE The following Joint Far Communique from India was received in London today:- yesterday 13 R.A.F. offensive attacked railway August fighters or patrol communications and Japanese in the railway south of positions Burma. On Madalay and south east of Kyingyan two locomotives, 40 wagons, a signal box and various goods sheds were attacked with cannon and machine gun fire. Many hits were scored on all of them and at least ten wagons were left on fire. In the Mayu peninsular hurricanes made a number of attacks on Japanese army hutments and on sampans containing troops, while Mohawks bombed and machine gunned enemy positions near Kalemyo. the Arakan coast bombs Sandoway and where bursts On were dropped on Gwa, barracks. of aircraft is missing. were seen near some From operations none our the four days operations restricted During preceding R.A.F. over Burma were by heavy cloud and but attacks made river craft along the storms, were on Irrawaddy and on enemy troop positions and supply dumps in Arakan. From these operations during this one of our aircraft is missing. On land the general situation remains and activity is confined to unchanged patrolling. On the 12th of patrols which ambushed party of Japanese August one our a near Buthidaung killed two of them and wounded two more without loss to themselves. Another the Chindwin recently encountcd two patrol operating on killed of them without casualties. parties of the enemy and seven suffering any WAR OFFICE 14.8.43 No. 18 ARMY EQUIPMENT EXHIBITION The Army Equipment Exhibition in Oxford Street, London will close at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. from August 15 onwards. The exhibition, which opened on July 6, has already been visited by over 700,000 people. MINISTRY OF INFORMATION 14.8.43 - No.19 PRESS NOTICE FLEET AIR ARM BADGES A fleet order announces that all officers on the active and retired lists who have at time observers in the Fleet any qualified as pilots or Air Arm should wear the Fleet Air Arm pilot’s or observer’s badge. Naval officers who have qualified observers in another as pilots or service in the Royal Air Service should the or Navy also wear appropriate Fleet Air Arm badge. ADMIRALTY 14.8.43 No. 20. Air Service Ministry News Air Ministry Bulletin No. 11167 MOSQUITO CROSSES THE ATLANTIC the first Canadian-built aircraft to be ferried A Mosquite was across the Atlantic for operational use in Britain. It was named by a Royal Canadian Air force crew - Flying Officer J.G. Uren, the 22-years-old pilot, and Flying Officer R.C. Bevington, the 23-years-old navigator. They brought the world's fastest aircraft in series of to Greenland a hops and Iceland and finally to Britain - a distance of approximately three and a quarter thousand miles ~in 14 hours 44 minutes. Both are members of the service of Command. ferry Transport The Mosquito was named "Action, Ont" by reason of the high place of the town in the fourth War Loan and it followed Victory drive, was to Britain by the Mosquito named after New Nova flown Glasgow, Scotia, by an American civilian pilot of R.A.F. Transport Command, F/O Uren has made five Atlantic three with Hudsons, ferry trips, one with a B.26 and, now the Mosquito, and he votes the latter his best trip. "It nice kite to was a very fly", he said, "although my colleague and I were a little cramped for such a long trip, as the Mosquito is not a transport aircraft. There was good weather all the way across and only for two hours did we have to fly with instruments, Arriving in Britain out that all the the though, someone pointed figures on Mosquito added to thirteen, I glad that fact notice before up 'm escaped my we set out" "On the take-off from Canada", said Flying Officer Bevington, "We looked pretty small beside the line-up of giant four-engined liberators waiting to be ferried across. But although we were little cramped it was a good trip in a good aircraft". The two officers sent a cable of congratulation to the workers of the De Havilland factory where the Mosquito was built. 14.8.43 - No. 23. NORTH AFRICA NAVAL COMMUNIQUE Allied Force Command Post. 14th August, 1943. On the night of August 10/11 British light naval and coastal forces continue to off the east coast of off the Calabrian coast and operate Sicily in the Straits of Messina in search of enemy shipping. No vessels were met . Our forces came under the fire of the shore batteries but sustained no casualties. 11 naval forces off the east coast of Sicily During daylight on August the right flank of the army. engaged enemy positions on On the night of August 11/12 British motor torpedo boats again entered the Straits of torpedoes fired at three enemy merchant vessels Messina, were entering the port of Messina, Though no results were seen an explosion was heard some minutes later. 14.8.43 - No. 27 NOT FOR PUBLICATION, BROADCAST OR USE ON CLUB TAPES BEFORE 0030 D.B.S.T. (i.e, FOR MORNING PAPERS)ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 1943 THIS EMBARGO SHOULD BE RESPECTED OVERSEAS BY PREFACING ANY MESSAGES FILED WITH THE EMBARGO AIR OPERATIONS OVER MESSINA STRAITS A brief note on the operations carried out by aircraft of Mediterranean Air Command to hinder the in the Messina Straits enemy using and in evacuating his troops and material in retreat in north-east now Sicily, The effort best be described dividing the target into three can by areas 1, Commiunications in north-east Sicily: 2, Ports and shipping in the vicinity of the Straits of Messina; 3, Communication targets in the toe of Italy far as north, roughly, as a line from Paola on the west coast -to Catanzaro on the east coast. in the first be carried Operations area ore in;; out chiefly by Mitchells, Bostons and Baltimores- based in and operating in' direct of Sicily support our land forces. The two -coastal-roads to Messina - one from Patti in the west and the other from in the east well the road skirting the Riposto - as as northern slopes of have been the chief targets for these forces. Much Etna, confusion and has resulted from traffic-blocks caused attacks the delay by on many bottle-necks in these roads. the second, Straits of Messina consist of the Targets in -area - the - town of Messina and beaches from which the enemy is attempting to cross the straits by means of barges and other small craft, and the towns of Reggio.di Calaria and San Giovanni, and landing beaches on the mainland. These attacks being and. almost are kept up day night incessantly - Wellingtons bombing, by night and Bostons, Fortresses and;, fighter-bombers attacking' by day. In this very heavily defended area, is probably one of the greatest, concentrations of flak ever assembled, on any battlefield. The third, the toe of is chiefly important for the, railway area - Italy - and road, which runs right round, the coast and is the route along which all stores- and equipment to the Axis armies must be brought. This road and railway crosses many bridges which are very vulnerable targets to our bomber force, of the vital needed the Axis forces to continue the struggle 'passage supplies by has been and. is being the attacks of severely impeded, by repeated our light, medium and heavy bombers on these targets, ' , , AIR MINISTRY 14/8/43 -.. No, 32 Air Ministry News Service Air Ministry Bulletin No.lll68 ALBACORE ATTACKS THREE R-BOATS AND SINKS ONE SEA LIT UP BY FOUR-MINUTE BLAZE An Albacore of the Fleet Air Arm operating with Fighter Command discovered three R-boats just off the French coast when on patrol in the Gulf of St. Malo one night this week. The pilot went in to attack in the face of flak from two of the R-boats and scored a direct bomb hit on the loading boat. It burst into flames which lit up the sea for at least four minutes while the pilot was making a wide sweep to observe results. The pilot said later "The flames went out as if loused by the sea as the boat sonic - and-I could sec the other two boats making off". R-boats are fast motor vessels armed with torpedo tubes. - Owing to their maneuverability they arc difficult targets.