The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean by David Brown

Author:David Brown [Brown, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, General, Naval
ISBN: 9781135281618
Google: ajTyZexMG8sC
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2013-07-04T15:56:50+00:00

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R.A.F. Wellingtons carried out heavy bombing attacks on Benghazi on 19th and 20th September, damaging and setting on fire transports and warehouses. On 23rd and 25th September they raided Tobruk harbour and the foreshore. In the latter raid, by 26 Blenheims, hits were obtained on barracks and wharves, and several large fires started. A number of M.T. vehicles were also destroyed. Bardia, Sidi Barrani and Solium all received a full share of bombing and bombardment. The gunboat Ladybird bombarded the escarpment road at Solium on the night of 17th/18th September, having been unsuccessfully attacked by two torpedo aircraft when 40 miles west of Mersa Matruh. On her return voyage to Alexandria, when 10 miles east of Solium, she passed unscathed through a small controlled minefield of what appeared to be anti-boat mines, of which about 40 were blown up. The destroyers Juno and Janus, which were supporting the Ladybird, bombarded the town of Sidi Barrani for 25 minutes, and then engaged local targets between Sidi Barrani and Buq Buq, halfway between Barrani and Solium, before returning to Alexandria. On the early morning of 22nd September four destroyers, Jervis, Capt. D.14, Juno, Janus and Mohawk, attacked the aerodrome and motor transport concentrations at Sidi Barrani. The targets were selected by the G.O.C. Western Desert Force, and a military liaison officer embarked. Two runs were made, and later the M.T. concentrations were reported dispersed to the south, and the camp near the airfield broken up. During the night of 23rd September the Ladybird bombarded targets in the Sidi Barrani area, and on the way back to Alexandria tried to land a party on Ishaila Island, 33 miles west of Mersa Matruh, with the object of setting up an R.A.F. air lookout post. Unfortunately weather conditions prevented landing. The reason for this post was that enemy aircraft were becoming uncomfortably active – 35 machines raided Matruh on 22nd September – and we did not possess sufficient fighters to maintain continuous patrols.

A concentration of M.T. west of Sidi Barrani was successfully bombarded early a.m. 25th September by the four destroyers Hyperion, Hereward, Juno, Mohawk, causing a large fire and a number of explosions. Thereafter for a few weeks the call on the Fleet for large scale coastal bombardments ceased (M.024434/40). At dusk on 28th September two Swordfish of 813 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm attacked an enemy convoy in the Gulf of Bomba and registered two direct hits on one merchant ship, which did not sink. (A.0755/41.)

These many and varied operations give some idea of the continuous fleet activity in operations designed to harass the enemy ashore and to interfere with his supplies, whilst the Army of the Middle East on the other hand was receiving reinforcements and supplies and building up its strength. Coastal operations against Italian positions ashore were mainly undertaken by the Ladybird and Aphis in cooperation with the R.A.F. These two gunboats formed the nucleus of Force W, which later on was to expand and become the Inshore Squadron,

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