Page 130 - Airpower in 20th Century - Doctrines and Employment

130 airpower in 20 Century doCtrines and employment - national experienCes
tH

The RHAF suffered some losses in the air during the first day of the offensive (a
Fairey Battle, a Bristol Brenheim and an Avro 626 and six of their crews). On March
18 the Naval Air Command was informed about the presence of an Italian submarine
outside Piraeus. No. 13 Squadron was assigned to destroy the submarine, and, judg-
ing from the large oil slick created after intense bombing, it was assumed that the
12
U-boat had been successfully hit .
Hellenic-German War

The German attack against Greece was imminent since the end of March.
Therefore, the possibility of putting up effective defence was slim and German troops
managed to penetrate deep into Macedonia on April 6 and 7. Many Hellenic Army
forts fiercely resisted against overwhelming odds along the Eastern Macedonian
frontier, until forced to surrender due to their isolation from the bulk of the Hellenic
Army. Soon after, Wehrmacht captured Thessaloniki.
The expected order for the redeployment of troops along the Olympus-Servia-
Aliakmon line was issued only on April 12, when the situation on the front was
irreversible. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alexandros Korizis committed suicide on
April 18 in view of the desperate situation along the front and the inability to find a
satisfactory solution.
Serious deficiencies of the RHAF, frequent mechanical failures of the strained
aeroplanes, the worsening condition of airfields and landing grounds, together with
the indisputable qualitative and quantitative superiority of the Luftwaffe turned the
odds heavily against it.
The Luftwaffe had at its disposal 1.030 aircraft for the invasion, 898 of which
were fighters while the rest had different roles .
13
The RHAF during the three-week war against the Germans undertook 179 mis-
sions of all the types. On April 6 1941, P.Z.L. of No 22 Squadron and Block 151 of
No 24 shot down 2 German aeroplanes, Dornier Do17 and Henschel Hs 126s.
On April 15, RHAF fighter squadrons confronted a formation of Junkers Ju87s and
Messerschmitt Bf 109s. During the incident, one P.Z.L. and one Gladiator were shot
down but their crew remained safe. One more pilot was killed during the Luftwaffe’s
raid at Trikala airfield having managed to hit two enemy bombers . The same day a
14
pilot of No.23 Squadron was killed after having shot down an Hs 126.
The Bombers Command executed 18 missions totally. Finally, the Dornier Do
22s of No. 12 (Naval Co-op) Squadron continued delivering sealed envelopes in-
cluding important orders and carrying out search and rescue missions to the last

12
No13 (Naval Co-op) Squadron, Squadron Action in Greece, from 28/10/1940 to 23/04/1941, Ar-
chive of the History Museum, HAF.
13
Hellenic Wings, Ibid, p. 113.
14
C. Shores and B. Cull, Air war for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1940-41, London 1987, p. 223.