LITTLE AIR ACTIVITY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 237, 7 October 1942, Page 3

LITTLE AIR ACTIVITY

British Official Wireless Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, Oct. 6. A Middle East headquarters communique states: "Yesterday there was nothing to report from our land forces. Owing to bad flying conditions air activity over the battle area was on a small scale." It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that recent long-distance raids on enemy bases in Libya were greatly hampered, and that the men taking part were exposed to unnecessary risk through apparent leakages of information, says the Daily Telegraph's correspondent in the Western Desert.

Although the Barce force reached its goal 500 miles in the rear of the enemy lines without interference, he says, it found every aircraft guarded by five sentries armed with machine-guns and tommy guns. Consequently, what should have been a surprise affair involved a stiff struggle and the objective of destroying dozens of enemy aircraft was achieved only after unexpectedly strong resistance. Our losses were considerably heavier than they should have been.

It has transpired that the enemy evidently was also fully informed of the British retreat line, and arranged an armoured car ambush a few miles from Barce, from which the raiding party was forced to escape by driving straight at the enemy vehicles and bowling them over.