LACK OF BASES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20570, 2 June 1941, Page 5

LACK OF BASES

AIR FORCE HANDICAP PROBLEM IN CRETE GERMAN ADVANTAGE (Elec. Tel. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (N.Z.E.F. OHicial News Service.) (Per Cable and Wireless Limited.) (Reed. June 2, 9 a.m.) CAIRO, May 31. The Royal Air Force view of the situation created by the withdrawal from Greece and the attack on Crete by air-borne troops and fighters is expressed in authoritative quarters as largely a question of possession of aerodromes and ranges at which machines were expected to operate. There has been and probably will be a lot of criticism of the Royal Air Force insofar as there was not as much air support in Crete as one would like to see. It is only fair to say that the position was very similar to that in Greece during the last few days, and it was pointed out this morning that when the Allied forces fell back on Crete they were left with three aerodromes, those at Malemi, Retimo and Heraklion. The evacuation of Greece left the Germans with a number in Greece and elsewhere. There were two near Athens and others at Argus. Sparta, and in addition Milos, which was used as a landing ground, as well as Carpanto and Rhodes, which all goes to show that the matter of operating bases has been an easy one for the enemy. They had the use of aerodromes on three sides, all within reasonable distance of their objectives. The flying distance from Milos to Crete is only 90 miles and from Greece the most distant is 192 miles, so all bombers and troop-carriers could have fighter escort, which would within their range have enough petrol to stay over the objective for a considerable time. The return could then be made without the possibility of running short of fuel, which was the chief difficulty when fighters were asked to patrol at too great a distance from their'home bases. ’Dromes For Germans When the withdrawal to Crete was made the Germans were in the fortunate position of having seven or eight aerodromes within easy distance of the island. The Royal Air Force, in what they term the rose days of Crete, were in possession of three landing grounds on the island, but later the nearest place from which they could take off for attack against the German positions in Crete was the Western Desert, which is roughly 400 miles away. Under those conditions they found it next to impossible to bring to bear any number of fighter craft capable of sustained action at such a great distance from the base. Still it is a fact that Hurricanes were used against the Luftwaffe over Crete, even though the position became desperate with the fall of the aerodrome at Malemi. To do this the Royal Air Force had to fit these planes with special long-range fuel tanks. Normally this involves the removal of armour and ammunition. Even then the plane must be handled most carefully. However, this did not deflect the Royal Air Force from their purpose, and they carried out raids. If it was difficult to work from the 'dromes left in Crete after the fall of Malemi, it was doubly so in the case of craft based in the Western Desert. Indeed, the odds against a pilot returning safely were very high, possibly as much as 100 to one. Similar Task For Nazis Still it must not be overlooked that if the enemy were to ever use the aerodromes they occupied in Crete for the purpose of raiding the Western Desert, or, for example. Alexandria, they would have to overcome some of the difficulties that were faced by the Royal Air Force in the Cretan campaign. In fact, they would be no better off as regards carrying out an aerial offensive than they have been in the past with the landing grounds in the Dodecanese at their disposal. It is felt in air force circles here that to have persisted in risking pilots and machines against the overwhelming number of German craft used in the drive south of Greece to Crete would have been sheer madness. The Nazis, regardless of loss, continued to throw large numbers of planes into the Battle of Crete and naturally a heavy toll was taken by Royal Air Force bombers of troopcarriers, even apart from the extremely large number of planes which made crash landings to get troops on to the island. Attacks by R.A.F. Quite apart from the purely local losses suffered by the Germans on Crete, they were attacked severely by long-range craft of the Royal Air Force, which operated over the aerodromes used by the enemy in Greece as part of their normal policy of reducing the Nazi striking power by raiding bases. In the air war the result so far in the campaigns in Greece and Crete has been that the Germans have had to pay a high price, for their success, and they had not improved their position for the aerial offensive against the British forces on the African mainland.

Members of the Royal Air Force returning from Crete give vivid pictures of the overwhelming strength of the Luftwaffe’s onslaught against the small British air force on the island. "It was ? man-size job even to get the planes into the air,” said one. “The Luftwaffe machine-gunned our pilot' on the aerodromes so continually that we made many fruitless attempts to get into t.he cockpits. Then when wo got into the air we were overwhelmed by enemy fighters, and if we escaped to return to the aerodromes we often found the runways bombed (''no Hurricane pilot was last seen with 20 Messerschmitts on his tail. He had brought down many enemy planes before that, but the odds were overgreat. To maintain our fighters there would have meant total destruction.” Pilots relate countless individual acts of heroism. A pilot who had never flown a Hurricane before took it up to fight off droves of Messerschmitts. He helped to bring down five before he lost his life.