AIR CONFLICT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24448, 6 November 1940, Page 7

AIR CONFLICT

MERSA MATRUH BATTLE ITALIANS’ HEAVY LOSSES PLANES CRASH IN DESERT (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph Copyright) RUGBY, Nov. 4 The air battle over Mersa Matruh last Thursday, in which the Italians fantastically claimed that IV aircraft were destroyed against three of theirs, was unquestionably a great tonic for the thousands of British troops who saw the Italian machines either falling in flames or plunging into the Mediterranean.

From the four Savoias and four Caproni 42’s brought down, only one Italian escaped, according to the Air Ministry News Service. He was the second pilot of a Savoia 79, which had a crew of five. He baled out, according to his own story, on orders from his first pilot. Another member of the same crew, also baled out, but his parachute failed to open. The Savoia came down in a sheet of flames with no possible chance of any of the crew surviving. The remainder of the crew were buried by British soldiers close to the debris of their machine, which crashed into the rocky side of a wadi.

The pilot of one Caproni 42 also had his last resting place out in the desert a few yards from the retrains of his burnt-out machine. In each case the British troops raised a pile of stones in which they put a cross made from the wreckage of the aircraft lost in the battle. On the stones marking the grave of the fighter pilot are written the words: “ Here lie the remains of one Italian airman shot down in an air battle on October 31.”' Gladiator Pilot’s Success Two of the Capronis destroyed fell victims to a Gladiator pilot who, as soon as the fight began, realised he had engine trouble. He was at 18,000 feet and gradually losing height, and realised that he must make a forced landing; but below he saw two Italian planes. As he dived the Italians went past him, and he let them have a burst and then saw them go crashing down. Then he landed his own aircraft safely. ' A Rhodesian pilot belonging to a squadron which has now brought down between 30 and 40 Italian air- . craft, told of a 40-mile chase he had with a Caproni 42. “When I first saw it I thought it was a Gladiator,” said the pilot. “ I went down to make sure, and followed him round. He kept evading me by doing steep turns, but in my faster aircraft I was able to keep outside him. This went on for 10 minutes or more. Then I let him have three bursts, and as he went down I followed and put a fourth into him. He then dived straight into the desert.”

The Italian losses, eight machines shot down in flames and, four others seriously damaged, were at least twice those of the R.A.F. In personnel the British losses were one pilot killed and one missing, while the enemy must have lost up to 30. Italian Raid on Malta An account of a raid on Malta, which has been the subject of a somewhat flowery statement by the -Italians, is dealt with in a Royal Air Force communique issued at Cairo on Sunday; Two formations of enemy bombers, escorted by fighters, made a raid on Malta yesterday, but little damage was done, and there were no casualties. R.A.F. fighters engaged the enemy, and it is definitely confirmed that one enemy fighter, a Macchi, was shot down. Another enemy aircraft was destroyed by anti-aircraft gunfire, two Caproni 42’s were damaged by our fighters, and another Macchi is believed to have been shot down, but this is not confirmed.

An attack was made on enemy transport and troops moving along the Metemma-Gondaa road by R.A.F. aircraft. Four direct hits were registered on transport and other bombs fell very close. In the same area an enemy aircraft was forced down and crashed. Further reconnaissance flights were carried out over the Greek and Italian coastal waters. On the return journey in one of these flights one of our aircraft was attacked by Italian fighters, but succeeded in shaking them off. Subsequently the same aircraft attacked an enemy flying boat and, it is believed, damaged it.