LONG AIR FIGHT OVER DESERT

Southland Times, Issue 24602, 26 November 1941, Page 5

LONG AIR FIGHT OVER DESERT

TOMAHAWKS ENGAGE MESSERSCHMITTS

GERMANS’ HEAVIER LOSSES

(8.0.W.) RUGBY, November 24. The longest air battle between fighters in the history of the Western Desert took place south of Tobruk at dusk on Saturday. For over an hour Tomahawk fighters of an Empire squadron composed of Britons, South Africans, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians fought an equal number of Messerschmitts and the battle ended only when the Germans broke off as darkness closed around the rival squadrons. It is known that only one Tomahawk crashed. The enemy lost at least three Messerschmitt 109’s while at least six others were seriously damaged. A despatch from an agency correspondent on the Libyan front says that he heard from one pilot what happened. “We were heading north when we saw them coming out of the sun towards us,” said the pilot. “They climben above us and started diving, five of them at a time, trying to get us one by one. They would not come very near and one of us would come out of formation, give a couple of bursts and beat off the attack. In order to prevent their diving we came down lower and lower. LAND TROOPS FIRE “By that time land troops had opened fire on us. We had Messerschmitts above us and an attack below. One of our chaps stopped back for a while, breaking off from the formation and machinegunning the troops, but the enemy kept up the fight till almost dark.” During the morning the same squadron escorted Blenheims which went out to bomb a retreating Italian mechanized force. The Tomahawks were flying in formation, giving close support to the Blenheims. Enemy fighters which went to attack the bombers were all put to flight.