GALLANT GREEK AIR FORCE

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVIII, Issue 21817, 21 November 1940, Page 5

GALLANT GREEK AIR FORCE

R.A.F. Will Give All Possible Support British Official Wireless RUGBY, November 18. The work of the Greek Air Force has aroused the admiration of air circles in London. This small force has shown great dash and gallantry against a., enemy with greatly superior strength in numbers. The Royal Air Force has been rendering assistance, and it will continue to do so on a scale consistent with its widespread and varied responsibilities in the Middle East. This assistance takes two main forms, an offensive against military objectives in Italy itself and operations against the enemy in Albania from bases in Greece. The operations from Greece are necessarily limited by the number of suitable sites and difficulties _in setting up the ground organisation. As to operations against Italy since October 3', Naples has been raided four times, Brindisi twice, and Valona has been visited four t.mes by the Royal Air Force, ..nd the aerodrome and docks heavily bombed, while Durazzo was badly damaged in the very first raid a week ago and it has since been bombed again. Sarande and Konispol have also been raided. The latest Greek communique suggests that air activity is beginning to play an increasingly significant part at the front. Up till now it appears that instead of following their usual method of co-operation with the army, the Italian air force has attacked places wide apart and far afield. Perhaps believin. that the Greeks would not resist, these raids wore designed to destroy the spirit of the civilian population. That having failed, the Italians may now be reverting to their usual tactics in the air, the mam objectives being Greek advanced posts and lines of communications. On the other hand, the weather is likely to interfere severely with air operations.