Australia’s War Diary

May 2 – North Africa. Rommel’s efforts to widen the Tobruk salient continue to be frustrated by stubborn resistance. May 3 – North Africa. The ground Staffs of 450 and 451 Squadrons RAAF disembark in Egypt but they are without pilots and aircraft. They have arrived at a critical time with Libya and Greece now in enemy hands, Tobruk under heavy attack, Crete threatened and all established squadrons desperately short of aircraft. Because of the need to move reinforcements into action as quickly as possible, the decision will be taken to blend 450 Squadron ground crews with the pilots and Hurricanes of 260 Squadron RAF to form a single unit. The amalgamated squadron will be taken over by the newly promoted S/Ldr Harry Steege, formerly of 3 Squadron RAAF.

Meanwhile, many EATS-trained RAAF pilots and aircrew are arriving from OTUs in England, posted mainly to the Wellington squadrons of 257 Wing and scattered among RAF personnel. Others have been arriving since April direct from Australian flying training schools at the rate of 30 pilots, 30 observers and 45 WAGs per month for the Middle East aircrew pool. By the month’s end there will be about 50 RAAF aircrew in Wellington squadrons, 15 in W/Cdr Alan McDonald Bowman’s 39 (Maryland) reconnaissance Squadron and in slightly fewer numbers to all Blenheim units. To keep pace with operational wastage Australian fighter pilots will go to RAF units too, mainly to 112 and the newly forming 250 Squadrons and soon will comprise approximately 45% of the strength of each. Some will also be posted to 3 Squadron RAAF which at the moment is re-equipping with Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks.

May 4-NorthAfrica. The German and Italian attack on Tobruk is abandoned.

May 6/7 – Britain. Australian CO of 600 Squadron RAF, S/Ldr Charles Pritchard from Manildra, NSW and Sgt Gledhill in Beaufighter T4640 shoot down a He 111 at 3. 45am during their second patrol of the night.

May 7 – Malta. Flying boats from 1 0 Squadron RAAF carrying supplies and personnel from Gibraltar have become regular visitors to the island. F/Lt Gil Thurston and crew in Sunderland N9049/RB-B arrives with a load of ammunition. A heavy swell prevents takeoff for the return trip.

May 10 – Britain. Deputy leader of the Nazi Party, Rudolf Hess flies to Britain in a Bf 110 with so-called “peace plans” of his own making. He parachutes near the Duke of Hamilton’s estate and is captured by the Home Guard.

Malta. Gil Thurstun’s Sunderland, which has still not taken off for Gibraltar because of heavy seas, is strafed at its mooring by a Bf 109. Its port wing bursts into flames and it sinks.

May 11 – Germany. The Vichy French offer Hitler bases for the German army in Syria.

May 15 – Crete. The Luftwaffe commences a series of heavy aerial bombardments in preparation for invasion. Since the conquest of Greece Luftflotte 4 has begun to organise for Hitler’s proposed invasion of Russia but a considerable force is set aside to deal with Crete. This consists of 228 medium bombers, 205 Ju 87 Stukas, 114 Bf 110s, 119 fighters, 50 reconnaissance planes, 520 Ju 52/3m transports and 72 gliders.

Malta. Queenslander P/O John Pain in Hurricane 24060 is scrambled to intercept a low-level reconnaissance aircraft. After a long chase he shoots it down into the sea off Goza. Although he identifies it as a He 111 it is more likely to have been and Italian SM. 79 of 32° Gruppo.

May 15/16 – Britain. S/Ldr Charles Pritchard of 600 Squadron with Sgt Gledhill are stalking a Ju 88 when their Beaufighter, X7544, is illuminated by friendly searchlights presenting a perfect target for the German gunners. They manage to bail out of their burning plane but both are injured. For Pritchard this will end his run as Australia’s first successful night fighter pilot, having destroyed at least two and damaged three.

May 16- Crete. Heavy bombardment by the Germans continues. Naval pilots of 805 Squadron are scrambled in the remaining serviceable Hurricanes of 33 Squadron. Lt Alec Ramsey in V7461 shoots down two Bf 109s before landing his damaged machine at Retimo. Over Heraklion, F/Lt Charles Fry of 112 Squadron in Hurricane V7857 shoots down a Bf 110 but is forced to bail out injured. Another Bf 110 falls to the gunners of the 7th Australian Light AA Battery. Later in the day a Henschel Hs 126 on reconnaissance is also brought down by Australian and Greek small arms fire.

May 18- Baltic. The German battleship Bismarck leaves the port of Gdynia for the Atlantic accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Crete. German air attacks have taken their toll. All that remains of 805 Squadron is 55 ground personnel and 6 aircrew (including Alec Ramsey), but no aircraft.

May 19 – Crete. The few remaining serviceable RAF aircraft are withdrawn to Egypt.

May 20 – Crete. The German invasion begins. After heavy air raids there are airborne landings at Maleme and Canea followed by more in the afternoon at Heraklion and Retimo. Anzac, Greek and British forces inflict heavy casualties on the German paratroops and the defenders are successful in containing the attackers, however communications are becoming chaotic by nightfall. At Maleme the NZ commander, out of touch with the situation of his whole force, decides to withdraw during the night and in effect hands the airfield to the enemy. This move alters the course of the campaign. When the Germans realise they cannot gain elsewhere, they rush reinforcements to Maleme and swing the tide of the battle.

The British Mediterranean fleet cruising off the island prevents German reinforcements coming by sea but by doing so it falls under heavy attack. Australian ships which will be involved in the Cretan campaign are the cruiser HMAS Perth and destroyers Napier; Nizam and Stuart.

May 21 – Crete. North of the island, a Maryland on reconnaissance from Egypt flown by 39 Australian CO, W/Cdr Alan Bowman, encounters a Ju 52/3m and sends it into the sea. The Germans consolidate their hold on Maleme in the face of

heavy NZ counter attacks. RAF and FAA personnel withdraw to Canea. Lt Alec Ramsey is in charge of the FAA group.

Malta. 48 Hurricanes are flown to the island from the carriers Ark Royal and Furious. In combat since January, theAxis forces have lost 77 aircraft (62 German, 15 Italian) for the RAF loss of 32, plus another 32 on the ground. The relief is timely because 261 squadron, which has defended Malta since August 1940 and claimed over 100 victories, is at the end of its endurance. Both men and machines are exhausted. The squadron is disbanded. For P/O John Pain, who has claimed 6 kills and 5 probables since his arrival at the end of January, it will mean a rest ferrying replacement aircraft with the ADU at Takoradi; Sgt Sheppard will stay on the island with 185 Squadron; and Australian-born Kiwi P/O Doug Whitney will be attached to HQ RAF Middle East . Rhodesia. The first draft of Australian pilots to be trained in Southern Rhodesia under the EATS receive their postings, mostly to the Middle East but several are sent to No1 GRS at George in South Africa and afterwards Coastal Command. May 22 – Britain. At Kirton-in-Lindsey, Lincolnshire, within six weeks from the date of its formation, 452 Squadron RAAF is declared “defensively operational”.

May 23 – Crete. During the night RN destroyers shell Maleme airfield but as they withdraw two are sunk by Stukas. Continuing to exploit their hold on Maleme, the Germans pour in reinforcements including artillery and fighter aircraft.

Flying from Egypt, the RAF tries to launch effective strikes at Maleme and provide some air cover. In the afternoon a Blenheim guides 6 Hurricanes of 73 Squadron towards Crete. The pilots have been briefed to land at Heraklion and from there attack German transport aircraft. As they pass over nervous British shipping an intense barrage scatters the formation. Five Hurricanes turn back but the last, flown by Sgt Bob Laing, a Tasmanian serving in the RNZAF, stays with the Blenheim and lands alone at Heraklion. A German machine gun maintains fire until Laing, covered by a friendly Matilda tank, taxis out of range. Shortly afterwards Laing’s Hurricane, V7424, is reduced to a blazing wreck by strafing Bf 11Os. At dusk, six more73 Squadron Hurricanes, including the 5 which had turned back, reach the airfield.

May 24 – Crete. At Heraklion, hamstrung because there is n _ o supply of . 303 ammunition and very limited fuel available, the six 73 Squadron Hurricanes depart for Egypt. Bob Laing squezes into the cockpit of W9198 with F/O G E Goodman. After using up their remaining ammunition strafing enemy positions they head out over the Mediterranean. Buffeted by strong headwinds the flight lasts a nightmarish 3 hours before they all land with fuel gauges registering zero at Sidi Haneish in a sandst’?rm. Atlantic. After being sighted in the Denmark Strait and shadowed Bismarck and Prinz Eugen are engaged by RN units. HMS Hood’ is sunk with all but 3 of its crew and the British have to break away. Bismarck is hit and losing fuel so its captain decides to head for Brest. The German battleship now becomes the quarry of an extensive hunt by the Royal Navy and RAF. May 25 – Crete. Intense fighting as the Germans advance towards Galatas.

May 26- Crete. General Freyberg, commanding Allied forces on Crete, suggests withdrawal from the island to General Wavell, C-in-C Middle East.

At Suda Bay during the night, after off-loading supplies, HMAS Nizam and two other destroyers take on 930 wounded and surplus personnel, includingAlec Ramsey and his FAA group. Atlantic. In the afternoon a Catalina from 209 Squadron locates the Bismarck. Torpedo carrying Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal attack, wrecking the battleship’s steering gear. During the night RN vessels close in for the kill.

May 27 -Atlantic. Two Sunderlands of 10 Squadron RAAF are involved in the innumerable patrols hunting for the Bismarck. F/Lt John Costello and crew in T9047/RB-L finds the sky “full of aircraft”, RAF Wellingtons and German He 115s and a He 111, the most aggressive proving to be the Wellingtons! S/Ldr Ivan Podger’s gunners in Sunderland P9600/RB-E damage a He 115.

Elsewhere, Bismarck is crippled by naval gunfire and finished off by torpedoes.

Crete. Wavell, after consultation with London, authorises evacuation. The Germans capture Suda and Canea by the end of the day. Disorganised and split up, the Allies move towards Sfakia to be evacuated.

May 28 – Crete. Among RAF personnel taken prisoner is the injured Australian CO of the112 Squadron RAF detachment, F/Lt Charles Fry. At night, ships commence evacuating British troops. May 29130 – Crete. Some 6,000 men are boarded during the night but while they withdraw the ships are subjected to heavy air attack. HMAS Perth is heavily damaged by a Ju 88. 4 crewmen and 9 soldiers are killed.

May 31 – Britain. This month 73 Australian EATS pilots, 14 observers and 18 WAGs have arrived at OTUs. Most of these will be posted to Wellington and Whitley crews of Bomber Command. Crete. The last organised detachments of British troops move quickly to Sfakia for embarkation. However, they will find there is not enough room for them in the ships