大象传媒

There isn't enough for a 'story'; this is the second 'snippet' about my father's war experiences gleaned from occasional 'off the cuff' remarks. Ask questions and he clams up immediately.
223 Sqn flew Wellesleys in the early part of the war. In these bombers they took the war to the Italians in a manner which appears in these days of 'smart weapons' to rely far more on human resources!
Navigational aids were rudimentary. Maps of Italian - occupied territory were pre-war or otherwise inadequate; they flew by following railway lines and roads - and they really did descend low over station platforms in order to read the station signs.
Addis was a prime target as were troop concentrations and communication centres. On occasion they lacked the fuel to bomb specific targets and return to their base in Kenya, and on those occasions they were instructed to cross the Red Sea and put down in Aden.
On one occasion the squadron had successfully bombed their target and were looking forward to a bit of a rest in Aden when, on approach to Aden they spotted RN warships below which included Warspite. They fired off the recognition signal for the day which the navy promptly ignored and opened fire with some degree of accuracy. I can't establish exactly how many of 223's aircraft were shot down but I understand only my father's aircraft and one other survived. Again, as far as I know there were no survivors from those waters. Since that date he developed a loathing for all things naval; many good people died that day because the navy screwed up. At least, that's how he feels, but I imagine the navy were entitled to feel jittery being sent to war with inadequate weaponry by politicians who failed in their duty. At one stage, so I have read, we didn't even have guns on HM ships which could elevate sufficiently to deal with aircraft from above!

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