Welcome to The Few Good Men

Thanks for visiting our club and having a look around, there is a lot to see. Why not consider becoming a member?

Monday, May 26, 1941 - Blow for blow

Louis

FGM Lieutenant General
FGM MEMBER
Joined
Oct 11, 2010
Messages
12,339
Reaction score
6,887
Age
60
Location
Castelar, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.
In Operation named "MAQ3", british aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, escorted by a powerful force including battleships Barham and Queen Elizabeth, launches six Fairey Albacore planes around 02:00 to attack the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka airfield on Scarpanto. Due to mechanical issues, two planes return to the carrier, and the four remaining planes bomb their airfield between 05:05 and 05:15. Some Wellingtons from Malta arrive as planned at the same time and participate in the raid. Four Fairey Fulmars then arrive from Formidable and strafe the airfield around 05:45. The pilots report at least two aircraft destroyed on the ground, but also note 15 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber and 15 Italian CR-42 fighters untouched by the attack.

As the British withdraw, the Stukas led by II/StG2 led by Major Walter Enneccerus (1911/1971) hit the Formidable with two 1000 kg bombs, damaging it severely. In addition, destroyer Nubian is badly damaged by a Stuka and a Junkers Ju 88 but makes it back to port. There are a dozen deaths on the Formidable, with ten more wounded, and fifteen deaths on the Nubian, with six wounded. The Luftwaffe loses two Stukas. After fighting off further attacks, Formidable reaches Alexandria around dawn on the 27th.

opbQT7I.jpg
 
Back
Top