Chapter 64 Volume 2, Chapter 22, Via the Mediterranean Sea

New situation France withdraws, Italy enters Admiral Cunningham's naval battle off Alexandria Calabria is gaining Naval burdens are increasing Naval concerns over the Mediterranean Sea My Memorandum of July 12th and First Sea Lord's ReplyI Memorandum of 15th July Admiral Cunningham's Views on Reinforcements via the Mediterranean First Sea Lord's Memo of 23rd July Hat Operation Plan I try to try to get tanks via the Mediterranean My memorandum of 13th August does not Admiral Cunningham's telegram September 8th to Admiral Cunningham Herculean effort to reinforce the air defenses of the island of Malta Admiral Somerville's long-distance transport opens Takora to Egypt Little by little, the di route adds up to Malta's dominant position.

Before the collapse of France, the Mediterranean was controlled jointly by the British and French fleets.We stationed a small fleet of cruisers and destroyers at Gibraltar to defend the Channel.Our Mediterranean Fleet is deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean, with Alexandria as the base.At the beginning of the year, when the attitude of Italy became aggressive, we strengthened this fleet to a total of four battleships, seven cruisers, twenty-two destroyers, one aircraft carrier, and twelve submarines.The French Mediterranean Fleet has five capital ships, one aircraft carrier, fourteen cruisers and many smaller ships.Now France is out of the Mediterranean and Italy is in.

The numerically formidable Italian fleet consisted of six ships of the war, two of which were of the latest type (the Litrio), armed with fifteen-inch guns, but, of the older ships, two were in the process of Modified, cannot be used immediately. In addition, the Italian fleet also has 19 modern cruisers, seven of which are equipped with 8-inch caliber cannons, 120 destroyers and torpedo boats, and more than 100 submarines. In addition, there is a strong Italian air force against us.At the end of June the situation seemed so dire that the Admiralty at first contemplated abandoning the Eastern Mediterranean and concentrating on Gibraltar.I object to this plan, which, while justified in the light of the apparent strength of the Italian fleet, is not commensurate with the combat qualities I have imagined, and, if carried out, would be tantamount to declaring the island of Malta It's over.So it was decided to fight on both ends.On July 3, the Chiefs of Staff drafted a document on the Mediterranean in which they emphasized the importance of the Middle East as a battlefield but argued that our current strategy should be largely on the defensive.The possibility of a German attack on Egypt must be seriously considered, but as long as this fleet can be kept in the Eastern Mediterranean, our existing forces are sufficient for any purely partial attack.

We have spoken of how Force H, under Admiral Somerville's command, was formed at Gibraltar at the end of June.This fleet includes HMS Hood, HMS Resolute, HMS Valor and the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, as well as two cruisers and eleven destroyers.We used this fleet to complete the mission [1] in Oran.In the Eastern Mediterranean we found Admiral Cunningham to be an officer of the highest quality and gallantry.As soon as Italy declared war, he set sail to pursue the enemy.The Royal Air Force attacked Tobruk and sank the old Italian cruiser St. George.Our fleet bombarded Bardia from the sea.Submarines on both sides were very active. Before the end of June, we had destroyed ten enemy submarines, and our side had lost three due to encountering mines in the deep sea.

【1】See Chapter 11 of this book. On July 8th, while our fleet was covering a convoy sailing from Malta to Alexandria, Admiral Cunningham spotted a strong Italian fleet.Judging from the intensity of the Italian air raids, it is clear that the enemy is also taking an important military operation. We now know that they were planning to lure the British admiral to a certain sea area, let the Italian air force and submarines concentrate on Onslaught on him.Admiral Cunningham immediately seized the opportunity to strike preemptively, and though his fleet was outnumbered, he very boldly interspersed between enemy ships and enemy bases.

The next day, the two sides began to contact each other and bombarded each other at a long distance. One enemy battleship and two cruisers were hit, while the British fleet suffered no loss.The enemy dared not fight any further, and their greater speed enabled them to escape. Admiral Cunningham pursued them to within twenty-five miles of the Italian mainland.During that day and the next two days, the heavy Italian air raids continued in vain, and our convoy, despite frequent bombardments, finally reached Alexandria.It was a hearty battle that confirmed the superiority of the British fleet in the Mediterranean, while Italian prestige was dealt a blow from which it never recovered.Ten days later, the Australian cruiser HMS Sydney sank an Italian cruiser in cooperation with the British destroyer fleet.Our first encounter with this new enemy, therefore, did not impress us in the least.

However, the burden that fell on the Admiralty at this time was extremely heavy.The danger of an enemy invasion of our homeland necessitated the concentration of flotillas and small craft in large numbers in the English Channel and North Sea.Since August, the enemy has used submarines to fight from the ports of the Bay of Biscay, inflicting heavy damage on our Atlantic transport fleet, but their own losses are not great.Before this, we have never tried the strength of the Italian fleet.At the same time, we were haunted by the possibility of Japan declaring war, and its consequences for our imperial colonies in the East.It is no wonder, then, that the Admiralty is extremely apprehensive of any attempt to place our warships at great risk in the Mediterranean, and is bent on the strictest defensive positions at Gibraltar and Alexandria.On the other hand, I do not understand why the large number of ships assigned to the Mediterranean was not allowed to play an active role in the first place.Malta must be reinforced by several air squadrons and land forces.Although all commercial traffic is rightly suspended, and all large convoys bound for Egypt must circumvent the Cape of Good Hope, I still cannot see why this inland sea should be absolutely closed.In fact, I hope that, by the voyage of a few special convoys, we may plan and provoke the Italian fleet to take on us.I hope there will be such a battle, that there will be a proper garrison on Malta, complete with aircraft and anti-aircraft guns, before the presence of Germany in the Mediterranean (which I have feared for a long time).During the summer and fall months I had amicable but intense discussions with the Admiralty about our operations in this area.

Prime Minister to Admiralty and First Sea Lord July 12, 1940 I thought it would be better to send the Radiance to the Mediterranean instead of the Ark Royal. In this way, the Splendid might be able to transport a number of Tornados to Malta.Now that we are rich with many Tornados, shouldn't they be flown by Gladiator pilots on the island of Malta?This will not detract from my home air force. Now that the Germans had control of all of France and the Belgian mines, the campaign against Lulea (in the Baltic) was secondary.Care must be taken to fight in the Mediterranean. You guys were going to give me a plan for replacing the Mediterranean flotilla with durable destroyers.Can you let me know the replacement date?

On the same day, Admiral Pound replied through the Secretary of the Navy: We have now gained experience in the air operations of the Western Mediterranean, and when the present engagement with the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet is concluded, we shall immediately know what we are facing in the Eastern Mediterranean. There can be no doubt that since we cannot cover Fleet H and the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet with fighter jets as we can against the ships in the bombing zone of the North Sea, both fleets will be fighting under extremely unfavorable conditions. The pressing problem facing us at present is that of transporting planes and anti-aircraft guns to Malta and planes to Alexandria.I cannot judge whether the dangers of sailing through the Mediterranean with all such useful supplies would not be so great that it would be better to delay the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope.

There is also the issue of the Radiance to consider. However, this matter does not need to be resolved immediately, because it must first return to the mainland and be fully loaded with Petrel fighters. Arrangements are now being made to replace the Gibraltar destroyers with other destroyers of greater endurance, but the sailing date will likely depend on when cover can be provided for the ships sailing to Gibraltar. Prime Minister to First Sea Lord July 15, 1940 1. It is now three weeks since I rejected the withdrawal of the Eastern Mediterranean and the transfer of Admiral Cunningham's fleet to Gibraltar.I hope that we will not revisit this formula.Anyone can see the risk of aerial bombardment we run in the Central Mediterranean.There will always be times when we must take such risks in order to be worth the risk.Warships are meant to be used for combat.In October last year, if my proposal had been supported, we would be in a very different position today when I proposed to modify the Royal Sovereign-class ships by reducing speed and enlarging the hull to accommodate thicker decks for anti-aircraft defense.The difficulties at each stage are so bewildering that my proposal suffers, and we are not making any more progress now than we were a year ago.If we had thickly decked the Royal Sovereign, and mounted all or some of the guns, we would be more confident and bold in bombarding the coast of Italy.[1]Before the war, the various agencies of the Admiralty had underestimated the danger of air raids and made many confident arguments to Parliament about the ability of warships to withstand them.The current trend is to go to the other extreme. It is believed that His Majesty's warships should not be allowed to risk the danger of enemy plane bombing, but to find enemy ships to fight, often they will inevitably encounter enemy plane bombing.

[1] This question was dealt with in Book I, Chapter 25. It is certain that once the Germans come, the enemy's air strikes in the Mediterranean will inevitably intensify. 2. It is extremely important and urgent to build a very strong air defense fortification and station several elite fighter squadrons in Malta.This needs to be done under enemy fire.I would like to know the full extent of the defense forces proposed in the various documents I have seen.Emplacements must be placed immediately.I have been informed that a small batch of anti-aircraft guns and Tornados has now been obtained, and that the main equipment will follow.It is likely that a large number of troops will be drawn from our home defense forces by the end of the month.The urgently needed first troops should be sent to Malta as soon as possible.The required supplies should be divided into several ships, lest one be hit and all be lost.These ships must not be allowed to be delayed for much time by circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope.As far as Malta is concerned, I do not see why a circumnavigation is necessary to avoid danger, and I do not see that the danger, if any, is greater from Alexandria to Malta than from Gibraltar to Malta. 3. About the Brilliance.Given that we are on the defensive in the North Sea and Atlantic, and no one is proposing to send the Radiance into the narrow waters south and north of Dover (where we have good coastal bases with aircraft).Therefore, aircraft carriers in our territorial waters can operate at a considerable distance from the enemy's coast.But in the Mediterranean we must take the offensive against Italy, and in particular to make Malta a naval base again in times of crisis.The Glory has an armored deck, so it is best to transfer to the Mediterranean, and transfer the Ark Royal to my home waters to fight.The delay in getting the Radiant ready for battle has been long and I wish to know when the Petrel (high speed fighter) will start shipping and when the Radiant will replace the Ark Royal. 4. It would be my pleasure if arrangements could be made to transfer the destroyers with longer voyages to Gibraltar and the ships with shorter voyages to return to the English Channel. During this period, the policies of the Admiralty underwent another extremely careful study. In a telegram sent to the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet on July 15, we reiterated our intention to maintain a strong military force in the Eastern Mediterranean.The telegram pointed out that Britain's primary task in the Eastern Mediterranean was to destroy the enemy's naval superiority in numbers.In the Western Mediterranean, Fleet H would control the exits at the western end of the Mediterranean and launch an offensive against the Italian coast.Overall, I agree with this tough policy.The Admiralty was asked by the Admiralty of the Mediterranean Fleet to state how many heavy warships the two fleets would require; and to advise him, if the ships should be redistributed, whether the exchange should be by way of the Mediterranean, or round the Cape of Good Hope. In reply he asked for the galleys Valiant and Barham.In this way, he has four warships with the longest range and the highest speed.He could do without the poorly defended and slow HMS Sovereign, a ship of war that so often worried him.In addition, he needed two aircraft carriers, including the Radiance, and two cruisers with eight-foot-caliber cannons. He agreed with the First Sea Lord that, in the western Mediterranean, a fleet consisting of Hood and Ark Royal and one or two R-class warships would suffice.He believes that as long as the island of Malta is strictly protected by fighter jets and a supply base is established in Alexandria, using these two fleets will be enough to control the Mediterranean Sea and keep the eastern sea forever.In his conclusion, he said: With concerted actions, reinforcements from the Mediterranean are certainly possible, but it is best: all reinforcement tasks are completed at one time. In the Admiralty talks, therefore, we were largely in agreement.The common opinion among us is that Admiral Cunningham's fleet must be supplemented by a battleship, an aircraft carrier, and two cruisers, and that the opportunity should be seized to send supply convoys from Alexandria. to Malta.Later, on the 23rd of July, the First Sea Lord wrote in a memorandum to the Lord of the Admiralty and myself: We have given full consideration to whether we can use the Mediterranean reinforcements. The reinforcement ships include not only combat ships to supplement the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet, but also merchant ships, carrying spare munitions needed by the fleet, anti-aircraft guns needed by Malta and the needs of Malta and the Middle East. s plane.The Admiral-in-Chief of the Fleet was of the opinion that, under the present circumstances, it would be inadvisable to attempt to pass merchant ships laden with valuable supplies through the Central Mediterranean, and that if one or more ships were slowed by damage, they would have to be scuttled.I agree completely with the Commander in Chief. Therefore, the later important combat plan code-named hat did not provide for the navigation of merchant ships.However, with the full support of Admiral Cunningham, the Italian fleet and air force in the Central Mediterranean were challenged.I am now satisfied with the principal decision taken by the Admiralty, and hope that the result will be a contest between the two sides.Therefore, all preparations are actively carried out. A few weeks later, the War Cabinet, with the full consent of the Chiefs of Staff, took bold and far-reaching action: we sent nearly half of our best tanks to Egypt, regardless of the danger of invasion; navigation problems, and more acute than before.Of course, I am all in favor of sending the tanks, but I am concerned that circumventing the Cape of Good Hope will delay the battle that will decide the fate of Egypt.The First Sea Lord initially intended to take the risk, but after further study it was decided that doing so would disrupt the current Admiralty-led central working hat plan.Because it would require sending at least two high-speed motor transport ships (at sixteen knots an hour) from Gibraltar to Malta, which he considered more dangerous than going via Alexandria.This led to further discussion. Prime Minister to General Ismay, Transfer to the Chiefs of Staff Committee August 11, 1940 I cannot accept this proposal (i.e. transporting tanks to Egypt via the Cape of Good Hope), which on the one hand would deprive us of these valuable supplies (fifty infantry tanks, or Type I tanks) at the most critical juncture, and on the other hand would not allow us to use them in the Middle East. Kong urgent moment sent there for use.I must ask the Admiralty to make another proposal and overcome all difficulties.Wouldn't it be possible, if necessary, to assign the personnel concerned to the destroyers? A larger fleet of destroyers had been dispatched from Fleet H to the Eastern Med and then six destroyers would be sent to the Western Med as Admiral Cunningham is doing now, And make them come back? I have no objection to the transport of the 3rd Hussars (men of a tank regiment) by way of the Cape of Good Hope, since, in the meantime, General Wavell will be able to send his men in Make temporary arrangements for the equipment.Assuming the tankers had been assigned to the ships, I was prepared to take the risk of transporting these fifty infantry tanks by way of the Mediterranean; doesn't work.Shipments from the Mediterranean Sea should be limited to those who are essential and the rest can be bypassed. Please feel free to submit further proposals to me tomorrow (Monday). Prime Minister to Admiralty and First Sea Lord August 13, 1940 1. On the eve of France's withdrawal from the war, Admiral Darlan bombarded Genoa during the day without the cover of any destroyers or aircraft equipped with submarine detectors, and returned to Toulon without loss.The Eastern Mediterranean Fleet went deep into the central Mediterranean three times and then turned back to Alexandria. Only one warship, the Gloucester, was hit by a bomb.A few weeks ago a fast convoy and a slow convoy sailed from Malta to Alexandria without loss, being disturbed by Italian aircraft only two days during their voyage. 2. The Admiralty now proposes to transfer six destroyers from Alexandria to join H-Fleet.These few destroyers, doomed to escape enemy aerial reconnaissance, would be within striking distance of many, many high-speed Italian cruisers anchored at home bases.The Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet and the Admiralty had correctly estimated the intentions of the Italian Navy, and there was reason to conclude that this maneuver was extremely risky. 3. We are now told that it is very dangerous to use our powerful fleet to escort two motor transport ships with a speed of only fifteen knots to the Eastern Mediterranean recently. But, at the same time, we are required to spend large sums of money to fortify a large part of the west coast of Britain against what the Admiralty says is a possible invasion of twelve thousand men from the Gironde (river) (or from) Saint-Nazaire Er boarded the ship, without the protection of any warship, and sailed to his destination.If it is believed that, in the presence of a powerful British navy, the enemy can land twelve thousand men on the west coast of Ireland or Britain without the cover of warships, is this consistent with the standard currently adopted for estimating the danger in the Mediterranean? 4. No one knows when and where the main offensive against Egypt will be launched.However, it seemed quite likely that if Germany's invasion of Great Britain was thwarted, or if she did not intend to attempt it at all, she would vigorously urge and support Italy's attack on Egypt.September should be regarded as a critical juncture. 5. In these circumstances it would be a great mistake to try to round the Cape of Good Hope to transport the Armored Brigade, for that would make them useless in September for the defense of either England or Egypt. 6. I request to re-examine the issue of sending at least two motorized transport ships together to reinforce the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet.Men can be carried separately from the warships; and from the perspective of the war as a whole, the risk of these motor transports running through the Mediterranean is always less than the risk of transporting armored brigades around the Cape of Good Hope and not being able to enter the battle in time.I accept full responsibility for possible losses to the armored vehicles as long as the personnel are properly assigned to the warship. I failed to persuade the Admiralty to transport the armored brigade, or at least its vehicles, via the Mediterranean.I am both sad and resentful about this.Though my friendship with Admiral Pound, and my confidence in his judgment, remained unshakable, sharp disputes continued between us.Professional responsibility rested with him, and, of all the naval officers I have worked with, he has taken more risks. We have worked together for a long time.If he doesn't, no one else will.If I can't convince him, no one else can.I knew the Admiralty well enough that I could not force them too much, or my old and dear friend and comrade Pound or the Admiralty.My relations with the Admiralty are so good that I do not wish to jeopardize them by formal complaints to the Cabinet. On the 15th of August I finally raised the matter with the Cabinet, saying that I had hoped to persuade the Admiralty to include the two armored brigades in the hat operations plan.If the tank troops are transported by the Mediterranean Sea, they can reach Alexandria around September 5; if they are transported by the Cape of Good Hope, it will be about three weeks later.The Chief of the Imperial General Staff, however, did not see a major Italian offensive as imminent, nor did General Wavell.After I had done my best to take the short cut, I felt that it should not be the responsibility of the War Cabinet to overrule the decisions of the commanders, and I regretfully reluctantly agreed to a longer voyage around the Cape of Good Hope.However, the Chiefs of Staff had also drawn up an option for taking a short cut, to be used if the situation in the Middle East suddenly deteriorated before Operation Hat was implemented.The two fast motorized transport ships equipped with patrol tanks and Type I tanks will accompany the fleet through the Mediterranean.A decision on the route should be made before the reinforcement ships pass through Gibraltar.If, on the basis of reports from the Middle East, it was deemed unnecessary to pursue this option, the whole convoy would continue to circumnavigate the Cape of Good Hope. From August 30th to September 5th we successfully carried out the hat plan without suffering any losses.Admiral Cunningham sailed from Alexandria on the 30th of August, and on the evening of the 31st, his air force reported that an enemy fleet of two battleships and seven cruisers was approaching us ahead. . They wanted to start a war with the enemy, but the Italians obviously did not come to provoke, so there was no conflict.The next night our planes made contact with the enemy, who have now retreated to Taranto.Since then, Admiral Cunningham's ships have been unimpeded in the southeast of Malta, and the interference of enemy planes has not been serious.The convoy reached Malta safely, with only one ship damaged in the air attack.Meanwhile, reinforcements, including HMS Valiant (but not her unreconstructed sister Barham), the aircraft carrier HMS Splendor, and two cruisers with anti-aircraft equipment, under Admiral Somerville's HMS Escorted by the fleet, they are coming from Gibraltar.The Valiant and the cruiser successfully transported the necessary guns and munitions to Malta, and then sailed eastward with Admiral Cunningham on September 3.On its way back to Alexandria, the fleet attacked Rhodes and Scarpanto and easily repelled a fast torpedo boat attack.Admiral Somerville's fleet returned safely to Gibraltar. All this convinced me that the risk of transporting our armored brigade from the Strait of Malta was worth a try, especially since we were resolutely risking the German army's preparations for an invasion and drawing a large number of our own armored forces, so it was even more worth the risk Try, if you ventured there, you might be in Egypt by now, without spending another three weeks.Yes, no serious misfortune occurred in Egypt during these three weeks.However, our excessive fear of the Italian Air Force did hinder the combat operations of our navy.I thought then, and I think now, that events have vindicated me.About the end of November, Admiral Somerville's H-Fleet did convoy a convoy from the West to Malta, and on the way made a small engagement near Sardinia with a part of the Italian fleet which had escaped from Taranto. little fight.In this convoy, one ship, escorted by reinforcement ships in the Eastern Mediterranean, continued to Alexandria together with three other supply ships from Malta.This is the first time that a merchant ship has passed the entire length of the Mediterranean Sea since Italy entered the war.The reader will see in the next volume how our navy performed a more difficult task in transporting tanks to Egypt in 1941, when the Luftwaffe filled Sicily. prime minister to secretary of the navy September 7, 1940 1. The execution of the hat operation plan convinced me that it would be a mistake to abandon the idea of ​​transporting armored vehicles by way of the Mediterranean.As long as you read my memorandum, which gave reasons for taking this route, you will realize that new facts have now strengthened my reasons. prime minister to secretary of the navy September 7, 1940 I would be glad if you could give me a brief summary of my repeated requests during my tenure as Secretary of the Admiralty to thicken the deck armor and increase the hull volume of the Lamiy-class warships to withstand bombing.Had the refitting of these ships been proceeded, as I have repeatedly demanded, we would now have the means to attack the Italian coast, which would probably have the greatest political and military effect.Even today there is a tendency to delay taking this much-needed step without proposing an alternative. In order that we will not be short of bombardment ships next year as we are now, I wrote you a memorandum reintroducing this reconstruction plan, but you have not yet received your reply.I would like to consult with you on this issue after reading some documents to help me recall the past. This problem will never be resolved without being weighed against other pressing needs for new ships.My hopes were finally dashed, not because of a difference of principle, but because of encountering this rock. prime minister to general ismay September 8, 1940 The following is a memorandum from the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Defense to Sir Andrew Cunningham, Commander-in-Chief of the Eastern Mediterranean Fleet: I congratulate you on your recent victories in the eastern and central Mediterranean, adding to your fleet two of our best ships, as well as other useful ships.But I deeply regret that the armored brigades, which are so badly needed for the defense of Egypt and Alexandria, are still more than three weeks away from reaching the field.I would like you to take another look at the naval situation in the light of the experience gained during the execution of the hat plan and the arrival of the Splendid and Valiant.Not only the literal strength of the Italian navy was to be measured, but also the limits of their intended resistance.The attack on Italy this autumn is a very important move, because the farther back the Germans will have a stronger hand in control of the Italian war organization, and then the situation will be very different.We intend to do everything in our power to strengthen the anti-aircraft defenses of the island of Malta, and will soon send for trials a new type of armament on which I have high hopes.I believe that Malta will serve as a safe base of temporary anchorage for my fleet until April 1941.In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for offensive action, please send them to the Admiralty.I would be very pleased if you would cooperate with my Army and Air Force's proposed attack on the Italian lines of communication in Libya which, if timed properly, would prevent any major Italian attack on Egypt.It is obviously of great benefit to strive for the initiative.I hope the Petrels (fast fighters that are finally on my carriers) have made a good impression.Meanwhile, the struggle for air supremacy is still fierce, but we have firm belief in the final outcome. It is indeed surprising that the British Government and its special advisers did not foresee more clearly before the war the importance of the air force for our control of the Mediterranean.In any event, we were so far behind the Germans in the air race that the defense of Britain fell to a large extent with our already numerically inferior air force.Before the decisive victory in the Battle of Britain, every reinforcement of aircraft to the Mediterranean and Egypt was a last resort.Even in the winter months, when we thought we could control the home airspace by day, it was difficult to send fighters to Malta or Egypt under the intense threat of a blitzkrieg.It is also extremely distressing to have the anti-aircraft guns and shells used to defend against enemy aircraft removed from bombed cities, important ports, and munitions factories, and shipped around the Cape of Good Hope to Egypt, or directly to Malta at great risk. Despite repeated losses and setbacks, the air defenses of Malta, which had been neglected in the past, were gradually strengthened.One of the missions of Admiral Somerville's fleet at Gibraltar was to use an aircraft carrier to transport fighter jets within flying distance of Malta.The first attempt was made in early August, when twelve Tornados flew to the island from the aircraft carrier Argos.Before they arrived, the air defense of the island of Malta had only three Gladiator planes, which the locals affectionately called Faith, Hope and Mercy respectively.We tried a second time in November, but tragedy struck.Nine of the fourteen planes that took off from the aircraft carrier Argos, four hundred miles west of the island, ran out of fuel due to a change in wind direction, and died at sea along with their loyal pilots.From then on, the leeway for the flight safety of this voyage was no longer so tight. Although there were many similar actions later, such an accident did not happen again. At the same time, it is necessary to try to transport the plane to the Middle East, avoiding the danger in the Mediterranean Sea and avoiding too much delay due to circumventing the Cape of Good Hope.The overland route from West Africa might save many precious days and ships.Airplanes are either flown ashore from an aircraft carrier, or are disassembled and shipped, then reassembled and taken off at a port.Available ports are Lagos and Takoradi. After careful research, Takoradi was selected and the task force arrived there as early as August 21, 1940.The road from Kano to Khartoum and finally to Cairo is 3,700 miles long.Many repair workshops and various facilities must be built in Takoradi, as well as various gas stations and rest stops along the way.Twelve Tornadoes and Brenhams were crated by sea on September 5, and thirty more Tornados arrived the next day from the aircraft carrier Argos.The first airlift departed from Takoradi on September 20 and reached Khartoum four days later.By the end of the year, one hundred and seven aircraft had been transported to Egypt by this method of accumulating little by little. Although the path began quickly, it took many months of work to lay it out.Takoradi's climate and endemic malaria tormented workers who unpacked and assembled the aircraft.The use of aircraft carriers is also limited by other pressing needs.The weather is not conducive to air freight.Planes that were out of service while waiting for parts to be repaired piled up along the way.When flying over the barren expanse of desert, the engine wears out a lot, thus shortening their flight life.Many difficulties at the beginning of the work have yet to be resolved.In 1940 this method of supplying aircraft had not worked out, but Army Nile, with all its audacity, would not have been able to overcome the misfortunes of 1941 if we had not started in time. By the end of 1940, the British Navy was once again firmly established in the Mediterranean.Malta's defenses were also greatly strengthened by Admiral Somerville's shipment of anti-aircraft guns and other equipment.Admiral Cunningham's offensive strategy in the Eastern Mediterranean also achieved brilliant results.Although the Italian air force is strong, the initiative is everywhere in our hands, and the island of Malta has always occupied a dominant position in the development of the situation. In the offensive action between Italy and the lines of communication between Italy and its troops in Africa. The island is an advancing base.