View attachment 784 A Veteran told me that this was a Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber flying over his AA gun emplacement. It was used with devastating effect at Cape Bonn. He called this incident the 'German Dunkirk'. Can anyone throw some light on this situation.
Piece of cake. Get your hands on "The Armed Rovers: Beauforts and Beaufighters in the Mediterranean" for background. When the Germans and Italians were trying to supply their forces in Tunisia and extricate them, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham ordered, "Sink, Burn, Destroy. Let nothing pass." The RAF and USAAF turned to with a will, and that saw the "Palm Sunday Massacre" of transports of various types. Beauforts were critical in sinking Italian merchant shipping hauling German supplies.
Thanks for the info. The veteran, Cockney Martin told me about one of the Beauforts returning from a raid. The pilot did a victory roll, too close to the ground. The win tip caught the sand and the Beaufort did six full side rolls. It came to rest upright, minus both wings. The crew alighted and the only other damage appeared to be the pilot's future.
Also get your hands on 'The Ship Busters : The Story of the RAF Torpedo Bombers' by Flight Lieutenant Ralph Barker. There are some incidents which refer to Cape Bon however none in the Dunkirk vein. An extract explaining the first mention is as follows. Cape Bon in Sicily was often passed by Axis shipping on the way to Tunisia. The Beauforts and Wellingtons based on Malta severly hampered Rommels supply lines. On the 20th June 1941 twelve Beauforts from 217 Squadron took off from Malta to attack a convoy sighted near Messina, and bound for Tripoli/Benghazi but were unable to make contact. The next day nine Beauforts escorted by six Beaufighters took off from Malta to attack another convoy sighted by a recce Spitfire off the Tunisian Coast near Cape Bon. The convoy consisted of the 7600 ton Reichenfels, another Merchant vessel and a flak ship escorted by two JU88's and a SM79. The Reichenfels was sunk and from this time Italian convoys began to take a a route to Tunisia via Taranto and the Greek Coast instead of heading South from Sicily. The first convoy had made Palermo but the Italians now decided to bring it back through the straights of Messina and along the Greek Coast to dodge the Malta Beauforts. On the morning of the 23rd it was sighted off the toe of Italy. It consisted of four destroyers and two merchantmen packed with motor transport. A successful attack was again conducted by 217 with the result that the convoy was severly damaged and diverted to Taranto. The cargo appears to have been transferred to three merchantmen and the convoy set out again on the 30th June. Early the next morning the convoy was attacked by Wellingtons carrying torpedoes and bombs. The convoy returned to Taranto again with one merchantman damaged. The vessel was patched up and the convoy, desparately needed by Rommel to sustain his advance, set out again forty-eight hours later. The vessels were found by Wellingtons near Paxos and attacked with unknown results and another Beaufort strike was ordered. They took off before 7.00am but were unable locate the convoy. It was found by a Spitfire at about 4.00pm and consisted of three merchantmen and eight destroyers. Eight Beauforts took off with a Beaufighter escort but mechanical problems on the outward flight narrowed the response to four. The convoy was attacked with one merchantman severely damaged. Two merchant vessels eventually reached Benghazi. Rgds Tim D
