Greek Air Force Heroes of the WWII Africa Campaign Remembered

Pilots of the 336th Fighter Squadron, successful North Africa successful 1943. Credit: idiosyncratic archive of Wing Commander Konstantinos Hatzilakos via AMNA

The Greek Air Force precocious honored the enduring bequest of its pilots who reformed their squadrons successful exile and took to the skies implicit North Africa from 1941 to 1944, warring the Axis powers alongside their British allies.

When the German Luftwaffe launched its relentless battle connected Greek airfields successful April 1941, the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) faced destruction. Yet, the combat for state was acold from over.

On April 23, 5 Avro Anson craft of the 13th Naval Cooperation Squadron executed a captious maneuver, escaping via Crete to Egypt. These courageous airmen were the “yeast” for the HAF’s rebirth, forming the halfway of Greek combat squadrons that would run successful exile nether British command.

This radical was rapidly joined by 3 grooming aircraft, a Dornier 22 seaplane, and, crucially, students from the Air Force Academy who sailed from the confederate coasts of Crete to information successful Palestine and Egypt.

Other personnel, including reservists, aerial gunners, and hundreds of airmen initially captured by the Germans, continued their individual, perilous escapes done Turkey and Syria. By July 1941, a reception halfway was established successful Gaza, Palestine, marking the ceremonial reconstitution of the HAF successful the Middle East.

Greek Air Force joins Allied forces successful North Africa

A British Avro Anson aircraft, akin to the ones that escaped occupied Greece. Public Domain

In Egypt, the Greeks became portion of the Desert Air Force (DAF), a groundbreaking, multicultural Allied unit nether the Royal Air Force (RAF). Operating alongside squadrons from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, France, and Poland, the Greek pilots contributed importantly to the Allied aerial superiority campaigns. The HAF formed 3 superior squadrons successful this theatre: 1 airy bombing and 2 combatant units.

13th Light Bombing Squadron

Formed successful the summertime of 1941 with the 5 escaped Avro Anson aircraft, the 13th Squadron was the archetypal Greek portion to alert the nationalist emblem again “in overseas skies.” Its archetypal relation was anti-submarine warfare, which they undertook with commitment, receiving commendations from the Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.

By December 1941, the squadron was equipped with the twin-engine Blenheim Mk IV, aboriginal upgrading to the Baltimore airy bomber successful September 1943. One of the squadron’s astir notable successes was the demolition of the Fano Bridge successful Italy, a people that had resisted erstwhile attacks by British and American forces.

The squadron yet destroyed 8 U-boats, six railway bridges, 9 larboard facilities, and galore different Axis installations, paying a dense terms with the nonaccomplishment of 21 airmen.

335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons

The 2 Greek combatant units were pivotal successful securing the skies implicit North Africa.

The 335th Fighter Squadron was established connected October 7, 1941, successful Palestine, equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. After becoming operational successful February 1942, the squadron protected convoys and patrolled the larboard of Alexandria earlier achieving fame during the Second Battle of El Alamein successful October 1942. Its missions included a palmy onslaught against the Italian General Headquarters connected the day of October 28th.

The 336th Fighter Squadron followed suit, formed successful February 1943. This unit, on with the 335th, was soon progressive successful raids implicit Crete, a unsafe duty wherever they suffered losses. In a tragic incidental from a July 1943 raid, 2 of its airmen, aft being changeable down and captured, were aboriginal executed by the Germans during the infamous “Great Escape” from Stalag Luft III successful March 1944.

By the extremity of 1943, some combatant squadrons were refitted with the iconic Spitfire aircraft, importantly boosting their operational capabilities.

Return to the homeland

In September 1944, arsenic German armies retreated done Europe, some the 335th and 336th Fighter Squadrons were moved to Italy to run successful the European theater. They continued to onslaught withdrawing German forces until the last days of the war.

The last Greek airman to beryllium killed successful overseas operations was Flight Lieutenant Epameinondas Kottas, who fell during a ngo connected October 12, 1944—the precise time Athens was liberated from Nazi occupation. His sacrifice underscored the relentless committedness of the HAF successful exile.

A period later, connected November 14, 1944, each 3 reconstituted Greek squadrons—the 13th, 335th, and 336th—landed triumphantly successful Athens, marking the authoritative instrumentality of the Hellenic Air Force to its liberated homeland.

The bequest of the Greek Air Force fighters is remembered

The communicative of the Greek airmen warring alongside their British allies “wing-to-wing” successful the Middle East remains a almighty awesome of planetary unity and sacrifice.

This collaboration was precocious honored by the Hellenic Air Force astatine a memorial ceremonial held astatine the Pallas Theater successful Athens, attended by the Chief of the HAF General Staff, Lieutenant General (I) Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Greece, Matthew Lodge.

In his address, Lieutenant General Grigoriadis emphasized that the concern was not simply a subject necessity:

“This practice went beyond the applicable necessities of war. It was a national of values, ideals, and religion successful the communal intent for the triumph of state implicit totalitarianism. The airmen of some nations shared the aforesaid danger, the aforesaid hardship, and the aforesaid hopes… We perpetrate to keeping their bequest live and proceed to service our state with precocious morale, patriotism, and dedication to the timeless principles of bid and security.”

Ambassador Lodge echoed this sentiment, highlighting the symbolic value of the alliance:

“In North Africa, British and Greek airmen flew side-by-side… Their contribution, specified arsenic astatine the Battle of El Alamein, was not lone strategical but besides a awesome of unity. British pilots viewed their Greek colleagues arsenic a root of solidarity. Together, they faced the force and the dangers for the communal goal, to stock freedom. Our friendship, forged successful a clip of war, remains beardown and invaluable.”