RAF in Greece, April 1941

[newcomer]

Hi to all,

does anybody know how many flights RAF performed in Greece in April 1941?

kind regards

Newcomer

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Hello Newcomer,

When you say "Flights", are you meaning:
a) Sorties?
b) Flights, like "A" Flight of XXX Squadron?

In both cases (unless a book or author has already crosschecked or obtained this particular information from Official Sources), I would say the first option is to check all units flying from there and try to determine by their ORB the sorties or Flights carried out during the month...

It is a long process...I know...but a start...There are acknowledged Historians who wrote about the Allied in the Mediterranean Theatre of War here on this Board...

What are you looking for more specially?

A.

[Adriano Baumgartner]

Are you aware of this work (vol.1)?

A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945: Volume 1 - North Africa, June 1940 - January 1942
Christopher Shores (Author), Giovanni Massimello (Author), Russell Guest (Author)

and...
Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete 1940-41 Hardcover
by Christopher Shores (Author), Brian Cull (Author), Nicola Malizia (Author)

Chris Shores is a member of the board...

For me it is not totally clear what you are looking for...but maybe he may assist you if you do clarify us.

I do remain, must humbly yours,
A.

[Chris Goss]

I have never seen Chris Shores on this board but what is being asked for (presumably sorties) presupposes that the F540s survived a somewhat chaotic evacuation from Greece

[newcomer]

Dear all,

I only need the total sum of sorties in digit and nothing more. I have the book "Air War for Greece, Crete and Yugoslavia" and from that book I learn that some part of logbook of certain RAF Squadron in Greece were missing, as we can see from the extract shown in the book find by german war correspondent.

kind regards

Newcomer

P.S. I think it is pity that only for the RAF in Greece and Luftwaffe we don't know their total sum of flights in April 1941 in Balkan campaign.

[MisterH]

Originally Posted by newcomer

Hi to all,

does anybody know how many flights RAF performed in Greece in April 1941?

kind regards

Newcomer

Not nearly enough, from what I've been reading. The Aussies used to refer to" "RAF" as standing for Rare as Faries, or the cruder term, Rare as F**k.

[John Beaman]

Originally Posted by MisterH

Not nearly enough, from what I've been reading. The Aussies used to refer to" "RAF" as standing for Rare as Faries, or the cruder term, Rare as F**k.

MisterH, unless you can document this please do not post on this site. In any event such things are not appropriate.

[MisterH]

Originally Posted by John Beaman

MisterH, unless you can document this please do not post on this site. In any event such things are not appropriate.

Dear John
Here is the first reference to Rare as Fairies. My mistake it was the Kiwis not the Aussies:
"The lack of RAF support was bemoaned by all the campaign veterans. New Zealander soldiers would comment sarcastically that the RAF's initials stood for ‘Rare As Fairies’."
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journ...FC/core-reader

I will retrieve the other reference shortly to satisfy your curiosity.

Originally Posted by John Beaman

MisterH, unless you can document this please do not post on this site. In any event such things are not appropriate.

And here are the references to the cruder versions of that antipodean snub from the book Larrakins in Khaki by Tim Bowden:

"This, of course, created some AIF bitterness towards the RAF, generally referred to as ‘Blue Orchids’ by the Aussie troops, who also claimed their initials stood for ‘Rare As F**k’. "

https://dokumen.pub/larrikins-in-kha...760871605.html

"Other British bodies, notably the air force and government, were not so popular, German air superiority featured in every Australian's memories of the campaign, and the lack of British air support led the RAF being called 'Blue Orchids", which were as 'rare as f-'."

From the book: Anzacs in the Middle East by Mark Johnston

https://books.google.com.au/books?id...rchids&f=false

I hope that corrects the record?
Best wishes

[Håkan]

As far as I know, the ORB's for the RAF fighter squadron in April 1941 over Greece are all written after the end of the campaign (i.e. the original material was lost in the evacuation from mainland Greece.
The RAF fought a hard and bitter but losing war after the German invasion on 6 April. The RAF's (provisionally) most successful ace was lost when F/L Pattle was killed over Pireus on 20 April.

Best wishes/Håkan