British Military Aviation in 1942 - Part 4

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10 May
The Luftwaffe ends its air assault on Malta and German air units begin to relocate from Sicily to the Western Desert in support of the Afrika Korps, or to the Russian Front. As a consequence, although enemy air raids continue on the island, their intensity is considerably reduced and the Royal Air Force is able to regain air superiority over Malta. Moreover, during May, the Royal Air Force is able to resume its air offensive against enemy shipping from Malta, which leads to a sharp drop in Axis supplies reaching North Africa.

30 May
The Victoria Cross is posthumously awarded to Flying Officer L.T. Manser for his selfless efforts to enable his crew to escape from their burning bomber, an Avro Manchester of No.50 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command.

30-31 May
Operation Millennium: the first 'Thousand Bomber Raid' is carried out by RAF Bomber Command on the German city of Cologne. 1,046 aircraft drawn from Bomber Command squadrons and Operational Training Units (OTUs) drop more than 2,000 tons of bombs on the target in 90 minutes.

The next morning sees the operational debut of the de Havilland Mosquito in Bomber Command, when four aircraft of No.105 Squadron undertake a combined bombing and reconnaissance sortie to Cologne.

1-2 June
The second 'Thousand Bomber Raid' is carried out by RAF Bomber Command against Essen. 956 aircraft are despatched, of which 767 claim to have attacked. Subsequent reconnaissance reveals that the results of the raid are disappointing.

3 June
Operations Tilden and Style: 27 Supermarine Spitfires are flown to Malta from the Royal Navy carrier HMS Eagle.

3-4 June
The first attack on a surfaced submarine at night using a Leigh Light is carried out by a Vickers Wellington of No.172 Squadron, RAF Coastal Command, flown by Squadron Leader J.H. Greswell. The target is the Italian Navy Marconi Class submarine Luigi Torelli. When illuminated, the submarine initially remains on the surface and fires recognition flares, believing the aircraft to be friendly. The Wellington then drops four Mk8 depth charges, damaging the submarine.

3-6 June
The Battle of Midway: United States naval forces sink three Japanese fleet carriers for the loss of one of their own, irrevocably altering the balance of power in the Pacific.

9 June
Operations Maintop and Salient: an additional 32 Supermarine Spitfires arrive on Malta, flown from the deck of the carrier HMS Eagle.

10-12 June
The Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers of No.217 Squadron arrive on Malta to enhance the Royal Air Force's anti-shipping campaign from that island. Additionally, on 11 June, No.235 Squadron (Bristol Beaufighter) also arrive on the island.

12 June
Flight Lieutenant A.K. Gatward and Sergeant G. Fern of No.236 Squadron fly at low level to Paris in a Bristol Beaufighter. They proceed to fly along the Champs Elysees before dropping a large French tricolour over the Arc de Triomphe and strafing the Gestapo headquarters in the city.

25-26 June
The third of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris's 'Thousand Bomber Raids' is mounted against Bremen, with 960 aircraft despatched. The raid marks the last operational sortie of the Avro Manchester, the unsuccessful forerunner of the widely admired Avro Lancaster.

29 June
United States Army Air Force (USAAF) aircrew bomb a target in enemy-occupied Europe for the first time. Captain Charles Kegelman and his crew from the 15th Bombardment Squadron (Light), US Eighth Air Force, fly a Douglas Boston light bomber of No.226 Squadron, No.2 Group, RAF Bomber Command during an attack by twelve Bostons from that squadron on the marshalling yard at Hazebrouck. No aircraft are lost.

1 July
The first Boeing B17 Flying Fortress to be ferried across the Atlantic, lands at Prestwick in Scotland.

4 July
The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) flies its first operation over Europe. Six Douglas Boston light bombers of the 15th Bombardment Squadron (Light) accompany six Bostons of No.226 Squadron in attacks upon Luftwaffe airfields at De Kooy, Bergen, Haamstede and Valkenburg in the Netherlands. Intense light anti-aircraft fire is encountered when crossing the Dutch coast. Two of the aircraft flown by USAAF crews are lost, one is damaged beyond repair and another is damaged.

Following the success of the Afrika Korps in capturing the British stronghold of Tobruk on 21 June, the Luftwaffe resums its assault on Malta. During July, Axis air units fly 2,851 sorties against the island, during which they drop 695 tons of bombs and 2,300 incendiaries. Luftwaffe attacks are concentrated on Malta's airfields in an attempt to destroy its air defence fighters on the ground and wrest air superiority from the Royal Air Force. During the attacks, 37 Luftwaffe aircraft and 36 Supermarine Spitfires of the Royal Air Force are shot down. Attacks slacken from 14 July, but resume their former intensity during 23-27 July.

11 July
The longest-range daylight raid to date is carried out by aircraft of RAF Bomber Command, when they attack shipyards at Danzig in Poland.

15 July
Operations Colima and Pinpoint: 31 Supermarine Spitfires are flown to Malta from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. Subsequently, a further 28 Spitfires are flown to the island from the same carrier on 21 July in Operations Knapsack and Insect.

31 July
The German submarine U-754 is sunk in the waters off Nova Scotia by a Consolidated Catalina of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). This is the RCAF's first U-boat kill.

6 August
'Moonshine', the first offensive radio counter-measures (RCM) radar jammer to enter service with the Royal Air Force, is used operationally for the first time.

11 August
During Operation Bellows: a further 37 Supermarine Spitfires arrive by air on Malta from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. However, later on this day the Eagle is struck by four torpedoes fired by the German submarine U73 and sinks within five minutes.

14 August
The two surviving merchantmen from the Pedestal convoy carrying essential supplies, the Brisbane Star and the tanker Ohio, limp into harbour at Malta. The convoy had been subjected to intense attack during its passage from the Straits of Gibraltar.

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