6th November 1941: An RAF Wellington unexpectedly gets down to street level
∙ Paid
The small force of Wellington bombers based at Malta mounted a bomber offensive against the Italian ports from which the Afrika Korps was supplied.
On Malta, the small RAF force was under near-constant attack from the Luftwaffe based in Sicily and mainland Italy. It was a continual struggle to keep enough planes serviceable to hit back.
Flight Lieutenant Ken Rees (1921-2014). After he was shot down in 1942 and became a POW, he spent many hours digging the ‘Harry’ tunnel in Stalag Luft III. He continued serving in the RAF after the war and retired as a Wing Commander.
Among the RAF bomber pilots was the exuberant Ken Rees, who had flown his Wellington bomber under the Menai suspension bridge in Wales during training. He was already an experienced pilot when he arrived on Malta.
RAF station on Malta. “A tattered red flag indicates that enemy aircraft are again overhead.”
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