13th Light Bomber Squadron
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 13th Light Bomber Squadron ( el, 13 Μοίρα Ελαφρού Βομβαρδισμού, 13 ΜΕΒ), was one of the three
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
aircraft
squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
s in service with the
Royal Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...
, exiled in the Middle East, that fought under the auspices of the British
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
. It was the first Greek military unit founded after the German invasion and conquest of Greece in April–May 1941.


Background

After the failed Italian attack against Greece (October 28 – November 13, 1940), the Greek forces counterattacked and penetrated deep into Italian held Albanian territory. However, with the German intervention in April 1941, Greece capitulated. By April 15, 1941, the
Royal Hellenic Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = 8 November , equipment = , equipment_label ...
was virtually eliminated by the numerically and technically superior German ''
Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
''. Part of the Greek air force personnel managed to escape to Egypt together with five
Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCA ...
aircraft. These aircraft formed the 13th Light Bomber Squadron during the summer of 1941, which was thus the first Greek military unit formed in the Middle East.The Desert Squadrons, (2008) p. 26 During the following months two additional Greek squadrons were founded, the 335th and 336th Pursuit Squadrons.


Activity


Middle East

Its first commander was
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...
Spyros Dakopoulos and its initial personnel was mainly provided from the former 13th Naval Cooperation and 32nd Bomber Squadrons to be finally manned by volunteers recruited from the then large Greek resident communities in Egypt. Its first mission was assigned on July 14, 1941. At December 1941 the Squadron was equipped with
Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...
s Mk IV and based at Dekheila Airfield. The following months it was reequipped with Blenheims Mk V, which were used primarily for maritime patrol missions. Convoy escort and anti-submarine patrols were the main missions of the Squadron during 1942. In various occasions enemy submarines were spotted in the Eastern Mediterranean and bombed. From early 1943 the Squadron operated with
Martin Baltimore The Martin 187 Baltimore was a twin-engined light attack bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company in the United States as the A-30. The model was originally ordered by the French in May 1940 as a follow-up to the earlier Martin Maryland, then ...
s. Apart from anti-submarine patrols and convoy escorts, the Squadron also executed reconnaissance and bombing missions in the occupied Greek islands. At November 12, the fortified German positions at the port of
Souda Souda ( el, Σούδα) is a town and former municipality in the Chania regional unit, Crete, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Chania, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of ...
, in
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, were bombed. In general, the 13th Sqr based in the Middle East counted a total of 1,600 missions with over 4,550 flying hours.


Italy and Greece

On May 14, 1944, the Squadron was transferred to southern Italy, where operations included bombing of enemy positions in
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
and Albania, as part of the Allied
Balkan Air Force The Balkan Air Force (BAF) was an Allied air formation operating in the Balkans during World War II. Composed of units of the Royal Air Force and South African Air Force under the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces command, it was active from 7 Ju ...
. During this period it executed a total of 1,400 operations that included bombing train stations, bridges, ammunition and fuel depots. On November 14, while the Axis troops were retreating from Greece, the aircraft of the Squadron landed in Hassani Airfield (later the Hellenikon Air Base and
Ellinikon International Airport Ellinikon International Airport, sometimes spelled ''Hellinikon'' ( el, Ελληνικόν), was the international airport of Athens, Greece, for 63 years. It was replaced on 28 March 2001 by the new Athens International Airport ''Eleftherios ...
), near Athens. Although mainland Greece was liberated, Crete and other islands were still under German occupation. Alongside the
Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...
fighters of the two other Greek Squadrons, 335th and 336th, which had also arrived in Greece, the 13th was engaged in bombing missions against the remaining German garrisons in the Aegean islands and Crete (April–May 1945).The Desert Squadrons, (2008) p. 106 The Squadron was disbanded on April 19, 1946.


References


Sources

* *


External links


The Baltimore at the 13th Hellenic Squadron
Michail Solanakis. {{Greece during World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations of Greece in World War II Squadrons of the Hellenic Air Force Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 1941 establishments in Greece 1946 disestablishments in Greece