Subtitled 'The Royal Hellenic Air Force in WWII', this is the first book I have read that covers the Greek Air Forces from inception until the end of WWII and a bit beyond. Greece was one of those countries that were a bit slow to take up an air force, and even on the eve of WWII, there was no standardized plan for defense nor was there any standardized type. The RHAF had a rather esoteric collection of types of which the PZL.24 was the most numerous fighter and the Breguet XIX the most numerous observation, light bombing and general utility type.

The RHAF seemed to buy most aircraft in lots that would equip one or two squadrons, hence you found Bloch 151s, Potez 63s, Hs-126s and a variety of other types in unit service. Add to that the constant in-fighting between those who were taught by the Navy and those who were graduates of the Icarus School, (the air force academy) and you can see there was internal strife even before Greece entered the war.

Their first opponent was Italy, whose air force was vastly superior to the Greeks, but which was badly mis-managed by a variety of the commanders. Even the Italian Army was unable to successfully defeat the Greeks on the ground and actually lost a great deal of territory. This was finally changed by the entry of Germany into the conflict. While the British had helped out the RHAF by supplying some rather worn Gladiators to replace Greek fighter losses as well as a few Blenheim bombers, it was obvious that the Greeks could not hold out alone against the Germans. Though stretched to the limit in North Africa, several RAF squadrons joined in the fight, only to be eventually defeated.

The RHAF fled the country in those few aircraft that could make the journey to Egypt or Palestine, which mainly meant Ansons. This was the equipment of 13 Mira, the only Greek aviation unit to survive intact throughout the war.

The RHAF was provided with Gladiators then Hurricanes to help in the battles in North Africa and equipped two squadrons; 335 and 336 Mira. Underneath all the other troubles, Stalin was determined to bring Greece under his influence once the war was over. As such, he supplied the Greek resistance with weapons and politics. Communist influences were also rife in the RHAF, resulting in a number of very negative events. Communism was a constant threat and eventually broke out into the Greek Civil War in the late 1940s.

Through all of this, the RHAF performed the duties assigned to it by the RAF, eventually moving to Italy in late 1944, After the Germans had been routed from North Africa. As the RHAF was not fully trusted by the British, a great deal of their missions were convoy escort, for the Germans still had a credible aviation presence in Crete. The RHAF was involved in attacks against German bases in Crete, but these usually resulted in rather high casualties due to the ferocity of the FlaK.

The author, John Carr, has done a superlative job of telling the story of the RHAF during this period. I was rather surprised at how much space was devoted to the political situation both inside the RHAF and higher up. It almost sounded like the RHAF was as dysfunctional as the Luftwaffe in the later years of the war. Communist influences were rife and so the political machinations took on as much an aspect of the story as the actual combat. Flight crews were often lost due to sabotage by communist leaning ground crew, and on several occasions, planes were unable to fly because the mechanics were busy with communist indoctrination. I am frankly amazed that the officer corps allowed any of this and did not shoot the whole lot for treason, but some of the officers were sympathetic as well.

It is really an excellent read and brings to light the story of a country's air arm that is most infrequently told. A book that I fully enjoyed reading and can easily give my highest recommendation.

January 2013

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

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