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mainly off the eastern and south-eastern coasts of England. There were, however, a few penetrations inland by single aircraft and bombs were dropped in various parts of the country. On the 7th January attacks were made on aerodromes in the Home Counties but no serious damage was done. Our fighters were hampered by bad visibility, but they succeeded in destroying two enemy aircraft and probably destroying another.
49. Operations by the long-range bombers consisted of attacks on London and Cardiff on one night each and on the Bristol area on two successive nights. On the three remaining nights there was no enemy activity over this country.
Coastal Reconnaissance, Patrols and Minelaying.
50. Aircraft of the Coastal Command flew 200 patrols involving 445 sorties. These sorties included 219 convoy escorts which were maintained throughout the week in spite of very unfavourable flying conditions on many days. Mines were successfully laid by both Bomber and Coastal Command aircraft off Lorient, Brest, St. Nazaire, the Elbe Estuary and the Jade and Weser Rivers.
51. Enemy minelaying was on a smaller scale than the previous week.
Greece and Albania.
52. Extremely bad weather has restricted operations. Elbasan was heavily bombed on three occasions and direct hits were registered on military buildings and road communications. At Valona ammunition dumps were bombed by nine Blenheims and several fires were started. Fighter opposition and intense anti- aircraft fire were encountered, and two of our aircraft are missing. One enemy fighter was probably destroyed.
Egypt and Libya.
53. Bardia was the main objective of our Air Forces in the early part of the week, and, in support of the land forces, operations were directed with the object of enforcing the early surrender of the town, which had been bombed continuously since the 1st January. During these day and night attacks the Blenheims, Bombays and Wellingtons successfully bombed stores, dumps, motor transport, fortifications and troops, whilst the Hurricanes provided patrols for their protection. The accuracy of the bombing may be gauged by the fact that, although few military targets of importance at Bardia still stand, the town has hardly been touched.
54. Later in the week the principal targets were Tobruk, where much damage was done to several military objectives, and Tripoli, which was bombed by Wellingtons from Malta on the 5th January and the following night. Direct hits were registered on a large merchant vessel in the harbour, on the Power station and on the customs house. Many bombs also fell among destroyers and merchant vessels. On the 8th a heavy raid was made on Benghasi, when direct hits were obtained on four or five ships in the harbour and fires started in the warehouses.
55. Aerodromes and landing grounds were also heavily attacked on several occasions, and many enemy aircraft on the ground were either completely destroyed or badly damaged. Forty unserviceable aircraft, abandoned by the enemy, were captured by the army at El Adem.
56. Italian air operations have been surprisingly small. Their bombers have hardly made an appearance. Their fighters have operated, sometimes in force, but their efforts have been ineffective and our fighter patrols have taken a heavy toll.
Gibraltar.
57. The usual patrols and reconnaissances were flown and escorts provided for convoys and naval units. A photographic reconnaissance of Ownaga and Tetuan was made on the 5th January. A hostile aircraft carried out a reconnaissance of Gibraltar on the 2nd and another was engaged and driven off on the 6th.
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