On the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Ellenki Vassiliki Aeroporia, as the Royal Hellenic Air Force was properly known, was in the midst of a major re-equipment program. Five P.24A's, 25 P.24F's and six P.24G's had been delivered the previous year from Poland. With the fall of Poland the spares dried up for the P.24's and the EVA ordered 25 Bloch MB 151's to supplement them. Only nine were delivered before the French embargoed the export of combat aircraft.

Similarly, 13 Potez Po.633's were retained by France out of the 24 ordered as were the 12 LeO 451's. NIne Fairey Battles were kept by the British upon the outbreak of war, but 12 were released by the end of 1939 as Battles were replaced by Blenheims in the R.A.F. light bomber squadrons.

The EVA had ordered twelve PZL P.37C's from Poland during the surnmer of 1939. The P.37C was basically a B model with more powerful French engines in place of the original Polish ones, but construction had not even started before the German invasion.

The German need for foreign exchange led to the export of 15 Henschel Hs 126's sometime during 1940 despite the needs of the Luftwaffe. This ultimately turned out not to matter as a few of the captured Greek machines were used by the Luftwaffe after the fall of Greece.

All of the naval reconnaissance aircraft were of prewar origin although several Ansons were transferred by the R.A.F. to replace losses during the war.

The EVA Under Attack

It should be noted that the Italian records are incomplete and that the surviving Greek records only record pilot losses and injuries, not aircraft lost or damaged.

The first aircraft lost by the EVA was a Henschel Hs 126 shot down by CR.42's on 28 October, the first day of the Italian invasion. Two more were lost 2 days later as they flew without fighter escort as the fighter Mire were guarding the cities. Two Breguet XIX's were shot down by CR.32's on November 1 while the P.24's of 21 and 22 Mire damaged a CR.42 and a Z.1007bis during raids on Salonika. The Italians claimed two Greek fighters shot down, but they cannot be confirmed, although no aircrew were injured. Three Blenheims of 32 Mira attacked the forward Italian airbase at Koritza for little damage. 2 November saw the heaviest fighting so far as the Italians raided Corfu, Yanina, Larissa, Patras, and Salonika. The Greeks claimed one SM.81 and seven Z.1007bis shot down, including one confirmed kill by a ramming attack in a P.24 flown by 1st Lt Marinos Mitralexes who landed safely. The SM.81 and one additional Z.1007bis were actually lost along with another Z.1007 damaged and two CR.42's damaged. Greek casualties were two pilots killed and another wounded with the loss of at least three P.24's. Three Blenheims of 32 Mira again attacked Koritzia destroying one CR.42. The next day the Italians continued their offensive against Salonika losing a Z.1007bis and a G.50 while shooting down a P.24 and wounding two Greek pilots. The first eight Blen 1F's of the R.A.F.'s 30 squadron arrived at Eleusis on 3 November, the advance guard of a contingent that will be covered in another article. The Italians mostly flew ground support missions on 4 November, but eight Z.1007bis attacked Volos with the Greeks claiming three kills, but Italian records do not confirm these claims. One Breguet XIX was shot down and another damaged by patrolling CR.42's while attacking the Julia Mountain Division near Distraton. Two Yugoslav Brequet XIX's arrived along with their pilots early in November and flew with the EVA for a time.

The first week of combat had shown the Greeks to be unexpectedly tough opponents, but the EVA wasn't big enough to protect the cities and also fly cover for the front line troops. However, the Italian superiority in the air wasn't enough to offset the Italian weaknesses on the ground as soon became apparent.

One Blenheim crash-landed after a raid on Kalpiki on 10 November and another was shot down by CR.42's the following day. The EVA made a maximum effort to support the Greek counteroffensive that began on 14 November with air strikes on Koritza and Argyrokastron airfields destroying one Ca.133 and damaging three CR.42's and a CR.32. One Blenheim was lost to AA with a Battle and a Blenheim damaged. The fighters mixed it up as well with two CR.42's shot down by P.24's of 23 Mira, with another damaged; Greek losses are unknown, but no fighter pilots were injured that day. Two Blenheims were shot down by CR.42's as they attacked targets near Koritza later that afternoon. The 15th saw one SM.79 forced to crash-land by P.24's of 22 Mira and one Battle lost and another severely damaged by a single CR.42 over Koritza. Bad weather prevented any fighting until the 18th, when the Italians lost a SM.79 and a Z.1007bis with the Greeks losing two pilots killed and another wounded.

The bomber Mire were reduced to noneffectiveness through losses by April even though the R.A.F. transferred six Blenheim I's to 32 Mira in January. The policy of flying unescorted missions into the teeth of the Italian air defenses was a very costly one, though it may be argued that the Allies had little choice as their fighters could either defend the cities or fly escort for the bombers.

The Greek reaction to the German invasion was spirited, but the odds were overwhelmingly against the EVA. Claims by Greek fighter pilots only totalled seven of which four can be confirmed from German records, a Do 17, two Hs 126's and a Stuka. Only five Ansons and a P.24 managed to escape to Egypt where they formed the basis for 13 (Hellenic) squadron of the R.A.F. which flew Blenheim IV's on maritime reconnaissance until re-equipped with Baltimores in 1943.

30 Grumman F4F-3A Wildcats had been diverted from the US Navy for the Greeks and were in Egypt when mainland Greece fell. They were taken over by the British as Martlet Ill's. Fifteen more were to follow. These were not equipped with folding wings, unlike all other Wildcats. There are unconfirmed reports of a U.S. offer of 30 P-4013's and a British proposal to furnish 30 H75A Mohawks from ex-French contracts.

Europa OB

Sep I 39:

1 x PZL 24 4F4 0/8
1 x Mxd 1 B2 1fl
GA Increase: 2

Mar I 40:1 x Mxd 2133 1-1/14

Jul I 41:

1 x F4F-3A 5F5 OC13
GA increase: 1

Sep I 41:

1 x P-40B 5F5 1/13

Comments: The 1132 Mxd Bomber counter represents a mixture of Po.633's, Bien IV's and the archaic ground attack aircraft that were later turned over to the army cooperation Mire. The Mohawks were distributed among the F4F's and P-40's to bring them up to the numbers required for an Europa air counter.

28 October 1941 EVA Strengths

Mire Dioxes
Fighter Squadrons

21 Mira 12 (9) PZL P.24
22 Mira 12 (9) PZL P.24F
23 Mira 12 (9) PZL P.24
24 Mira 9 (6) Bloch MB 151

Mire Vomvardismou
Bomber Squadrons

31 Mira 11 (8) Potez Po.633
32 Mira 12 (11) Bristol Blenheim IV
33 Mira 12 (10) Fairey Battle

Mire Stratiotkis Synergassis -
Army Co-operation Squadrons

1 Mira 9 (4) Breguet XiX
2 Mira 9 (5) Breguet XiX
3 Mira 15 Henschel Hs 126
4 Mira 17 Potez 25A

Mire Naftikis Synergassias -
Naval Co-operation Squadrons

11 Mira 9 Fairey IIIF
12 Mira 12 Dornier Do 22Kg
13 Mira 9 Avro Anson

Numbers in parentheses are serviceable aircraft.

Bibliography

Bowyer, Chaz, Bristol Blenheim, 1986
Green, William, Warplanes of the Second World War, 1960
Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon, "The Bristol Blenheim Family", Air Enthusiast 28, 1985
lbid.,"The Elegant Elk", Air International, 35:4, October, 1988
Ibid., "Elegantly Obsolete", Air International,20:3, March, 1981
Ibid., "Epitome of an Era", Air Enthusiast, 4:3, March, 1973
Ibid., "The Era of the Gull", Air Enthusiast, 28, 1985
Ibid., "A Study in Elegance", Air International, 29:4, October, 1985
Leyvastre, Pierre, "The Contentious Combatants", Air International, 14:4, April, 1978
Shores, Christopher and Cull, Brian, Air War for Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1988
Weal, Elke et al, Combat Aircraft of World War Two, 1980

Jason Long has been a wargamer since 1977 when a friend introduced him to SPI's War of the Rings, although he's been playing Europa since 1983. For his sins, he's been German C-in-C of GRD's Demo Team for the last year and will be again at the forthcoming Origins. Jason claims modestly, "Believe me, this has more to do with my proximity to Demo organizer, Tom Johnson, than to any particular skill I may possess as a player. ('Hey you! Over there in the glasses! Have I got something for you to do for a long weekend!T' Finally, he is currently text manager for our magazine.

Jason spent 4 years in the Army as an armored cavalryman on M-3 Bradleys. He was stationed in former Luftwaffe barracks in hex 16A:3331 while assigned to the scout platoon of the 1/64 Armor, the descendant of the 758th Light Tank Battalion (1-10) for 2 years. He then transferred to Ft. Hood, Texas, former home of the Tank Destroyer Corps, where he was with 2nd Squadron, 1 Cavalry Regiment, then part of 1st Armored Division and now assigned to the 2nd.

He is an irregular attendee at the University of Chicago where he's intermittently working on a BA in political science.