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The siege of Tobruk (/ t ə ˈ b r ʊ k, t oʊ-/) took place between 10 April and 27 November 1941, during the Western Desert campaign (1940–1943) of the Second World War.An Allied force, consisting mostly of the 9th Australian Division, commanded by Lieutenant-General Leslie Morshead, was besieged in the North African port of Tobruk by German and Italian forces.
Aerial photograph of the port of Tobruk during the 1941 siege. The small port of Tobruk in Italian Cyrenaica had been fortified by the Italians from 1935. Behind two old outlying forts, they constructed a novel fortification, consisting of a double line of concrete-lined trenches 54 km (34 mi) long, connecting 128 weapons pits protected by concealed anti-tank ditches but the fortifications ...
Horten Ho 229, fighter-bomber (jet-powered flying-wing) Junkers Ju 248, re-designation of Me 263; Messerschmitt Bf 109, fighter + night-fighter (often mis-designated as the "Me 109") Messerschmitt Bf 110, heavy fighter + night fighter + fighter-bomber + ground-attack; Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet (Comet), interceptor (rocket-engined)
Hans-Joachim Marseille (German pronunciation: [hans ˈjoːaxɪm maʁˈsɛːj]; 13 December 1919 – 30 September 1942) was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II. He is noted for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign and his Bohemian lifestyle. One of the most successful fighter pilots, he was ...
Axis forces re-captured Gambut on 17 June 1941, after the Battle of Tobruk. [1] This was a significant blow to the Allies as the airfield had been used to provide air-support to the Allied forces in the Siege of Tobruk. The airfield saw use by the Luftwaffe until its recapture by the New Zealand 4th Infantry Brigade on 25 November. [2]
In total 30 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were shot down, along with a single P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. The cost was 25 German fighters and 12 airmen killed. Nine were Bf 110s and Me 410s. It was clear that the destroyer wings required protection from American fighter escorts. [162] In 1944 the long-range USAAF fighter escorts began to appear.
The German fighter wings were despatched far in front of the bomber formations this day, in a bid to catch British fighters at a disadvantage and before they reached the bombers. In a rare tactical mistake, RAF Fighter Command intercepted what it perceived to be an in-coming bomber formation in the early morning attack. [13]
German tanks had proved superior to their British counterparts but the Axis could not maintain a force further east than Sollum, without Tobruk. German forces probed the Tobruk defences from 11–12 April, attacked from 13 to 14 April and again from 16 to 17 April. On 2 May, Rommel accepted that the Axis force was not sufficient to capture Tobruk.