The RAF's critical mistake of World War 2
Well, not just Britain’s air force, but pretty much every air force didn’t grasp the need to give airfields adequate defence against being targeted for capture by enemy forces.
Operation Mercury, as the Germans called it, was an absolute game-changer. For the first time, airfields were specific targets, as opposed to simply being over-run as the front lines ebbed and flowed.
And although the British commander, Freyberg had been warned thanks to Ultra decrypts of Enigma intercepts, the intel was taken out of context, and Freyberg also had plenty of other places to defend.
The end result, though, was that Maleme airfield was captured by the Germans.
It didn’t matter that the British forces still had the harbour and a big chunk of the rest of the island, the Germans had the airfield, and supplies and reinforcements poured in.
There was lots of heavy fighting, and many so-called behind the lines jobs suddenly became front line. German casualties were savagely high, but the British forces ultimately lost control of Crete, and it was losing Maleme airfield that let it happen.
If only there was a dedicated force that specialised in defending airfields.
Before Crete, there wasn’t one. After Crete, air forces around the world started taking it seriously.
For Britain, that meant the formation of the RAF Regiment.
The RAF belatedly realised that airfields were not only very valuable assets from which to take the fight to the enemy, they were also targets for capture by the same enemy. And so, the RAF Regiment was tasked with defending RAF assets, and if needed, to capture enemy ones.
The Battle of Meiktila showed just how crucial airfields were in modern warfare, and not just for fighters and bombers.
Meiktila was an airfield in Burma, and in 1945 it was fought over by the British and Japanese. At night, the Japanese forces controlled it, and every morning the RAF Regiment recaptured it. This then allowed supply flights to come in, and as a result, the British and Indian troops were able to push the Japanese out of Burma.
It was pretty much the similar thing as Crete: keep hold of the airfield and you can keep the supplies coming in. Keep the supplies coming in and you’ve won the campaign.
But the only way to keep the airfield, is to have a force like the RAF Regiment.
The RAF learned that the hard way, having made their critical mistake in Crete.
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