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Frame 3 saw unusual tactics by both commanders. The Allies decided to sacrifice their dawn patrol cap to get their escorted Wellingtons off the ground and away south before the expected German 109 sweep fell on the beleaguered island. As the Allied strike group assembled away from the deadly Malta skies a large Bf109 sweep came across the Med at very high altitude looking for the expected Spitfire patrol. The remaining Spitfires held at readiness like they have done for days on end in 1942 waiting for the large contact from RDF that indicated a bomber force inbound. The Luftwaffe was cagey this time around and had sent one bomber force far to the west of their main airfields and the other low over the sea to the southeast of Sicily. Timing was almost perfect when the low eastern group popped on RDF and climbed like a bat out of hell. The western force was already high when it came on radar to the NW of Malta. These two groups inbound and a large 109 sweep above Malta made the scramble by the last Spitfires challenging. They did manage to scramble to the SW and escape the Luftwaffe trap to head directly to Lampedusa and the Italian base there.
Strike groups on both sides hit their targets without much opposition from each other. Lampedusa airfield was smothered by bomb laden Spitfires with Wellingtons coming in for the cleanup and closing of the field. The Luftwaffe meanwhile hit Valletta harbor hard at mid altitude from the NE sinking at least 17 ships in the crowded dockyards. A smaller group of Ju88s came in from the NW higher up and destroyed the HQ station in the center of the island and took out the important RDF emitter on Gozo island, limiting the RDF range by at least 20 miles in the north.
The RAF attack at Lampedusa was a longer distance than the German and the return strike group soon found itself close to being bombed by a return group of Ju88s that again hit the harbor. A smaller Ju88 group took on the inbound Pedestal convoy just to the east of Malta and as the convoy yelled for help the returning Spitfires scrambled and managed to intercept the German bombers shooting down 10. But not before the experienced Ju88 crews sank 5 freighters loaded with crucial supplies for starving Malta. A fierce low altitude dogfight ensured between 109s and Spitfires near the convoy and spread all the way back to Sicily as the angry RAF pursued the faster German planes. But the RAF ended up with 13 German fighters claimed while 9 Spitfires failed to return.
Germans won Frame 3 with a score of 121 to 82. They lead the series 376 to 310. Pilot losses and a few other missing structures have not yet been added.
For Frame 4 the RDF at the northern tip of Malta is down as indicated in the map. All British convoys are now finished and the fight begins at Malta in earnest. The airfield at Lampedusa is closed and unavailable to the Axis. RAF HQ is closed in the center of Malta and its command and control down.
Lots of intense low-level action with smart clearing by higher flying 109s and fast effective intercepts by the Spitfires.
Good Luck in Frame 4
jabo
