Limited numbers of Blenheims and a few Wellingtons together with Gladiators and Swordfish supported the Commonwealth air campaign in Greece in 1941. With Hurricanes coming in at the end.
Given the negative impact of withdrawing army units from the North African campaign what if the support to Greece in their war with Italy was in the form of Hurricanes, Blenheims and Albacores? The Gladiators could not easily catch the Italian opposition due to their slow speed but the Hurricanes could and allowed fighters to have the initiative. Larger numbers all round would allow escort of Blenheims in day bombing and Albacores bombing by flares at night. The greater range, higher cruising speed and double the bomb load of the Albacore would bring not only the Albanian ports but also the Southern Adriatic port within range as well as using torpedos against supply vessels between the two. Italian logistic restrictions would limit Italian action on the Albanian border. Perhaps this could be backed up with engineer and lorry transport units assisting the Greeks in improving their logistics?
Of course this would impact upon the air support in North Africa but it strikes me that such a substantial air and logistic support to the Greeks would be no more costly than IOTL whilst leaving more opportunities to progress the North African campaign against the Italians. Not to mention less likely to draw in Germany if there are no Commonwealth army units in Greece.
I chose these three aeroplanes as the Hurricane was a period top class in such a campaign and could be made available if the Air Ministry so chose. The Blenheim is the period default in numbers for the daytime strike task whilst the Albacore is exceedingly versatile with a very useful warload. Not to mention useful for small airfields. The befall aim is to substantially cut off Albania from major Italian supplies. Adding in engineers and road transport also acts to rectify the comparative logistics between the Italians and Greeks.
The Greeks were very conscious of not aggravating Germany and did not want to be seen as an allied part of the Commonwealth campaigns so we’re chary of accepting Commonwealth ground troops.
Given the negative impact of withdrawing army units from the North African campaign what if the support to Greece in their war with Italy was in the form of Hurricanes, Blenheims and Albacores? The Gladiators could not easily catch the Italian opposition due to their slow speed but the Hurricanes could and allowed fighters to have the initiative. Larger numbers all round would allow escort of Blenheims in day bombing and Albacores bombing by flares at night. The greater range, higher cruising speed and double the bomb load of the Albacore would bring not only the Albanian ports but also the Southern Adriatic port within range as well as using torpedos against supply vessels between the two. Italian logistic restrictions would limit Italian action on the Albanian border. Perhaps this could be backed up with engineer and lorry transport units assisting the Greeks in improving their logistics?
Of course this would impact upon the air support in North Africa but it strikes me that such a substantial air and logistic support to the Greeks would be no more costly than IOTL whilst leaving more opportunities to progress the North African campaign against the Italians. Not to mention less likely to draw in Germany if there are no Commonwealth army units in Greece.
I chose these three aeroplanes as the Hurricane was a period top class in such a campaign and could be made available if the Air Ministry so chose. The Blenheim is the period default in numbers for the daytime strike task whilst the Albacore is exceedingly versatile with a very useful warload. Not to mention useful for small airfields. The befall aim is to substantially cut off Albania from major Italian supplies. Adding in engineers and road transport also acts to rectify the comparative logistics between the Italians and Greeks.
The Greeks were very conscious of not aggravating Germany and did not want to be seen as an allied part of the Commonwealth campaigns so we’re chary of accepting Commonwealth ground troops.