ITALIAN JU-87S PERMIT THE SAFE ARRIVAL OF THE AFRIKA KORPS IN NORTH AFRICA!!!

According to former RCAF pilot and military historian Wayne Ralph:

"Around midday on January 10, waves of Italian air force Ju87 Stukas attacked the ship, and six or seven thousand-pound bombs hit their target, set fire to aviation fuel below decks and destroyed the carrier's steering system, the attack took only ten minutes." (Aces, Warriors and Wingmen, Wayne Ralph, p. 15 , John Wiley & Sons, 2008)

According to British Vice Admiral Sir Wilbraham Ford the Stuka attacks with the heavy bombs were indeed mainly Italian:

"H.M.S. ILLUSTRIOUS was attacked at 1240 by about 25 dive bombers, by high level bombers at 1330 and again by 15 dive bombers at 1610 and by torpedo aircraft at 1920 and received six bomb hits and several near misses from heavy bombs estimated about one thousand pounds. Five bombers were JU. 87 with German markings ... Steering gear was put out of action and ship brought into Malta steering by engines." (The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War, Ben Jones, p. 313, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd, 2012)

According to top miitary aviation historian and artist Richard J. Caruana:

"In the afternoon, Ju.87s from the 237 Squadriglia scored a direct hit on the aircraft carrier and forced her to leave the formation and head towards Malta for shelter and repairs."( [ Ссылка ] Italian Stukas, 1940-42)

For an exhaustive analytical study of the attack of Captain Ercolano Ercolani's 96° Gruppo (armed with HEAVY BOMBS) that destroyed the aft lift, kiling 30 British sailors, forcing the British aircraft-carrier to limp back to Malta for repairs, go Francesco Mattesin's "Danneggiamento della Portaerei Britannica ILLUSTRIOUS. ([ Ссылка ] Danneggiamento della portaerei britannica ILLUSTRIOUS)

Better still get hold of Francesco Mattesini's book "L’Attività Aerea Italo Tedesca nel Mediterraneo" (Ufficio Storcico dell’Aeronautica, 2a Edizione, Roma, 2003) that confirms that the participating German Stukas were in the main part armed with SMALLER BOMBS that couldn't penetrate the superstructure of the aircraft-carrier.

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