"8th Army Air Superiority at Tel El Eisa?" Topic
5 Posts
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| Sydney Gamer | 29 Jan 2023 3:29 a.m. PST |
I'm preparing a scenario for the 1st Alamein battle of Tel El Eisa. It started on 10 July 1942 with an attack by mainly Australians & South Africans.
My question: did the Commonwealth have air superiority by this stage of the desert war, or were things reasonably balanced in the air? |
 Herkybird  | 29 Jan 2023 9:02 a.m. PST |
I think it was probable due to the Allied airfields in Egypt being much closer to the front than the Axis ones. |
| d88mm1940 | 29 Jan 2023 11:07 a.m. PST |
Here's the Wikipedia basic forces summary:
Axis
96,000 troops (56,000 Italian, 40,000 German)
70 tanks initially (585 tanks later)
~500 planes
Commonwealth
150,000 troops
179 tanks initially (1,114 tanks later)
1,000+ artillery pieces
1,500+ planes
And Note D:
During the period 1 to 27 June the Desert Air Force flew nearly 15,400 sorties.[39] Auchinleck later wrote in his official despatches "…Our air forces could not have done more than they did to help and sustain the Eighth Army in its struggle. Their effort was continuous by day and night, and the effect on the enemy was tremendous. I am certain that, had it not been for their devoted and exceptional efforts, we should not have been able to stop the enemy on the El Alamein position. cheers, mate! |
| emckinney | 29 Jan 2023 12:53 p.m. PST |
If you want details, the appropriate volume of the Christopher Shores, et al. series contains all of the information that you could ever want. |
| Sydney Gamer | 30 Jan 2023 3:19 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the helpful info, everyone. A friend of mine who is an expert informs me that on 10 July 1942 the Axis airfields were still so far behind that their fighters could only accompany bombers, but not do independent interception work. So, if anyone plays Tel El Eisa give the Commonwealth air superiority. |
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