More SAS exploits in World War II

Sunday Telegraph:

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On December 14, 1941, the Irish rugby international Lt Blair “Paddy” Mayne, who became the most decorated officer of the war with four awards of the Distinguished Service Order, led a daring attack on another Libyan airfield, destroying aircraft, ammunition and petrol dumps as well as killing dozens of enemy soldiers. The diary describes the attack on a group of 30 Germans and Italians who sat “drinking, laughing and talking” in the officers’ mess near Sirte.

“A British lieutenant, a famous international sporting figure before the war, walked into the mess with one man. They pushed the door open and pressed the triggers of their Tommy guns. It was all over in a minute. A burst from a Tommy-gun swept the card players and drinkers. German drinking songs turned into shouts of horror. Those who weren’t killed or wounded tried to make for the door. They were mown down. They were 500 miles behind the front line, but a British patrol was in their midst. Not one left the room alive.

“They threw a time-bomb on to the roof of the mess for luck, then on to the next job. Thirty seven brand new German bombers and fighters just flown in from Europe were destroyed that night. A million pounds’ worth of damage was done and no enemy planes were seen flying that part of Libya for days.

“Outside, Hell had broken loose. The fixed defences of the aerodrome were turned on and the British saw a barrage of machine-gun fire sweep the ground. One of our men was out there searching for a petrol dump. Machine-gun bullets were zipping over the ground, ankle-high. He calmly stepped over them upon locating the dump and placed time-bombs in the middle of the exit. The British went from plane to plane. In each one they placed a time-bomb. They did this to 37 planes, then ran out of bombs. There were still 15 planes left. They had no tools so with their bare hands they wrenched instrument panels out.

“After that, they legged it to their transport three miles off in pitch darkness, guided by prismatic compasses. They smoked cigarettes and waited for the explosions. The first one was the officers’ mess going sky high, then the petrol dump, then the planes at one-minute intervals. They counted 40 explosions, watched a million pounds’ worth of enemy material burn, then got moving.”

A few days later, the SAS patrol, led by a captured Italian Lancia, reached the town of Brega, where 25 German vehicles were parked. “There was a hectic scrap. After 20 minutes, our men withdrew, having killed or wounded 15 to 20 of the enemy. As they raced down the road, our rear truck was laying mines behind. Seven satisfactory explosions were soon heard.”

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There is much more including operations connected to D-Day.

This episode happened in some locations that have been in the news of late in the Libyan war to remove Qaddafi.  They appear to have achieved complete surprise in their attack on the air base.

These guys were the inspiration for modern special operations troops in the US and elsewhere.  Using a small force as a raiding party behind enemy lines has been a very effective tool against the Islamic religious bigots we are now fighting.