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HE ALLIED LANDINGS IN NORTHWEST AFRICA IN NOVEMBER 1942 LED TO MASSIVE AXIS T REINFORCEMENTS BEING SENT TO SECURE TUNISIA. THOUGH THE SEA CROSSING WAS RELATIVELY SHORT, IT WAS ALSO HIGHLY DANGEROUS AS R.A.F. BEAUFORTS BASED ON NEARBY MALTA LAUNCHED WAVE AFTER WAVE OF ATTACKS AGAINST THE ENEMY CONVOYS.

TORPEDO AWAY, SKIPPER. HOLD TIGHT THEN. THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS!

STORY ALAN HEBDEN ART REZZONICO COVER IAN KENNEDY

4 THE BEAUFORT WASN'T THE MOST AGILE OF AIRCRAFT AND HER AUSTRALIAN SKIPPER, FLIGHT LIEUTENANT GRAHAM GRANGER, HAD TO HEAVE BACK ON THE COLUMN TO BE ABLE TO CLEAR THE SHIP IN FRONT OF HIM. MADE IT!

SAPRISTI!

GRAHAM'S CO-PILOT, PILOT OFFICER PAUL DENNING, GAVE A WHOOP AS THE TORPEDO STRUCK THE ITALIAN VESSEL.

LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER CANDIDATE FOR DAVY JONES LOCKER. AND PLENTY MORE WAITING IN LINE. LET'S GET BACK TO BASE AND LOAD UP ANOTHER TINFISH.

5

BY THE TIME THEY HAD RETURNED TO BASE, RE-ARMED AND RE-FUELLED, IT WAS CLEAR THAT A VIGOROUS STORM FRONT WAS MOVING DOWN FROM THE NORTH. ALL FLIGHTS WOULD SOON HAVE TO BE GROUNDED, BUT GRAHAM RECKONED THERE WAS TIME FOR ONE MORE STRIKE AGAINST THE CONVOYS.

JUST THE SORT OF WEATHER THE ENEMY LIKES, BUT IF WE'RE QUICK WE MIGHT BAG ANOTHER ONE BEFORE IT GETS TOO BAD.

THE WEATHER DETERIORATED AS THEY APPROACHED THE SOUTHERN COAST OF SICILY BUT, AS GRAHAM HAD HOPED, A CONVOY HAD SET OFF TO TRY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE COVER IT OFFERED. SOMETHING STRAIGHT AHEAD BUT I CAN'T MAKE IT OUT YET.

NEITHER CAN I, BUT LET'S LAUNCH AND GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE VISIBILITY GETS ANY WORSE.

6 EVEN AS PAUL RELEASED THE TORPEDO GRAHAM REALISED THEY WERE FLYING STRAIGHT TOWARDS AN ITALIAN DESTROYER, ITS GUNS BLAZING AWAY AT THEM. HE THREW THE BEAUFORT INTO A STEEP BANKING TURN AT THE SAME MOMENT THAT PAUL RELEASED THE TORPEDO.

STREWTH!

HECK, THE TORP'S GONE OFF COURSE!

GRAHAM WAS NOTHING IF NOT A SKILLED PILOT. SOMEHOW HE COAXED THE BEAUFORT DOWN TO WAVE TOP HEIGHT AND FLEW PAST THE DESTROYER'S STERN WHERE MOST OF ITS GUNS WERE UNABLE TO TRAVERSE. BETTER HOPE THEY DON'T TRY CHUCKING DEPTH CHARGES AT US! IF YOU FLY ANY LOWER, THEY WON'T NEED TO!

7 AS THEY GOT CLEAR OF THE DESTROYER AND GAINED HEIGHT ONE OF THE MERCHANT SHIPS ON ITS FLANK WAS STRUCK BY A LARGE EXPLOSION. SO THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT TINFISH!

NICE TO SEE IT FOUND A GOOD HOME! SPEAKING OF WHICH, IT'S TIME FOR US TO HEAD THERE TOO.

MOMENTS LATER A WARNING FROM THE TURRET GUNNER CAME AS A RUDE REMINDER THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE SKY TO THEMSELVES.

BANDIT, TWO O'CLOCK HIGH AND CLOSING! LOOKS LIKE A ONE-ONE-OH, SKIPPER.

BETTER THAN A ONE-OH-NINE, I SUPPOSE, BUT NOT MUCH. HOLD TIGHT, ALL!

8 GRAHAM CLIMBED AS FAST AS HE COULD TO REACH THE CLOUD CEILING, WHICH WAS FORTUNATELY QUITE LOW IN THE PREVAILING WEATHER CONDITIONS.

HAVE WE GIVEN HIM THE SLIP?

THERE WAS NOTHING FOR IT BUT TO KEEP FLYING THROUGH THE THICKEST LAYERS OF CLOUD IN THE HOPE OF SHAKING OFF THEIR PURSUER. HOWEVER, AS PAUL POINTED OUT, THAT BROUGHT ITS OWN PROBLEMS. WE'RE FLYING DUE NORTH. WE'VE PROBABLY CROSSED THE COAST OF SICILY ALREADY, AND IT'S RATHER FULL OF HIGH GROUND.

'FRAID NOT, SKIPPER. HE'S STILL COMING RIGHT AFTER US.

THEY DIVED DOWN OUT OF THE CLOUD ONLY TO FIND THEMSELVES ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH THE BIGGEST AEROPLANE THEY HAD EVER SEEN.

HECK, IT'S GIGANTIC!

BEST TO GET OUT OF ITS WAY IN THAT CASE!

WHICH WE MIGHT FLY INTO, YOU MEAN! WE’LL GET BELOW THE CLOUD CEILING AND TAKE A DEKKO.

9 GRAHAM HAULED BACK ON THE CONTROLS AND SOMEHOW CONTRIVED TO MISS THE HUGE, LUMBERING AIRCRAFT, THOUGH ONLY JUST.

DONNER UND BLITZEN!

CLOSE CALLS SEEM TO BE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. ANY SIGN OF THAT RUDDY ONEONE-OH YET?

THE PURSUING Me110 ALSO NEEDED TO GET ITS BEARINGS AND DIVED OUT OF THE CLOUD A FEW MOMENTS LATER. UNLIKE GRAHAM, THE GERMAN PILOT HAD NO CHANCE OF AVOIDING A COLLISION WITH THE AIRBORNE MONSTER.

HIMMEL...

AAARGH!

10 ANY NORMAL AIRCRAFT WOULD HAVE LOST ITS TAILPLANE AFTER SUCH A COLLISION, BUT THE SIX-ENGINED LEVIATHAN FLEW SERENELY ON AS THE DOOMED Me110 PLUNGED TO THE GROUND BEHIND IT. GRAHAM AND PAUL WATCHED OPEN-MOUTHED. STREWTH, IT'S HARDLY SUFFERED A SCRATCH. WHAT'S IT MADE OF…REINFORCED CONCRETE? SHALL WE GO AFTER IT?

IT WAS A TEMPTING THOUGHT BUT WHEN GRAHAM SPOTTED A PAIR OF MACCHI FOLGORES, OR THUNDERBOLTS, PREPARING TO TAKE OFF AS SOON AS THE HUGE TRANSPORT HAD LANDED, HE DECIDED THAT DISCRETION WAS THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR. DON'T THINK WE WANT TO TANGLE WITH THOSE TWO JOEYS. MACCHI FIGHTERS ARE ABOUT THE BEST THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE HAS. MALTA NEXT STOP.

THEY REPORTED WHAT THEY'D SEEN BACK IN MALTA, BUT IT SEEMED THAT R.A.F. INTELLIGENCE ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE NEW AIRCRAFT...