Operation Haddock
| Haddock Force | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Battle of France | |
Map showing the location of bases in the Channel Islands and at Salon and the target cities of Turin and Genoa
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| Type | Bombing campaign |
| Location |
Salon, France 43°36′23″N 005°06′33″E / 43.60639°N 5.10917°ECoordinates: 43°36′23″N 005°06′33″E / 43.60639°N 5.10917°E |
| Objective | Disruption of the Italian war economy |
| Date | 11–17 June 1940 |
| Executed by | RAF Bomber Command |
| Outcome | Allied failure |
Haddock Force was a Royal Air Force group of bombers dispatched to airfields in southern France, with the mission of bombing northern Italian industrial sites, following the Italian entry into the Second World War. When Italy declared war on 10 June, the plan was put into effect but at first, the local authorities prevented the RAF Vickers Wellington bombers from taking off. Whitleys flying from England via the Channel Islands, made the first raid on the night of 11/12 June 1940.
After negotiations between the French and British governments and directives from Paris to the authorities in the south of France, the Wellingtons flew back. Operations commenced on the night of 14/15 June but all but one of the eight bombers returned without bombing due to bad weather. Eight Wellington crews tried again the next night and six claimed to have bombed Milan; the raid was the last by RAF Bomber Command from French bases until 1944.
Wireless decrypts by the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park gave the Allies about a month's notice of an Italian declaration of war. The Battle of France was nearing its final phase when intelligence reports suggested that Italy was on the brink of entering the war on the side of her Axis partner, Germany. There were few resources available to Britain which could be used to support France against the Italians, with the exception of Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command. The Supreme War Council resolved on 31 May that if war was declared, industrial targets and oil plants in the northern Italian cities of Turin and Genoa, were to be attacked as soon as possible. Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bombers could reach their targets from the Channel Islands, while the shorter-ranged Vickers Wellingtons would have to refuel in the south of France and the French Air Command made available the airfield outside Marseilles at Salon-de-Provence and another one nearby. The headquarters of 71 Wing was sent to the Marseilles area on 3 June to prepare reception and refuelling facilities for the British bombers, which were ready on the outbreak of war on 10 June.
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Wikipedia