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Old 9th Jun 2020, 11:18
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POBJOY
 
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Hurricanes and Glorious

In fact Glorious and the RAF did well here, and the carrier was not really able to escape the attention of one of the most powerful German ships afloat.
Remember the Hurricanes were not 'hooked' and had sandbags lashed to the tail units to help stop them 'nosing over' when braking.
I am not aware that any of the Pilots (most lost) had landed on a carrier ever, so it was a cruel blow that they and their experience was lost as they would no doubt have been a very valuable contribution to the BoB later.
In fact the Norwegian campaign was a factor in the BoB as the Germans lost many ships and transport aircraft, and both the German Navy and Wehrmacht had indicated that any invasion of mainland GB could only be undertaken if there was no effective RAF defensive input.
Later it was naval Sea Gladiators (flown from the Island) that became the early defenders of Malta before the first Hurricanes arrived.

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