Aftermath of the attack on Tripoli

We might be excused if we wondered what happened to Fliegerkorps X during the operation to bombard Tripoli. The fleet was at sea during the day on April 21 and 22, and did not experience any air attacks. Fliegerkorps X did attack Malta on those two days. The Official History speculates that the German command was too inflexible to be able to respond to a fluid situation. They also point out that during this period that Fliegerkorps X had a lower aircraft availability and a shortage of crews trained for maritime operations. In any case, for the next week or two, the British Mediterranean Fleet was heavily involved with withdrawing the army from Greece, where they were exposed to intense air attack. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Official History.