The Water Supply from August to November 1941

In August 1941, when the water situation was examined, they found that there were not enough water sources west of Matruh. Work was moving forward to extend the pipeline from El Daba to Mersa Matruh, but the pipeline really needed to be extended further west. There was not enough transport available to ship water by road, so something needed to be done. The work had progressed, but on 11 October, an air raid on Fuka damaged new pumps that had been installed, and all the water that had been accumulated was lost, as well. A massive effort was mounted, so that only by 13 November did the piped water reach the railhead at Misheifa. The supply of water had been provided by many voyages of the water carrier Petrella, as well as trains carrying water. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.