Air operations from 13 November 1941

The intensity of air operations over the Western Desert dramatically increased starting on 13 November 1941. There were several aims for the air offensive. One was to press the Axis air force to the greatest extent and the other was to cover the ground movements that preceded the start of Crusader. The weather did not cooperate, as the cloud cover kept increasing, which hampered aerial reconnaissance. In the daytime, the Axis airfields were pounded. Wellingtons were active at night, with FAA Albacores, hitting both the supply lines and the airfields. There continued to be low-level fighter sweeps, but they did not provoke the sort of counterattack that had been anticipated. This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.