The battle in the air started in mid-October 1941

The air campaign in support of the Crusader plan started in the middle of October 1941. Operations from Malta and Egypt were closely linked to Crusader. They had several roles: reconnaissance for the Army and interence with the Axis supply lines. They also fought for air superiority over Cyrenaica. They had to do all this without giving away too much of the plan for the ground campaign. Reconnaissance alone was almost beyond the resources that were available to the air force. Three units were involved: the Strategic Reconnaissance Unit, the Photographic Reconnaissance Unit, and the Survey Flight (newly formed). This is based on the account in Vol.III of the Official History.