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SINK THE ‘TERGESTEA’ from an article published HERE - https://www.key.aero/article/38-squadrons-wellington-torpedo-bombers

The afternoon of October 26 was fine, with good visibility and little cloud. Three crews of Wellington torpedo-bombers, the leader Flt Lt Wiggins in HX633, Plt Off R H Bertran in HF595, and Sgt Viles in HF912, were briefed on a desperate attempt to stop the Tergestea reaching the safety of Tobruk harbour.

Flt Lt Wiggins, 25, was from Middleton, South Australia, where he had worked as an auctioneer. He had enlisted in the RAAF in November 1940, and after going through the Empire Air Training Scheme, was posted to 38 Squadron in North Africa. The unit’s Wellington bombers were armed with two torpedoes each, while some were radar equipped to locate and attack targets at night from very low level. It was a role described by Wiggins as ‘not for the faint-hearted’.

That description was particularly apt for the mission on that fateful afternoon in October 1942. To evade interception by German fighters and keep below enemy radar, the plan was for the three aircraft to first fly due north out to sea for about 60 miles, trying to keep as low as 100ft. Then they were to turn west and fly approximately parallel to the coast until they reached position some 60 miles northeast of Tobruk. At that point the formation was to turn onto a southwest heading and fly directly towards Tobruk to take the enemy air defences by surprise. By making their attacking runs out of a darkening sky, it was hoped to catch the Tergestea before it could dock.

At 1540hrs Flt Lt Wiggins led the trio of aircraft into the air and brought them down towards the waves as they sped north out into the Mediterranean. If their raid was successful, it would paralyse Rommel’s Panzerarmee Afrika.

THE LAST CHANCE

Helped by excellent work from his navigator, Wiggins spotted the Tergestea only a few miles from Tobruk. In the first dusk attack ever attempted by 38 Squadron, the three aircraft headed straight for the vessel a tanker/freighter carrying cargo that included 1,000 tons of petrol, and 1,000 tons of ammunition. Wiggins’ bombers came in with fading light behind them, whereas their target stood out against the sun setting in the west. There were many destroyers escorting the tanker, but they were taken completely by surprise. It was not until the aircraft were beginning their run less than two miles from their target that frantic signaling took place from the escorting warships to the tanker. Ignoring the flak, Wiggins held his strike force dead on course.

It was the last chance for the RAF to sink the tanker before it reached Tobruk harbour and its anti-aircraft defences – a second bombing run without the element of surprise, and in the dark, would almost certainly be unsuccessful. All three Wellingtons dropped two torpedoes each at a distance of around 500- 600 yards from the target. Of the six torpedoes launched, three ran well, striking the Tergestea and causing an enormous explosion. After dropping his salvo Wiggins chose to take his climbing aircraft straight over the top of the Tergestea attracting the greatest concentration of anti-aircraft fire from the escort destroyers. Despite his bomber suffering multiple hits, Wiggins was able to maintain his escape flight beyond the range of the defending guns. Plt Off Bertran banked his Wellington away to starboard and received lighter anti-aircraft fire. The RAF crews observed a huge column of black smoke, surging up from the Tergestea to an estimated 3,000ft. After releasing its torpedoes, Sgt Viles’ aircraft was seen to stagger, probably from receiving fire from the destroyers, and was last observed breaking away to port. Both Wiggins and Bertran completed their return flights safely to base by 2200hrs. A search sortie that night reported that there was no sign of Viles’ Wellington nor of the Tergestea, which must have sunk. Nothing remained of the convoy except for the tanker Proserpina, now settling low in the water and still burning after the earlier attack.

ROMMEL LEFT POWERLESS

The same evening, unaware of the attack on the Tergestea, Rommel wrote to his wife Lucia that the loss of the Proserpina made the supply situation critical. The next day, after hearing of the confirmed loss of Tergestea and its fuel supplies, Rommel wrote to Lucia again – in near defeatist mood he doubted he would survive. Starved of fuel, running out of other supplies, and powerless to withstand the Eighth Army’s renewed attack in Operation Supercharge, Rommel ordered a general retreat on November 4

IT was October 26, 1942 and 25-year-old RAAF Flight Lieutenant Lloyd Wiggins led a flight of three Wellington bombers on a mission that would change the course of the North Africa campaign and cripple Germany’s notorious “desert fox” Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

As the Tobruk campaign reached its climax and Rommel prepared his depleted army for a last stand against General Montgomery’s vastly superior force, there was one vital ingredient missing from his battle plan — fuel.

The German tanks were running dry as the Battle of El Alamein began and just a few kilometres off the port of Tobruk the Italian supply ship Tergestea prepared to land and unload its cargo of precious fuel and ammunition.

After hugging the coast from their base near the Suez Canal at just 100 feet above the water to maintain the element of surprise, Wiggins and his comrades from the RAF’s Number 38 Squadron spotted the ship and climbed out to sea to attack into the setting sun.

As they sped towards their target Destroyer escorts detected the low flying torpedo bombers and unleashed a withering shield of anti-aircraft fire as Wiggins and his crewmates launched six torpedos from about 500 metres from the doomed vessel.

Three struck home and the Tergestea was left a smouldering, sinking wreck. This was the last straw for Rommel whose final retreat began soon after.

After launching his weapons Flight Lieutenant Wiggins, from Adelaide, took his Wellington aircraft straight over the top of the enemy supply ship attracting the majority of anti-aircraft fire as the two other bombers completed their runs.

He sustained numerous hits but was able to maintain his climb out of range of the enemy guns. The second aircraft also escaped but the third was badly damaged and was not seen again.

The Wellington bombers had been equipped with the latest radar technology making them lethal night raiders.
“We had the element of surprise on our side,” Mr Wiggins told News Corp Australia. “They didn’t spot us until the last minute.”

http://www.news.com.au/national/new-book-the-decisive-campaign-of-the-desert-air-force-19421945-tells-heroic-story-of-lloyd-wiggins-and-bill-mcrae/story-fncynjr2-1226978075598