The Squadron finally embarked at Crete for Egypt. The Squadron Commander made the following summary on the Greek campaign: “Some criticism resulted over the operational control of the Squadron during its brief sojourn in Greece. In the Libyan campaign operational control was vested in the General Staff of the Corps or Division with which the Squadron was working. The success obtained bore clear witness to the efficaciousness of such control. Although an army co-operation wing did exist in Greece the operational control of the Squadron was not given to the Army, all orders for reconnaissance emanating from HQ E Wing and were by no means confined entirely to the demands of the Army. Consequently the Squadron, cut down as it was, was unable to meet the tactical requirements of the Army. The Army Intelligence Liaison (AIL) section was short-circuited, resulting in Squadron pilots being detached for recce without precise tasks, and only a sketchy idea of the general and particular situation. The AIL section exists for a purpose, namely the interpretation of the military idea and the explanation of particular tasks detailed for recce. 208 Squadron is an Army Co-operation Squadron whose purpose is to serve exclusively the fighting land forces with tactical information, including photography, and therefore its tasks must be directed by the Army. Duality of control ensures duplicity of work, and the situation in Greece provided proof of the necessity for close liaison between the two”.
PALESTINE AND SYRIA
After a safe journey from Crete
to Alexandria the Squadron was temporarily accommodated at Aboukir transit camp prior to moving to Gaza in Palestine. At Gaza the Squadron reformed and re-equipped and May 1941 found a detachment of the Squadron operating at Habbaniya in Iraq. Lord Haw Haw during one of his extravagant utterances at the time reached even higher peaks of ridiculousness when he talked of how 208 “that invaluable link between the Army and Air Force in Greece” had been destroyed and all personnel either killed, seriously wounded or captured, despite the fact that it returned from Greece with six Lysanders and all its personnel, total casualties being three wounded!
