Northern Front

At 04:00, the 4th Battalion, 11th Sikh Regiment opens its attack on the Italian position at Keru (Eritrea). The position must be taken, as the only road towards Agordat (Eritrea) passes through a particularly narrow defile here. The Sikhs seize one of the hills, but the main Italian position remains unbroken. Late in the afternoon, reinforcements from the 2nd Battalion, The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders are sent forward, while advanced elements of the 10th Indian Infantry Brigade cut the Italians’ rear from Aicota (Eritrea).

The Regia Aeronautica remains very active: an attack on Tesseney (Eritrea) aerodrome is reported, with damage to a British aircraft.

Two Hawker Hurricanes and two Gloster Gladiators of No.1 (SAAF) Squadron take off at 08:30 for a patrol over Keru (Eritrea), during which they sight a formation of three Caproni Ca.133s of 18 Squadriglia (27 Gruppo), escorted by two Fiat CR.42s of 412 Squadriglia. Lieutenant Oscar B. Coetzee attacks one of the bombers, sees it jettison its bombs in haste, but is driven off by the CR.42s while observing the aircraft fall in flames. At the same time, Lieutenant Hendrik J. Burger (Hawker Hurricane Mk I, no. 298) also claims a Caproni Ca.133 destroyed in similar circumstances. A shared victory is awarded to the two South African pilots. One Caproni Ca.133 is indeed lost (part of the crew manages to regain Italian lines), while the other two return, heavily damaged, to Agordat (Eritrea), with several wounded. Notably, a Gloster Gladiator is claimed by Sergente Maggiore Luigi Baron (412 Squadriglia).

Logbook of Lieutenant Hendrik J. Burger

According to the testimony of one of the Italians:

« On the morning of 22 January 1941, a formation of three Caproni Ca.133s (18 Squadriglia, 27 Gruppo) take off from Asmara (Eritrea) to bomb the enemy advancing from the north. Tenente Passetto leads the formation, while I fly as second pilot. The right-hand aircraft is flown by Sottotenente Nicoletti with Sergente Belcaro, while the left-hand machine is flown by an officer (whose name escapes me) with Sergente Dichino. After take-off I take the controls, and Tenente Passetto gives me heading and altitude instructions. Over Agordat (Eritrea) we pick up an escort of two Fiat CR.42s, about 650 ft above us. Shortly afterwards the observer comes into the cockpit and tells us to look down to the left. After a moment I see bursts of Flak and two Hurricanes. Tenente Passetto orders us to jettison the bombs, then takes over to turn back towards our lines. A Hurricane attacks from astern and the aircraft on our left crashes in flames, while the one on the right is hit and starts to lose height before dropping out of sight.

We are alone in the sky; the Tenente pushes the nose down to increase speed. I see the anemometer needle stick at 175 km/h. The Hurricane comes back in and attacks us. We are hit and our observer is wounded in the thigh. Our wireless operator is really excellent: he works the Lewis gun from the rear and manages to reload very rapidly, unlike our mechanic, who fires round by round.

Suddenly our starboard tank is hit. I see fuel pouring over the mechanic and then spilling through the doors, leaving a long trail behind us … and I begin to fear an engine failure. We are attacked again from the right; this Hurricane is determined to finish off this old Caproni that keeps flying! The starboard engine is hit. I hear rounds striking the metal surfaces of our aircraft, but fortunately no one is hit. Our escort seems to intervene, but from my seat I cannot see anything. There are at least four Gladiators present.

The Tenente lands at Agordat (Eritrea); the tyres burst and the Caproni clatters on its rims with a terrible noise, then suddenly stops. A little later Sottotenente Nicoletti’s Caproni also lands, likewise damaged, with one wounded on board. I remember seeing, during the attack, a Caproni below us with a very bright object descending slowly. After landing, a mechanic explains the mystery to me: the wireless operator of the shot-down aircraft had tried to jump by parachute; unfortunately, his parachute was probably soaked in fuel and caught fire, turning him into a torch. Ironically, his name was Fuoco (fire).

The ambulance arrives to evacuate the wounded, while our mechanic complains that he has to wash to get rid of all the fuel that drenched him. After this action our 18 Squadriglia has no aircraft left. The officer, the Sergente and the mechanic (wounded in the shoulder) from the aircraft that was shot down managed to bail out and make their way back to our lines on foot. In the other two crews we count one dead and three wounded. The mechanics nevertheless manage to repair Sottotenente Nicoletti’s aircraft so that it can return to Asmara (Eritrea). Unfortunately, I can confirm that in the afternoon the Hurricanes succeeded in destroying our Caproni on the ground; it carried the number 18-4. »

 

Agordat (Eritrea) aerodrome is indeed attacked in the afternoon, at about 14:45, by Lieutenants Hendrik J. P. Burger and John L. Hewitson flying Hawker Hurricanes (no. 298 and no. 272): one Caproni Ca.133 is claimed destroyed and a second damaged.

Southern Front

As on previous days, the SAAF continues to strike at aerodromes in southern Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. This time, three Junkers Ju 86s of No.12 (SAAF) Squadron take off for Negele Borana (Ethiopia). The bombing is carried out between 04:10 and 04:30 against a series of camouflaged buildings. Although anti-aircraft defences are reported as relatively weak, the South African crews are unable to observe significant damage to the target.

C Flight of No.41 (SAAF) Squadron, based at Wajir (Kenya), is tasked during the day with aerial photography of the road between Dif (Kenya) and Afmadow (Italian Somaliland), near the Italian Somaliland frontier—an assignment that proves costly in aircraft. Hartbees (no. 806) (Captain Albert E. Klette; Flight Sergeant Cyril A. de Bruin) is posted missing, while a second aircraft (no. 869: Lieutenant J. C. Collins; Sergeant Solomon Berchowitz) is reportedly engaged by two Italian fighters in the vicinity of Gerile (Italian Somaliland).

According to a letter from Sergeant Solomon Berchowitz:

« A few days ago, during an aerial photography mission over enemy territory, I spotted two Fiats. I pointed them out to my pilot, who decided to attack. We dived from about 3,900 ft to 2,000 ft to get on the tail of one of the Italians. However, the second tried to do the same to us. He opened fire, but I returned the compliment, which he did not seem to appreciate, as he immediately broke away with the other Italian. It was a unique experience. When we finally touched down, I was truly glad to feel the ground under my feet (…) »

 

Logbook of Sergeant Solomon Berchowitz

The fate of the other aircraft is harder to establish: its wreck is not found until 3 February, during the South African advance into Italian Somaliland, with the crew dead. No Italian claim is recorded for the day, according to Christopher Shores. It is noted, however, that an IMAM Ro.37bis operating in the same sector returns slightly damaged after a combat with a South African fighter. The events may be linked. Finally, since 17 January 1941, 110 Squadriglia also fields four Fiat CR.42s.