Australian Tomahawks Turn the Tide: RAAF’s Victory Over Vichy Air Power (Syria 1941)

Allied forces were closing in on Syria and Lebanon in June 1941, but the advance of Habforce – the British column that had previously relieved Habbaniyah – suddenly brought Vichy air power into sharp focus. As the lightly protected convoy pushed toward Palmyra, Vichy bombers turned the desert roads into a deadly battlefield from above. This episode follows the dramatic air clashes around Rayak, the Bekaa Valley, and Palmyra: Vichy aces like Pierre Le Gloan initially besting RAF Hurricanes, only to run into determined Australian pilots of No. 3 Squadron RAAF flying Curtiss Tomahawks. You’ll see how the balance shifted within a single day, how Tomahawks started to dominate at altitude, and how three LeO 451s were shot down while misidentified as Potez 63s. If you’re interested in the little known Syria–Lebanon campaign, RAAF operations in 1941, and the clash between Dewoitine D.520s, Hurricanes, and Tomahawks over the desert, this video adds another chapter to the series on Middle Eastern air warfare in WW2. Check out previous episodes if you missed them:    • Syria 1941 - The Forgotten Air War Between...      • Syria 1941: Vichy France’s Fierce Resistan...      • The First P-40 Victories - Syria 1941 Air War      • When Gloster Gladiators Hunted a French Ac...      • Roald Dahl in Combat: Air Battles Over Syr...      • Gladiator's Final Victory (Syria 1941)   Use the 'SHOWTIME112' Creator Code for a 5% discount in Thrustmaster web shop: eshop.thrustmaster.com/goToHomePage/?creator=SHOWTIME112 (USA) shop.thrustmaster.com/goToHomePage/?creator=SHOWTIME112 (EU) shop.thrustmaster.com/goToHomePage/?creator=SHOWTIME112 (UK) Main sources: Dust Clouds in the Middle East: The Air War for East Africa, Iraq, Syria, Iran and Madagascar, 1940-42 https://amzn.to/3QQ2Ieo French Aces of World War 2 https://amzn.to/3QvtgBRr When you purchase these books on Amazon through the links in this description, the channel earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. The proceeds help fund new book purchases and support the creation of future videos. Support the channel on Patreon   / showtime112   Donate via Paypal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/showt... Join our Discord server:   / discord   Echoes of Time by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-... Artist: http://incompetech.com/