German Air Force

“Tante Ju” in Sicily

Luftwaffe’s Junkers Ju 52 transport aircrafts (“Tante Ju” for the German crews) parked on a Sicilian airfield in the Catania Plain (snow-capped Etna in background). The Sicily was the naturally last stop-over from Europe to North Africa (early Libya and later Tunisia) used both Italian and German Air Forces for the flight ferrying supplies for Axis forces or, in the return flight, for transport of troops returning to home (also in retreat at the end of Tunisian Campaign) and wounded. For this duties the Sicilian airfields was used also for the transport flight to Greece and vice versa. Despite the escort of Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica’s fighters, the loss of the transport units by enemy action was very high. Victor Sierra