[Image] An Ensign still flies on Ladybird

3rd September, 1941. Tobruk Harbour, Libya.

The final resting place of HMS Ladybird.

Down but not out, a battered naval ensign still flies on the mast of HMS Ladybird as she rests stricken on the floor of Tobruk Harbour. Destroyed by dive bombers she was put to work as an anti-aircraft platform to destroy the very planes that sunk her.

HMS Ladybird was an insect class gunboat of the Royal Navy built in 1916 initially for patrol work along the River Danube during World War One. It was involved in the Panay incident in 1937 where Japanese artillery fired upon her near China. Posted to Singapore it was stripped down and towed to the Mediterranean in 1940.

Damaged sustained en route limited the Ladybird's speed to 7 kilometres per hour due to her misaligned hull. Stationed at Port Said in Egypt in a protective role it was utilised in one failed attack on an Italian island by a group of Royal Marines that saw it hit with an aerial bomb and severely damaged. Repaired it was then pressed into work as a part of the "Tobruk Ferry", the vital naval supply convoy that would restock Tobruk under cover of darkness with everything from reinforcements to ammunition, food and medical supplies. Tanks were even delivered to the garrison during the siege by the "Ferry".

It was during one such resupply operation on 12th May, 1941 that Ladybird was hit by dive bombers and set on fire. Settling on an even keel in 10 feet of water Ladybird's 3 inch guns were still functional and above the water line. Morshead immediately put the wreck and the deck guns to work as a static anti-aircraft platform. Men were stationed aboard the wreck to man the guns and even set up living quarters inside the wrecked hull.

Ladybird was damaged by aerial bombs and shrapnel many times during the siege but the men stationed aboard took down more than their fair share of Stukas by way of compensation.

images 020572 and 020569 Australian War Memorial.

A 3 inch Deck gun on Ladybird.

[Image] Stuka attack on the 2/24th.

30th April, 1941. Tobruk, Libya.

Stuka's bomb the 2/24th in the Red Line.

This amazing photo was taken from within a Carrier of the 2/48th Infantry Battalion as they approached the Red Line to offer assistance to the entrenched 2/24th. This attack was the second major thrust made by Rommel during the Siege and was heavily supported by artillery, tanks and infantry. The ever present Luftwaffe added the icing to the cake presented to the Diggers by their relentless dive bombing of the Red Line positions.

The Luftwaffe's aerial bombing was an attempt to demoralise the Australians and more importantly keep them underground in their Red Line posts whilst tanks and supporting infantry moved up to favourable positions in front of the anti-tank ditch.

This battle signalled the beginning of a period of bloody fighting that developed into the Battle of the Salient. This was one of the most trying and costly actions of the entire defense of Tobruk, for both sides.

The Carrier in the above photo has a Boys Anti-Tank Gun mounted in the forward gun position, the barrel of which can be seen protruding from the front of the photo. Also other tracks can be seen in the desert surface in front of the Carrier's direction of travel. These are most likely tracks from other Australian Carriers as opposed to Axis Tank tracks. The Axis tanks were a this stage of the battle concentrated to the front of the Red Line and not further back where this photo was taken.

No men were killed by the Stuka's bombs this day but on the day after this photo was taken 32 men from the 2/24th Infantry Battalion were killed in action in the Red Line.

image 128989 Australian War Memorial.

[Image] Death of a Stuka

1941. Tobruk, Libya.

One less Stuka in the parade.

For troops in Tobruk, the daily raids by the German Stuka dive bombers on their harbour and artillery positions became known as "The Stuka Parade". Often these planes would descend on their targets at incredibly steep angles with large payloads of bombs. Sirens attached to the planes would scream the faster they dived in an attempt to demoralise the opponent.

Once their bombs were released they often flew out towards the El-Adem area to circle around below the line of the escarpment held by the German's in safety to return to strafe the Australian positions holding the red line. It became almost like a game with the same planes flying over the same positions each day at the same time often at altitudes of little more than 100 feet.

This particular Stuka flew a little too close to the Red Line and was brought down. Wrecks like this were often stripped by Australian souvenir hunters. You can see that someone has cut the swastika out of the aluminium of the tailplane. These were often the first thing to go as they were light and could be mailed to unsuspecting relatives back home. There is very little of value left on this plane.

image 040612 Australian War Memorial.