On October 19, 1940 the Italians used 4 Savoia Marchetti SM.82 long distance bombers in an attack on American operated British oil refineries in Bahrain and caused minor damages to Dhahran Saudi Arabia. This raid was the start of Italian long distance bombing. It was followed by other raids in 1942 in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Did these long distance bombing runs cause fears among the Allies concerning cities that would have been bombed by these long distance bombers? I also saw that if Italy had not (Spoiler alert) surrendered in 1943 there were plans to use an advanced SM.82 bomber to raid New York since an Italian commercial airline had flown from Rome to Tokyo. Did the bombing of Bahrain and Dhahran In addition to the Anglo-Iraqi war, force the British to reconsider their defenses of the Persian Gulf? This raid has so much more to it and I highly recommend you research it more because it is such an interesting chapter in World War Two. Thank you, and keep up the great work TimeGhost team!
2 Likes