February 10, 1941. Threats from the sky.
Short Stirlings, bombed Rotterdam, their first combat use. The four engine bomber first flew in 1939.
The British, on this day, engaged in their first airborne commando type raid, dropping paratroopers in Calabria, Italy, to destroy on aqueduct. I learned that here:
Today in World War II History—February 10, 1941
All 35 paratroopers were captured.
The operation was called Operation Colossus.
The men of the unit had all been drawn from No. 2 Commando of the Special Air Service and were in fact commandos, so they were not a conventional paratrooper unit.
More on the raid:
First British Airborne Raid
The RAF raided Rotterdam. The Luftwaffe raided Iceland.
