Page "Laconia incident" Paragraph 8

* The British in Freetown intercepted this message but, believing it might be a ruse de guerre, refused to credit it, yet still passed it on to the U. S. The Allies had gone to much effort to establish an airfield on Ascension as a link in their only air route between the United States and the Desert War in Egypt.

This was a secret airfield and its loss would have shut off the critically needed supply of medium bombers to British forces in Egypt and to the Soviet forces in Russia.

Captain Richardson's squadron of P-39s and five B-25 Mitchell bombers was assigned to protect the airfield.