Air Intelligence: Development of. Memo. By D.M.I.

conflicting demands and apparently operational claims on our aircraft rank so high that Intelligence suffers severely. (b) It is of the greatest importance to Naval and Air operations in the Mediterranean to have frequent and reliable intelligence of the whereabouts of Italian warships and concentrations of merchant ships in Italian ports. The Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean and Commander-in-Chief Middle East have both stressed that the present lack of adequate air reconnaissance means that favourable opportunities for naval and air action in the Mediterranean may be lost and reinforcements and supplies may reach Libya immune from attack.