North Africa & The Mediterranean

The deserts of North Africa and the islands of the Mediterranean produced some of the war’s most audacious escapes. Allied aircrew, sailors and commandos who fell behind Axis lines relied on nomadic tribes, resistance groups and clandestine naval missions to reach freedom.

North African corridors

• Western Desert: The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and Special Air Service (SAS) maintained rendezvous points south of Tobruk and Benghazi, ferrying evaders hundreds of kilometres across the Libyan desert to Allied bases in Egypt.
• Tunisian mountains: Berber families in the Djebel Chambi range hid British and American soldiers after the fall of Kasserine. They guided parties over the Algerian frontier to rejoin the First Army.
• Nomad guides: Tuareg and Tebu camel caravans carried messages between Allied intelligence officers and trapped escapers, using oasis networks from Ghadames to Kufra.

Central Mediterranean islands

• Malta: The island’s “Club Run” operations rescued downed Fleet Air Arm pilots by deploying rescue launches and submarines along the Sicilian Narrows.
• Crete & Dodecanese: Cretan shepherds and SOE teams led by Patrick Leigh Fermor smuggled escapers through the White Mountains to submarine pick-up beaches—stories echoed in the Crete & Greece history section.
• Adriatic coast: Yugoslav Partisans coordinated with the Royal Navy and the Balkan Air Force to evacuate Allied personnel from Vis, Hvar and Korčula to Bari.

Maritime extraction

• Submarine shuttles: HMS Thunderbolt, HMS Taku and US submarines lifted evaders from the coasts of Sicily, Calabria and Dalmatia, often delivering SOE agents on the return leg.
• Clandestine flotillas: The Levant Schooner Flotilla (“Aegean Pirates”) ran caiques between Turkey, Rhodes and the Cyclades, carrying escaped POWs and downed airmen.

After escape

• Debriefings at MI9’s Mediterranean reception centres in Bari and Algiers captured intelligence on Axis troop movements and code systems.
• Many escapers volunteered to join Allied liaison missions—such as Force 133 in Yugoslavia or the Greek Sacred Band—to support the very helpers who saved them.

Continue your research

• Visit the History – Escape Lines section for region-specific routes, including Italy and the Pyrenees & Spain.
• Read personal stories in the Helpers, Escapers & Evaders archive to meet the families and coastal pilots honoured by ELMS.