How significant was the Battle of Ceylon?
The pilots of 30 Squadron claimed 14 enemy aircraft destroyed, 6 more probably destroyed, and 5 more damaged, out of a total of 19 destroyed, 7 probably destroyed, and 9 damaged in air combat. Some historians dispute these figures. The Japanese claim to have lost no more than 5 aircraft over Colombo, though they admit to several others failing to make it back to the carriers. Indeed, only 3 Japanese planes were found crashed around Colombo. On the other hand, we have eye witness reports of 5 kills and of course no idea if Tony Ovens, an experienced fighter pilot, managed to shoot anything down before he was hit. An analysis of the results is therefore difficult, not least because our pilots were not ones to boast, but the situation was very confused. At best, between the air action at Colombo and the battle over Trincomalee, the Japanese may have lost a total of 70 aircraft. The reality is probably less than this, but it is not unreasonable to contend that the Japanese lost around a fi
