On 30 April 1941 Major-general Bernard Freyberg, who had been evacuated from mainland Greece with the 2nd New Zealand Division, was appointed commander-in-chief on Crete. He noted the acute lack of heavy weapons, equipment, supplies and communication facilities. Equipment was scarce in the Mediterranean, particularly in the backwater of Crete. The British forces on Crete had seven commanders in seven months. No Royal Air Force (RAF) units were based permanently on Crete until April 1941 but airfield construction took place, radar sites were built and stores delivered. By early April airfields at Maleme and Heraklion and the landing strip at Rethymno, all on the north coast, were ready and another strip at Pediada-Kastelli was nearly finished.