Malta first came under attack by axis bombers on 11 June 1940 - just one day after Italy declared war on Britain, and just one day after the Battle of Britain officially begun over faraway England. The island was just 90 kilometers (55 miles) from Sicily and was an easy target for the Regia Aeronautica (the Italian Air Force), which had 475 fighters, 674 bombers, 233 scout and observation planes, 129 naval reconnaissance aircraft, 42 shipboard fighters and 200 others of miscellaneous types, strung out over the island and Italy. Augmenting this frontline force were hundreds of other second-line aircraft that could be pressed into service if necessary.

The British on the other hand had almost no combat-worthy aircraft. When war had broken out in September 1939, Malta had just 42 anti-aircraft guns, and not a single aircraft. The local airfields were in a state of disrepair or were obsolete for modern aircraft. Forunately for the defenders, in January 1940, Air Commodore F.H. Maynard had become the AOC (Air Officer Commanding) of Malta, and went to work, building up Malta's defenses. One of his first accomplsihemnts was to create a fighter flight at the Hal Far airfield under Wing Commander G.R. O'Sullivan in March 1940. Unfortunately, this fighter flight wasmeremyl a unit on paper, as apart from a few Fairy Swordfish biplanes in use as target-towing aircraft by No. 3 Anti-Aircraft Cooperation Unit (AACU) and a single radio-controlled DeHavilland Queen Bee, there were virtually no aircraft on Malta. Further probing revealed the existence of six unassembled Royal Navy Gloster Gladiator fighters in crates at the Kalafrana stores. Air echanic quickly assembled these machines, while Maynard began a process of finding volunteers to fly them. His own aide, Flight Lt George Burgess was the first to come forward, but others soon followed - the most senior among them being: Squadron Leader Alan C. 'Jock' Martin, Flying Officer William 'Timber' Woods, and Flight Lt. Peter Keeble from the Hal Far airfield staff. Others included: Flying Officers John L. Waters and Peter W. Hartley from No. 3 AACU; and finally Flying Officer Peter B. Alexander and Sergeant L.F. Ashbury who were serving with the Experimental Flight, operating the radio-controlled Queen Bee target drone.

When Italy declared way on June 10th, the reported strength of this fighter flight was six Gladiators, but two of these were held in reserve and used for spares. The remaining four - affectionately nicknamed 'Faith', 'Hope', 'Charity' and 'Desperation' by the Maltese - were flown by the seven pilots in relays and would take on the Italians for the next three weeks. On June 11th, the Italians began the first of their many raids on Malta. Seven air-raids alone pummeled the island that day and 25 tons of bombs fell on Hal Far, the Burmola armament depot, the seaplane base at Kalfrana and Valletta. The Gladiators failed to dismally on this occasion, but were more fortunate eleven days later on the 22nd, when George Burgess - his combat watched by a stirred Maltese population below - attempted to intercept an Italian bomber formation. Burgess, his twin 0.303 calibre machine-guns blazing, riddled a twin-engined Savio-Marchetti SM.79 bomber flown by 1st Lt Francesco Solimene, until it fell into the sea off Kalfarana. It was the first victory for the British, but others would soon follow. By the end of the year, three British pilots were aces. Then in July 1940, twelve Hawker Hurricanes - flown off from the carrier HMS Argus, landed on Malta. The Hurricane, a modern fighter was a welcome sight as the Italian attacks were growing in intensity. By December 1940, the enemy raids had grown to over 70 to 80 aircraft - gallantly opposed by a handful of Gladiators and Hurricanes, whose pilots became legends. Their photos adorned nearly every shop and office in Valletta.

Air Commodore Maynard (on right) and George Burgess.

 

UPPING THE ACTION

As the aerial action intensified, the RAF boosted its squadrons on the island with aircraft of all types. Italy's entry into the war had imprssed upon the British Air Ministry of the importance of Malta in the grand strategic setting of the Mediterranean. Britian-based squadrons were hurriedly dispatched to the theatre. One of the first to arrive were the Wellington heavy bombers from No. 148 Squadron and a squadron (No. 830) of Royal Navy Swordfish biplanes that came down from Southern France, and several four-engined Short Sunderland flying-boats from Egypt. The latters were based at Kalafrana Bay - an important Maltese floatplane and refueling base. These reinforcements, as small as they might have been made Malta an important staging area, when the Italians invaded Greece on 28 October 1940. The Wellingtons raided Italian bases in Albania and northern Greece, while the Sunderlands laid mines deep in enemy waters. But operations on the island were not limited to faraway objectives. In the first weeks of June, the Sunderlands sank two Italian submarines in nearby waters, while the Fairy Swordfish torpedo biplanes of No. 830 Squadron shadowed Italian transport ships destined for Tripoli and Benghazi in North Africa. At the same time, further measures to increase Malta's air power were underway.

On 17 August, Argus again flew off twelve Hurricanes for Malta, but they had been launched too far offshore this time, and only four arrived. The rest ditched in the sea as their fuel tanks ran dry. Nevertheless, the survivors were joined in September by three Martin Maryland light bombers that flew in all the way from England. The Marylands formed the nucleus of a new unit, No. 431 Flight, which was to fly long-range reconnaissance missions. No. 431 Flight began making an instant impact on Malta, with the Maryland's versatility in the field proving far greater than the antiquated, open cockpit Swordfishes that were previously used in this role.On 10 November 1940, a Maryland flown by Flying Officer Adrian Warburton, under orders to photograph the dispositions of Italian warships at the great shallow-water naval base at Taranto in southern Italy, returned with photographs showing the locations of five Italian battleships, 14 cruisers and 24 destroyers. The information was passed on to Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham, commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, who decided to strike a debilitating blow on the Italian Navy. Cunningham, a fearless naval leader, planned a daring nightime torpedo attack on Taranto, which if sucessfull, could knock the Italian fleet out of the war for at least a year.

Braving the ack-ack, two Swordfishes dropped flares, bathing Taranto in a weird golden light, while six other Swordfishes swooped into attack. Flying just above the waves, and under the range of the large ack-ack guns, the Swordfishes evaded looming barrage balloons and zig-zagged through the streams of ground fire. Nearing target range, the British dropped their torpedoes, and one, launched by Williamson and Lt Norman 'Blood' Scarlett - his navigator - plunged into the battleship Conti di Cavour; the veteran battleship sank within minutes. Two other torpedoes damaged the battleship Littorio, while other Swordfishes hit the fuel stores and dropped their payloads on ships and the seaplane base -leaving it in blazes. An hour later, the second wave arrived, and hit Littorio with a second torpedo and damaged the battleship Caio Duilio. By the end of the attack, three of Italy's battleships were out of action - one permanently, and the other two for several months to come. Two cruisers and two auxiliary ships were also sunk. Only two Swordfishes were lost - one of which was flown by the Williamson and Scarlett, who swam to shore and were taken prisoner, after enduring a beating by enraged italian sailors. Stunned, Mussolini moved the remainder of their fleet to Naples, leaving the Royal Navy a free run in the Mediterranean. On the other end of the world meantime, the Japanese had been watching. The lessons of the battle would be employed against the US Navy at Pearl Harbor a year later.

View after attack photograph of Taranto

THE LUFTWAFFE STEPS IN

By the end of November 1940 it was all too clear to Hitler that the Italians were being checked over Malta. Deciding to demonstrate German supremacy, he sent the Luftwaffe's elite Fleigerkorps X - veterans of the Battle of Britain - to Sicily on 10 December 1940. For its commander, Lt General Hans Geissler's, the mission was clear - gain control of the skies over the central Mediterranean, so that the newly formed Afrika Korps could be transported to North Africa safely and then be kept supplied by fuel, munitions and food. For this task, Geissler had 141 Luftwaffe aircraft, although this was later increased to 243 combat airplanes by May - almost twice the number of the Italian planes based there. But despite these reinforcements, two allied convoys managed to make it to Malta unscathed, bringing with them almost 60 000 tons of food, fuel and ammunition. By the end of 1940, RAF fighters had also severely thrashed the Regia Aeronautica by destroying 23 bombers and 12 fighter, while a further 187 bombers and seven fighter had been damaged by Malta's AA gunners. Yet, for Geissler, the dawn of 1941 would bring about optimistic hopes. From 9th to 11th January, a convoy of four merchant ships set off from Gibraltar to Malta, escorted by Force 'H' consisting of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, the battleships Warspite and Valiant, and a screen of five destroyers. These, he was determined, would become his first victims of the year.

The Italians SM.79s based in Sardinia and Sicily, were first into the attack. Four Fulmar fighters from Illustrious' No. 806 Squadron were scrambled and had just exhausted their ammunition when a force of forty-plus Ju87 Stukas and Ju88s appeared on radar. Four more Fulmars were immediately scrambled, but it was too little too late… Geissler's squadrons were specialists in anti-shipping strikes - and they showed their skill. In six and half minutes, Illustrious was pounded by six 500 kg bombs, while the cruisers, Southampton was sunk and Gloucester damaged. The four Fulmars in turn, shot down five Stukas, but one of the victims crashed into the aft end of the ship, damaging the crippled carrier even further. Illustrious had been solidly built and her armoured flight deck was able to withstand the hits, but unfortunately, her Fulmars were unable to land, as the flight deck was badly scarred. The fighters flew on to Malta. In the absence of the fighters, Illustrious was a sitting duck for the Luftwaffe. Her captain, aware of the need to reach Malta before the enemy attacked again, took the carrier on the shortest heading towards Valletta - unfortunately this route wound perilous through the Sicilian Channel, in comparison to the longer, but safer route which curved around the southern tip of Malta.

Illusrious was attacked again in the late afternoon by fifteen Ju87s, escorted by a equal number of Me110 from III/ZG26. Despite air cover from Malta in the form of nine Hurricanes and three of her own Fulmars, the already damaged carrier took another hit. Incredibly, she would survive this and another attack by torpedo bombers before entering Valletta's Grand Harbor at 10 pm, listing to port but still valiant. Three days later on the 16th, Fliegerkorps X returned to finish the job, but the British were ready for them. Brigadier Sadler, who had commanded the Dover guns during the battle of Britain, was the antiaircraft commander in Malta, and he concentrated his guns around Valletta to create a formidable box of fire around Illustrious. Supporting his troops were gunners on other ships in the harbor, including those on the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth, as well as the gunners on the Illustrious herself.

Old Faithful. HMS Illustrious at Sea. Illustrious was one of newest and largest carriers used by the Royal Navy at the outbreak of war. She would see widespread service - seeing action in the Mediterranean, the Indian ocean and the Pacific.

Click here for side profile of carrier.

At 1.55 PM, the air-raid siren began its ominous wailing, and scanning the skies, the defenders spotted a horde of bombers coming their way - almost eighty Stukas and Ju88s. The pre-planned anti-aircraft barrage was fearsome, but the first wave of sixty-five Ju88s managed to fly through it by executing a shallow dived from 8000 ft. Following close behind them were the Stukas, diving down from 10 000 ft. The defending fighters, the trio of Fulmars from Illustrious (now ashore based), four Hurricanes and a pair of Gladiators, (survivors of the original six) sniped at the bombers from outside the range of the barrage, but finding their fire ineffective, threw caution to the winds and followed their targets into the cauldron of fire. In a memorable incident, one Ju87 came through the barrage and flew so low down the harbor that it just managed to clear the the 15-foot sea wall at the entrance. But as it did so, a Fulmar kept on its tail, opened fire and sent it crashing into the sea beyond.

The attack had been a dismal failure for Geissler; only one of his bombs had scored a hit on Illustrious - causing minor damage. In turn, ten of his airplanes had been shot down - five by the RAF and the FAA. The Maltese public meantime, had suffered as many of the bombs had gone into homes and shops in Valletta and the surrounding areas.

The Germans appeared again on the 18th, but this time they had switched their targets to Malta's airfields. The grass fighter airstrip at Takali was already unusable because of heavy rains and the German bombs turned it into a bog. The Germans then concentrated on Illustrious again on the 19th, but six Hurricanes, one Fulmar, and one Gladiator joined the ack-ack guns in defence against almost eighty aircraft. Again, there were some near misses caused to the carrier but the allied fighters claimed eleven of the raiders, while the antiaircraft gunners claimed eight. The concrete bomber airbase at Luqa was the next to be targeted and was temporarily put out of action on the 26th. Although six Wellington bombers had been destroyed on the ground during the attack, the enemy had lost eleven of their own - bringing the total number of losses for the Germans in a one week period to 30 airplanes - devastating casualties for Geissler.

In December, the Luftwaffe transferred the 7th Staffel of JG26 to Sicily from France on 9 February. This Messerschmitt Me109E unit, although only a squadron, was formidable fighting force. It's commander, Oberluetnant Joachim Münchberg, was the one of the Luftwafe's most experienced aces who had already destroyed 23 allied aircraft over France and Britain. Münchberg would down his first Maltese victim - a Hurricane three days after his arrival in the theatre, marking the first of the unit's many victories. On the other side, the RAF found it's Mark I Hurricanes badly outclassed by the Messerschmitts, although the German squadron was never more than nine Me109s strong. By when this unit left for France in early June, forty-one RAF aircraft had fallen to its guns - 18 to Münchberg alone! The initiative fell to the Luftwaffe, who with the Italians, were able to bring together 400 airplanes against the Malta, which had only 20 Hurricanes, 16 Wellington Bombers, 12 Fairy Swordfish naval torpedo bombers and the three American-made Martin Maryland reconnaissance bombers. Even so, the island's air commander, Air Vice-Marshall Hugh 'Pugh' Lloyd - who had taken over from AVM Forster Maynard in May 1941, did not lose hope. Day and night, he spent his time at Malta's three airfields - Hal Far, Luqa and Takali, overseeing improvements to the runways and defenses. During February and March, Fliegerkorps X sustained the bombing offensive against Malta, while the Italians flew reconnaissance missions and escorted German bombers. All through those two months, German bombers supported by Me110's and experienced Me109E pilots from JG26 and JG27 attacked Malta's airfields and Valletta harbor incessantly. The Wellington flet was all but destroyed on the ground, and the Stukas set upon every convoy that approached within range of the island.

In desperation, senior RAF commander detached seven Hurricanes from No. 274 Squadron in Egypt to Malta in early March, but the newcomers, ill-used to the intensive of air combat were quickly brushed aside by Münchberg's Me109s. By mid-March, just as the island seemed to be teetering on the brink of defeat, the bombing suddenly eased. Many of the Geissler's aircraft had been transferred to the Balkans..

It was the respite the British had been praying for. On 3 April 1941, twelve Hurricane Mk IIAs, flown by experienced Battle of Britain veterans, took off from the carrier, HMS Ark Royal and guided by two naval Skuas headed for Malta, almost 322 km (200 miles) away. At the halfway point, they rendezvoused with a Sunderland flying boat and were led into Malta. These twelve Hurricane along with the earlier remnants of the original Gladiators and Hurricanes formed a new squadron - No. 261 Squadron. Later, on April 27, the arrival of a 23 further Hurricanes enabled Lloyd to form a second fighter squadron, No. 185 Squadron at Hal Far airfield. Bristol Blenheim light-bombers of No. 82 Squadron also arrived in mid-May, being the first of many light bomber squadrons to be rotated to Malta for low-level anti-shipping operations.

Time-out Lt Münchberg relaxes with his dog

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7/JG26 badge

JG26 Badge

Large deliveries of Hurricanes continued during late May and early June from the carriers Victorious, Furious and Ark Royal, but many of these flew on to North Africa after having re-fueled at Malta. Nevertheless some Hurricane squadrons did stay, such as No. 249 Squadron, which arrived on 21 May, relieving 261 Squadron which was moved to Palestine after taking heavy losses. The air echelon of No. 46 Squadron also arrived in early June, and was renumbered as No. 126 Squadron. In all, during the three months from April to June 1941, the Royal Navy ferried 225 Mark II Hurricanes to Malta and by the beginning of July, there were three Hurricane squadrons defending the island. The surplus of Hurricanes even allowed Lloyd to form the MNFU (Malta Night Fighter Unit) commanded by an old RAF hand, Squadron Leader George Powell-Sheddon, who had fought with the famed RAF ace, Wing Commander Douglas Bader during the battle of Britain. Night fighting with the Hurricane was no easy task; the long nose hindered visibility, while the bright flame exhausts on the nose ruined night vision. Yet, Powell-Sheddon set an example by shooting down two enemy planes during his tour of duty over Malta.

With four fighter units at his disposal, Lloyd wanted to wreck enemy air power before it could become strong again, and the RAF complied by flying nocturnal intruder offensive sweeps over enemy airbases in Sicily. The Italians, lacking the support of Fliegerkorps X (which had left Sicily for the German invasions of Russia and Greece) fought back but were overwhelmed, considering that their obsolete fighter force, comprising of forty-one machine-gun armed Macchi Mc.200s and the twenty-nine older CR.42 biplane fighters could do little against the newer cannon-armed Hurricanes.

By the end of October 1941, new squadrons of Bristol Blenheim Mk IVs, Wellingtons, Photo-reconnaissance Hurricanes and Marylands were operational on the island. In November 1941, a detachment of No. 242 Squadron was flown off HMS Ark Royal, and together with a similar force of No. 605 Squadron, which had also arrived in November brought the total number of Malta's fighter squadrons to five. The price for this reinforcement was stiff however. Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk only hours after No. 242 had departed for Malta. All further deliveries of Hurricanes ceased. yet, since August 1940, twelve separate carrier sorties had succeeded in flying off 361 fighters towards Malta, of which 303 actually arrived. Of that, a further 150 aircraft had moved on to North Africa. Two deliveries of attack aircaft were also carried out. One involved Swordfishes to replace losses in 830 Squadron, while another in October 1941 brought forth Fairy Albacore torpedo-bomber of No. 828 Squadron. The island's anti-shipping fleet was also bolstered by the arrival of Bristol Beaufighter squadrons that year. The Beaufighters, in the company of the Swordfishes and the Albacores began to target axis shipping in the area with devestating reults. In November, 63 percent of the General Erwin Rommel's Africa Korps' much needed supplies went down with merchant ships in the Mediterranean, and in December, the troops recieved only 30 000 out of 70 000 tonnes of oil, rations and ammunition. This coming at a critical time for Rommel when the allied Eight Army was beginning a major armoured offensive (Operation 'Crusader') against the German and Italian units besieging the Libyan port of Tobruk.

For once, it seemed that everything was going Britian's way, but things would not stay that way for long however. To eliminate Malta for good, Hitler threw in a fortified German air corps to the theatre. The aerial conflict which had already been so intense would turn into a tumultuous engagement of legendary proportions.