AGAINST ALL ODDS

By Mid-1942, it was clear that military reinforcements alone could not save Malta. The island at the time was suffering from major fuel, food and ammunition shortages. The axis siege was such that convoys found it almost impossible to reach the island without losing a third of their cargo. Indeed, the Maltese population who had suffered the most, had finally snapped. One of most alarming developments was the rotuine lynching of shot down enemy aircrews. A few of the enemy were lucky if RAF and army personnel were nearby to protect them, but many others were less fortunate. One RAF pilot, witnessed to such any attack, was resting in between sorties at Takali airfield when the air raid wailing jolted him awake. Looking up, he could spot the familiar white contrails high above in the deep blue sky as a dogfight was joined. One of the enemy - an Italian Macchi MC.202 fighter was hit by flak and began to trail down, smoke streaming from its engines. Next, a parachute blossomed open and wind began to carry the Italian towards a small hillock outside the airfield. Gathering up his pistol, the British pilot ran as fast he could and but as he emerged over the hillock, he realized he was too late - there were several Maltese, both men and women, fervently hacking at the pilot's body with all sorts of farming equipment. By the time the army and some Maltese dispersed the mob it was all over.

On 14 June, two major supply convoys were dispatched - one from Egypt, codenamed 'Vigorous' and the other from Gibraltar, codenamed 'Harpoon'. The object being to divide the enemy, allowing a fair portion of the merchantmen to reach Malta, as well as drawing the Italian fleet into the open - where it could be mauled. The two convoys constituted 25 merchant ships, cruisers and destroyers, and were to be initially protected by Gibraltar and North African based planes. Once the convoy reached to withing ranges of malta, Lloyd's fighters were to take over. Just before the beginning of this operation, Beaufighters from No. 235 Squadron had flown out to Malta from England and Eagle had flown off 63 Spitfires towards the island, of which 59 had landed safely. These fighters were to protect the convoys when they reached within range of Malta.

Both convoys set sail on 14 June, but their presence in the Mediterranean was quickly noted by the enemy. The 'Vigorous' convoy was attacked by aircraft based on Crete and Cyrenaica and was forced to return to port after two ships were sunk, but the 'Harpoon' convoy fought its way through, and managed to lure out the Italian fleet. Sailing out of Taranto, the Italian attack force, as the British soon discovered, included two battleships and four cruisers, all of which were under constant escort by submarines and torpedo-boats. Maltese-based Wellingtons and Beauforts were flown off, as well as Liberators and Beauforts from Egypt to deal with the threat. In the attack, a Beauforts managed to hit a battleship with a torpedo, forcing it to return to port, a cruiser was sunk and other vessels damaged by other aircraft.

Lost Cargo. A merchantman goes down with her payload, with flames and smoke steaming from her hull. ©Maltese Archives

The Germans then dispatched their aircraft in Sardinia and Sicily against 'Harpoon'. The aircraft battered the merchantmen until only four remained. Then, naval mines succeeded in finishing off two more merchantmen and a cruiser. To deliver the final blow, the Italians dispatched a force of cruisers from Palermo, but the attackers had their plans thwarted when they were themselves attacked by Maltese-based Swordfishes and Beauforts.

Troilus and Orari, the two surving merchentmen fortuitously made it to within range of malta's ighters before further attacks materialized. They were the last survivors of a gallant band. 'Harpoon' had been a costly victory; and 'Vigorous' a total defeat. The British had lost a cruiser, five destroyers, two minesweepers and ten merchantmen. Five other merchant vessels had been hit so badly that they had been forced to return to port. Troilus and Orari were the only ships to reach Malta, and brought with them just 15,000 tons of supplies.

In desperation, naval submarines were used to ferry in supplies by night and from July fast flying transport planes began making thier appearance. In addition to the RAF's transports, the British Overseas Airways Corporation's (BOAC) aircraft were used to keep open the vital communications link with the besieged island. Usually flying in at night, BOAC pilots had to contend with bad visibility and a hostile environment before being given the "all clear" signal for landing. Many a BOAC flight found itself circling the Luqa airfield, already heavily damaged and littered with crashed aircraft, while at the same being exposed to flak and enemy aircraft. The pilots desperately ticked off the minutes until the runway was cleared and clearance to land was given. These BOAC flights played an important part during Malta's siege by flying in hundreds of military personnel and civilians as well flying out the wounded and sick, including women and children.

On June 8, Eagle delivered 32 new Spitfire Mark VCs to Malta; one of the pilots to arrive on that trip was the Canadian fighter pilot Flight Sergeant George Beurling. Landing at Takali, Beurling had barely brought the taxiing fighter to a stop when he was ejected from the precious fighter by RAF ground crews. The mechanics then proceeded to refuel the fighter and armed its guns for a sortie only minutes away. Disoriented, Beurling glanced around and found dust, ruins and craters and a lot of very tired people, who looked as though they hadn't slept in weeks. Beurling had arrival was incongrious. He was a sergeant nobody, but within a few months would rise to become a legend. He shot down his first victim five days later and within five months, would emerge as the top fighter pilot over Malta with 26.33 confirmed victories. Although, widely respected back home in Canada for his aerial exploits, he was a loner and was not popular in his squadron because he flew and fought alone. Because he did not stay in formation during combat, he always left his flight open to attack, and it is estimated that Beurling lost a wingman for almost every victory that he scored in the air.

Beurling even refused a commission for some time, remaining an NCO, because he abhorred responsibility - his only goal was to shoot down enemy aircraft and nothing, it seemed could divert him from that. After Malta, Beurling went back home to Canada as a national hero and there he endorsed war bonds for some time, but h longing for combat promptd him to return to active service in September 1943. This time however, he did not return to the RAF but instead joined his native Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in England - ironic, considering that it was the RCAF had rejected him at the outbreak of war because of his poor school marks. The wheel had turned full circle, RCAF commanders now clamoured to get Beurling into their ranks. But this new partnership was short-lived. Ten months and three aerial victories later, Beurling was discharged from the RCAF for his WWI-style 'lone wolf' tactics. The Canadians had spent too much time developing teamwork, and Beurling's lone attack habits were seen as detrimental to their efforts. Beurling now disappeared into obscurity, and was even forced to beg in the streets of Montreal in order to survive. He offered his service to the RAF and the USAAF, but was rejected by both. His ill reputation had preceded him. Then in 1947, after the war, he emerged into the public limelight when he volunteered to fight for the newly formed Israeli Air Force. On 21 May 1948, while taking off from Rome to join his new command, Beurling's transport plane crashed and all aboard were killed. With 31.33 confirmed victories, Beurling was one of the highest scoring allied aces, and was one of that special group of people who thrived in the fire of war and yet, was totally lost without it. Beurling is buried at the Mount Carmel cemetery as an Israeli hero.

An intact Luqa. The above photgraph shows the sprawing white hangars of the Luqa bomber airfield. Although this photograph shows a quiet airbase, Luqa was one of themost heavily bombed targets in malta.

Ace of Aces. A boyish face and a cocky mannersim made George 'Screwball' Beurling seem harmless, but in the air, he was highly adventerous and extremely dangerous. He also was a ruthless fighter pilot who usually took no prisoners - it is believed that only two enemy pilots (both talian) ever survived a Beurling victory in combat. The nickname 'Screwball' first stuck in Malta, when Beurling usually used it to describe everything and everyone , including the enemy, as screwballs. Photo ©DND

In the second week of July, Eagle on two trips brought in 59 Spitfires, and the HMS Welshman, a 2600 tonnes mine-layer and one of the fastest warships afloat, made night runs from Gibraltar to Malta carrying ammunition. By the end of July, the British had amassed 80 serviceable fighters in Malta with an average of 17 a week shot down or badly damaged to fly again. Aircraft maintenance was no doubt a nightmare on the island. The constant aerial action and natural forces played havoc among the RAF squadrons, and the Maintenance Wing at Kalafrana performed miracles to keep the aircraft airborne. Engines, airframes, radios and armament were salvaged from crashed or wrecked aircraft; nothing was put to waste. In addition, all Spitfire Mk VCs had two of their four 20 mm Hispano cannons removed as 'spares'. As if this cutback in firepower weren't enough, the pilots then discovered that their remaining cannons were loaded with as little as fifteen rounds per gun. To make matters worse, gun stoppages were becoming alarmingly common as dust and sand were sucked into the cannon breech while the aircraft was taxiing. In ingenious solution was no doubt the brainchild of a rigger, who tapped a thin bit of paper, usually toilet paper on the barrel openings, reducing malfunctions considerably. By the end of July, Malta was capable of putting up five squadrons of Hurricanes and Spitfires (see AppendixA), not mentioning one of Beauforts, three of Beaufighters, and one of Swordfishes. By improvisation and good planning, these aircraft, crewed by experienced pilots soon fought back for control of the air, and by July 14, when Air Vice-Marshal Lloyd handed over his command to Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, the enemy assault had eased.

Park (the famous Battle of Britain group commander) had an untimely arrival in Malta - landing when the Malta Blitz resumed on 5 July with the bombing of Takali, followed by a strike against Luqa on the following day. But fortunately for Park, there was a lull in the fighting from July 27 as the Germans regrouped. Park now had time to gather his bearings and develop tactics to enable Malta's Spitfires, which were now low on fuel and small in numbers, to survive. On of his first orders was to introduce a policy of aggressive defense, whereby his fighters were ordered to intercept the enemy bombers while still over the sea - reasoning that any bomber that managed to penetrate the forward cauldron of fighters would be taken care of by a reserve force of fighters and anti-aircraft guns. When the Germans returned, these tactics proved to be an instant success and bombs hitting Malta substantially decreased. At the same time, the island's moral soared. The time involved from scramble to intercept of the enemy had also been considerably reduced. Relying on the drillings of Stanley Turner, who had left Malta in April due to exhaustion, the fighter squadrons usually took ten minutes to reach the attacking height of 18 000 ft. This was accomplished by splitting the squadron into three sections of four aircraft each. Each of these sections were widely spaced, and when the squadron took off, they did not climb in a straight line but instead used a wide spiral, which ensured that the aircraft kept a decent amount of speed as well as enabling the pilots to keep an all-round observation of the sky. On approaching to interception height, the Spitfires would then ignore the enemy fighters and go straight for the bombers.

In the meantime, the Admiralty decided that this was the time to send one of the largest convoys to date - 52 merchantmen and warships to resupply Malta. This set-up a show down between the allies and the axis for one of the most famous naval/aerial engagements of the war, later known as the Battle of Mid-August by the Italians or Operation 'Pedestal' to British..

PEDESTAL TO VICTORY

On August 2, the biggest convoy ever sent to Malta sailed from England. It consisted of fourteen large and fast merchantmen carrying food, fuel and ammunition. They were escorted by the 16-inch gun battleships HMS Rodney and Nelson, the carriers Eagle, Indomitable and Victorious, three anti-aircraft cruisers and fourteen destroyers. The convoy operation was codenamed Operation 'Pedestal', and it reached the straits of Gibraltar on Monday, August 10, where the carrier HMS Furious briefly joined it. The convoy's plan of action was well thought out and was incredibly detailed. The carriers, which were part of Vice-Admiral Sir Neville Syfret's Force 'Z', carried 74 FAA (Fleet Air Arm) fighters - among them Fulmars, Sea Hurricane and Martlets (Grumman F-4 Wildcats). Eighteen fighters were to be on patrol at all times, with another 18 on constant readiness and 12 on immediate reserve. These measures, it was hoped would be able to tackle any axis threat. Also due to play in important part in the aerial action was Victorious' Type 79B radar, which was to concentrate on height finding of enemy aircraft, while the Type 281 radar sets mounted on Indomitable and the cruiser Sirius were tasked with sweeping the airspace all-round the convoy and detect aircraft approaching at low-altitude. Two dedicated fighter-direction ships were also added to the convoy and these were the cruisers HMS Nigeria and Cairo - an extremely generous addition for a single convoy. The RAF would also provide long-range escort planes from Gibraltar and Malta to the limit of their range, and RAF officers were embarked in certain command cruisers to co-ordinate RAF-Royal Navy activities. Once the convoy reached within 200 kilometers (125 miles) of Malta, 180 serviceable airplanes from Maltese based squadrons would take over. The most vital ship in the convoy was the American oil tanker, Ohio. Every ship, including the Ohio had been heavily armed and had a Naval Liaison Officer embarked to assist in any complicated maneuvering that would be necessary. Their cargos, totaling some 85 000 tons were chiefly composed of flour, ammunition and shells, although many had dangerous stores of petrol and aviation fuel onboard in addition to Ohio's 15 000 tonnes of kerosene, petrol and aviation fuel. Lying in wait for them were 19 Italian and 2 German submarines, 784 enemy aircraft, 23 torpedo boats and the entire Italian fleet.

The admiralty was under no illusions of the enemy's capabilities. For this, the operations of the Royal Navy carriers were planned in great detail. Each of the three carriers was to operate independently within the destroyer screen and at the rear of the convoy. Each carrier had a personal escort of an anti-aircraft cruiser and the normal anti-submarine screen of destroyers. Each carrier also had to run its own defensive fighter patrols, and several squadrons were given deliberate instructions and a service height at which to operate. Five Hurricane squadrons were to protect the fleet from 20 000 ft, two Fulmar squadrons had orders to fly at 5000 ft, and at medium altitude, a single squadron of Martlets was to be used.

Hawker Sea Hurricane Mk IB. This aircraft belongs to No. 880 Squadron aboard HMS Indomitable. The squadron had twelve Hurricanes during 'Pedestal' and was tasked with flying high-altitude patrols as were the Sea Hurricanes of No. 800 Squadron - also on Indomitable.

On August 11, a clear blue Tuesday, the battle was joined. The Italian submarine Uarscieki lying on watch some 80 km (50 miles) south of the island of Ibiza began picking strong propeller noises. Investigating, her crew spotted the convoy. At 4.42 am, Uarscieki launched three torpedoes against a carrier, but these failed to explode, and in turn, incurred the wrath of the escorting British destroyers, which depth-charged the area heavily. The submarine was forced to flee before they could lossen off another salvo. At 11.28 am, Furious launched 38 Spitfires under the command of Group Captain Walter Churchill, ace pilot and kinsman of the British Prime Minister, off for Malta - one was lost. Although a small part of 'Pedestal' had been accomplished, by now however, an enemy submarine pack had closed in. One of these was the German U-boat, U-73, which had been shadowing the group for several hours. Its commander, Kapitän-Lt Helmut Rosenbaum had strict orders: sink the carriers, not the merchantmen. At 1.15 pm, just as a German bomber raid hit the convoy, U-73 slipped through the naval destroyer screen and closing to within yards of the carrier group. Picking a carrier closest to him, he unleashed a barrage of torpedoes against hapless vessel - HMS Eagle. The four torpedoes smashed a hole in Eagle's port, and water flooded in to the vessls' lower floors. Her port wing engine room had been badly damaged, and several boiler rooms were inundated by the flood. Then six minutes later, the veteran carrier finally settled bodily at 30 degrees and sank with 131 of her crew. Only four of the Eagle's fighters had taken to air before the carrier sank. In just ten minutes, the convoy had lost 20 percent of its fighter strength. For his brilliant attack, Rosenbaum was awarded with the Knight's Cross.

One heavyweight goes down. The veteran and much beloved carrier, HMS Eagle is seen sinking in this wartime color picture. Hundred-and-thirty one of her crew also perished with her.

Ten minutes after Eagle had had sunk beneath the waves, another submarine launched a fan of torpedoes against HMS Victorious, and although one of the torpedoes was seen to pass under her bows, none found the carrier. Fairy Albacores took to the air to hunt down the submarines, while the destroyer screen sped across the waters, depth-charging the area. The carriers soon began a defensive 'zig-zag' pattern that was meant to throw the aim of the U-boats. Then at 3.12 pm, with all her Spitfires away, Furious and her escorts broke away to return to Gibraltar, sinking the Italian submarine Dagabur on their way out. The ships of 'Pedestal' then spent the rest of day warding off further bomber raids and submarines, who hung about at the edge of the carrier fighter screen, watching and reporting the progress of the British fleet back to Sicily. By the end of the day, Admiral Syfret discovered that his fighter force had dropped from the original 74 fighters to less than fifty serviceable Hurricanes, Martlets and Fulmars in combat against enemy raids, which had thus far been composed of just bombers. If his fighters were further depleted in the next few hours, then nothing could save the transports or the carriers themselves.

By the following day, the British had approached to within 80 km (50 miles) of North Africa and a little further from Sicily and Sardinia - they could now expect enemy fighters to escort the bombers. At dawn on August 12, in anticipation of this threat, British naval fighters were scrambled even before the sun had risen. At 9.15 am, the first patrol, No. 880 Squadron spotted a strong force of Luftwaffe Junker Ju88s approaching. The British fighters were vectored to the menace and within ten minutes had destroyed two of the Ju88's while ten fled after having jettisoned their bombs. Unfortunately for the Luftwaffe bombermen, their escape routes was covered by fighters from HMS Victorious, and two more Ju88s fell into the sea. In all, twelve enemy aircraft were claimed as destroyed or damaged in that morning's engagement. It did not stop there. At 12.15 pm, a seventy strong raiding force of Ju87 and Ju88 dive bombers, He111 torpedo-bombers, SM.79s and SM.84's carrying Motobomba FFs ('circling mines') arrived to plaster the Royal Navy. Accompanying them this time, were the long expected fighter escorts.

Despite a deteremined defense by the naval aviators and the convoy ack-ack, it took the British almost one and a half hours to beat off this attack. In the couse of the battle, one of the merchantmen, SS Deucalion was disabled and forced out of the convoy. It was later sunk by the enemy. As the enemy retired at 1.45 pm, the Royal Navy fighters began returning to the carriers. Unknown to them, two daring Italian Reggiane Re.2001 fighter-bombers had stayed behind and had joined the circuit to land on Victorious. Then, just as their turn came , the two pilots pulled up their undercarriage, throttled up, and roared down the carrier, each dropping a bomb. Amazingly, they did no damage but hurt many a pride. Sporadic brushes with the enemy submarines kept the convoy on full alert throughout the rest of the day. One submarine, the Italian Cobalto was depth-charged, forced to surface and rammed by the destroyer HMS Ithuriel. Then at 5 pm, the carriers began picking up blips on their radar screens - enemy aircraft approaching!. Syfert scrambled all his fighters, including reserves and at 5.45 pm the largest enemy raid yet came into view. It was over a hundred aircraft strong and was composed of German and Italian bombers, torpedo bombers and dive-bombers, all under the protective umbrella of a heavy fighter escort.

No. 880 Squadron had barely shot down a Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 torpedo-bomber, when it was jumped by Me109s and Reggiane Re.2002s. The squadron was soon fighting for its life. The British fighters occupied, groups of enemy bombers punched through the weakened fighter screen and set their sights on the carriers. HMS Indomitable became the object of four Ju87s and eight Ju88s. Peeling off from 12 000 ft,the Germans dived through the intensive barrage of fire being put by the carrier's gunners. Three fell, but the remaining carried on, hitting Indomitable in the forward, aft and beam sections. One bomb penetrated her deck armor behind the singular deck lift - twisting it out of shape - this made it impossible to transfer the aircraft from the hanger onto the flight deck. A second bomb exploded in the hanger mouth killing and wounding many of the maintenance crews working there. The explosion also rammed the already buckled 7-ton lift, which was at full elevation, up on its chains and jammed it two feet above the deck, preventing aircraft from landing. To make matters worse, fires raged throughout the ship and she was slowly flooding.

Only the sheer determination of her damage control parties, prevented Indomitable from sinking, and by 7.30 pm she was racing to rejoin the convoy. Still, the Germans had accomplished their mission for Indomitable could neither take nor launch any more aircraft - the damage to her flight deck was too severe for that. Another carrier had been stricken from the list.

The disabling of Indomitable left her airborne fighters in the lurch; nearly half of its fighter force was up in the air when the carrier was hit. The pilots were diverted to Victorious, but the carrier was already overstocked. The arrival of twelve of Indomitable's fighters on Victorious between 6.30 and 7.30 pm caused pandemonium as deck crews desperately bundled the new arrivals to the already jam-packed hangers and the aircraft park. All this was happening as the enemy assault raged overhead. New waves of enemy aircraft continued to come over, as the previous wave circled overhead before turning for home. It was almost 7.30 pm when the last of the attackers disengaged - a full thirty-five minutes after Syfert was to have pulled Force 'Z' back towards Gibraltar. By now, Victorious was overflowing with aircraft. The Fulmars and Martlets were sent down to the hangers, but the Hurricanes couldn't - their wings did not fold and the carrier lifts were not large enough to take them. There was only one option left to the ground crews - any aircraft that could not be stowed was to be pushed overboard - and many a Hurricane suffered this fate.

Two Juggernauts plow through the waves. Taken aboard another carrier, this photo shows HMS Indomitable and behind her HMS Eagle.

By midnight, the convoy was still 200 km (130 miles) from Malta, but its heavy escorts, including the carriers, had already turned back for Gibraltar. The departure of the carriers and the battleships left the merchantmen to contemplate their fate when morning came. Even in the presence of the carriers, the transports had sufferred. Now in the absence of the carriers, there was hardly a man who was not convinced that only the worst awaited the last leg to Malta. On the 12th itself, three cargo ships and a destroyer were sunk; the Deucalion, Empire Hope and Clan Ferguson and the destroyer HMS Foresight. They weren't the only ones. At 7.55 pm that same day, under a darkened Mediterranean sky, the Italian submarine Axum under the command of Lt. di Vacello Renato Ferrini, unleashed a fan of torpedoes against the fighter-direction cruisers Nigeria and Cairo and the American tanker Ohio, hitting them all. Nigeria was forced to return to Gibraltar and Cairo was so badly damaged that she was later scuttled. Ohio however, continued undaunted - but for how much longer?.Without air cover, the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica would enjoy a rich picking on the following day - unless by some miracle the merchantmen managed to reach within range of Malta's fighters by morning...