air war malta

When, in June, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union under Operation Barbarossa, Fliegerkorps X departed for the Eastern Front, and the Regia Aeronautica was left to continue its highly effective air campaign against Malta in the coming months. Among those losses was Squadron Leader Peter "Boy" Mould. All Rights Reserved. She could not go as deep or dive as quickly as the T- and U-class types, but she still made nine supply missions to Malta, which was more than any other vessel of its type. The destroyers HMS Jackal, Kashmir, Kipling, Kelly, Kelvin and Jersey were a part of Mountbatten's fleet. The third was to attack the bombers head-on. [134] By March–April 1942, it was clear the Luftwaffe had achieved a measure of air superiority. When the route was closed Malta remained a forward base for offensive action against Axis shipping and land targets in the central Mediterranean. [108], On 13 November, the carrier HMS Ark Royal— returning to Gibraltar after transporting aircraft to Malta—was sunk by a U-boat. It had played the key role in the Battle of Taranto, handing naval supremacy to the British, hence it became top of the Axis' target list. The Allies were able to launch offensive operations from Malta and some 60% of Axis shipping was sunk in the second half of 1941. By 12 May, there were 50 Hurricanes on the island. Supported by S- and T-class vessels, they dropped mines. [119] In January the RAF lost 50 Hurricanes on the ground and another eight shot down in combat. In return the Islands were under constant attack, in a game of return fire. The damaging of the 7,889-ton German ship Duisburg was the only noteworthy attack. Certainly bringing in more supplies would have made greater strategic sense, before risking going on to the offensive and thus in turn risking the wrath of the enemy. [73] Allied surface forces managed to sink only one small Axis convoy in daylight hours during the whole North African Campaign but on the night of 15/16 April, Axis ships were intercepted by Commander P. J. Mack's 14th Destroyer Flotilla, comprising HMS Janus, Jervis, Mohawk, Juno and Nubian. Free delivery on qualified orders. This is the story of the historic air defense of Malta by the WRAF against the combined attacking forces of the Italian and German air forces. U-class submarines operated from the Manoel Island Base known as HMS Talbot. Geisler persuaded the OKL to give him four more dive-bomber gruppen (Groups). [179] In September 1942, Rommel received only 24% of the 50,000 tons of supplies needed monthly to continue offensive operations. Rommel could now look forward to offensive operations with the support of the Luftwaffe in North Africa. Ultra intercepts found that 3,500 tons of aerial bombs, 4,000 tons of ammunition, 5,000 tons of food, one entire tank workshop, 25 Bf 109 engines and 25 cases of glycol coolant for their engines were lost. The Beauforts were having a devastating impact on Axis fuel supplies which were now nearly used up. British air and sea forces based on the island could attack Axis ships transporting vital supplies and reinforcements from Europe; Churchill called the island an "unsinkable aircraft carrier". Soldiers’ rations were also reduced, from four to two thousand calories a day and the British prepared to supply the island with two convoy operations. Convoy after convoy attempted to get through, Hurricane and Spitfire fighters were launched from aircraft carriers with only sufficient fuel for a one-way trip to the island. May 28, 2018 - Explore Daniel Borg's board "Air War Malta" on Pinterest. The Axis diverted their forces to the Battle of Tunisia, and attacks on Malta were rapidly reduced. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. See more ideas about malta, royal air force, ww2 aircraft. By early August, Malta now had 75 fighters and 230 anti-aircraft guns. Particularly during the Siege of Malta from 1941 to 1943, RAF Luqa was a very important base for British Commonwealth forces fighting against Italy and Germany for naval control of the Mediterranean and for ground control of North Africa. Another went through the armoured deck and exploded deep inside the ship. This meant a lack of training, skill and practice in the essential art of night-fighting. [128], On 7 March 1942, a contingent of 16 Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vs flew to Malta from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle as part of Operation Spotter. Dec 24, 2019 - Explore Ian Brandt's board "Air War over Malta" on Pinterest. From 11 April – 10 May, 111 Axis raids were carried out against military installations on Malta. [92] In May 1941, 47 Hurricanes were flown into the island. [180] The British air-submarine offensive ensured no fuel reached North Africa in the first week of October 1942. The first air … First, there would always be fighters in the air covering those on the ground if one did not send their entire force to engage at once. [52], The failure to intercept Axis shipping was evident in the figures which extended far beyond February 1941. Park arrived on 14 July 1942 by flying boat. Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers disabled a number of Italian heavy units during the battle. The British lost 12 pilots killed. 113 Squadron RAF and 115 Squadron) began to arrive[94] and Bristol Beaufighter units, 252 and 272 Squadrons. Air war Malta : June 1940 to November 1942. Both the British and Italian navies digested their experiences over Taranto and Malta. Initially attached to the Malta Naval Air Station at Kalafrana, the airfield was opened by the Governor and C-in-C, Field Marshal Lord Plumer, on 16 th January, 1923; the first official flight of Service aircraft taking place on 19 th February, 1924. Most of the heavy equipment in Grand Harbour was destroyed and the dry-docks could only be operated by hand. This is the story of the historic air defense of Malta by the WRAF against the combined attacking forces of the Italian and German air forces. The Italians, in agreement with Kesselring, made the invasion of Malta the priority in the region. [67][68] The Luftwaffe claimed 42 air victories, 20 of them (including one over Yugoslavia) credited to Müncheberg. Synopsis This is the story of the historic air defense of Malta by the WRAF against the combined attacking forces of the Italian and German air forces. [177][178], In August, Malta's strike forces had contributed to the Axis' difficulties in trying to force an advance into Egypt. A secondary landing would be made on Gozo, north-west of Malta and the islet of Comino, between the two. Some 10 Ju 87s attacked the carrier unopposed. On 13 January, the Ju 87s, now equipped with SC 1000 bombs failed to achieve a hit. 261 and 274, were put under severe pressure. This website requires cookies to provide all of its features. For some reason, the Air Staff did not choose to do this earlier, when the bombing ceased in 1941, and the RAF forces on Malta became primarily fighter-armed while the principal aim changed to one of air defence. 6. For Malta, the Second World War started when fascist Italy invaded France on June 10, 1940. Contact Info Casemate Publishers 1950 Lawrence Road Havertown PA 19083 t: (610) 853-9131 e: casemate@casematepublishers.com. [61], The British operation should not have been launched: Ultra had informed the Air Ministry of Fliegerkorps X's presence on Sicily as early as 4 January. Only then did the surface fleets return to Malta to support the offensive. [39] This was confirmed again in March 1941, when the Royal Navy decisively defeated the Italian Navy in the Battle of Cape Matapan. Although he could afford this diversion, he could maintain a standing patrol of only four Spitfires over the convoy. One cargo ship, the Imperial Star was sunk, and the battleship HMS Nelson was damaged by a torpedo. Accordingly, the Luftwaffe redeployed the majority of its aircraft in Sicily. Many famous British ships were lost due to torpedo and air attack, including the carriers Ark Royal and Eagle and the battleship Barham. [182] On 11 and 17 August and 24 October 1942, under the respective actions, Operation Bellows, Operation Baritone and Operation Train, HMS Furious brought another 85 Spitfires to Malta. Moreover, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, one cruiser and three destroyers were sunk by a combined effort from the Italian Navy, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. [4], HMS Cachalot, Grampus, Odin, Olympus, Orpheus, Oswald, Undaunted, Union, P36, P38, P48, P222, P311, Pandora, Parthian, Perseus, Rainbow, Regent, Regulus, Saracen, Splendid, Talisman, Tempest, Tetrarch, Thunderbolt, Tigris, Traveller, Triad, Triton, Triumph, Trooper, Turbulent, Upholder, Urge, Usk and Utmost. See more ideas about ww2 aircraft, wwii aircraft, military aircraft. Oberstleutnant Karl Christ, Geschwaderkommodore of StG 3 gave orders to intercept heavy units. ‎This is the story of the historic air defense of Malta by the WRAF against the combined attacking forces of the Italian and German air forces. Operation Colossus signalled a dramatic turn around. [176] Of the nine ships sent, five were sunk by Malta's forces. Hitler's strategy of neutralising Malta by siege seemed to be working. [186], The losses left the Axis air forces in a depleted state. ; StG 1 made a determined effort against Tiger and Malta without result. [75], The flotilla had been officially formed on 8 April 1941, in response to the need for a Malta Strike Force. It was many more times the tonnage dropped by the Italians, but far short of the amount dropped the following year. Among her many books are The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986, The Battle of Jutland and Air War Malta. 46 Squadron arrived in June, to be renumbered 126 Squadron. They chanced upon the light cruisers HMS Southampton and Gloucester. In his 2016 novel Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Chris Cleave presents the misery and horror of the siege through the eyes of British officers whose experiences are loosely based on those of his grandfather David Hill, who served in the Royal Artillery. All refuelling had to be done by hand from individual drums. Royal Air Force Safi was a Royal Air Force maintenance base located on the island of Malta, which started life in 1941 as a diversion airstrip for the main operating bases such as nearby RAF Luqa. [78] They were completed on 12 May. The loss of nine submarines and their trained crews and commanders was serious. No interception of the raiders was made because there was no RAF force ready to meet them. For Hitler, the priority in June would be the invasion of Russia. Simpson, and George Phillips, who replaced him on 23 January 1943, had much success. It was one of the few German tankers exporting oil from Romania. Ultra intelligence intercepted the planned convoy route, and alerted Malta's air units. Lloyd's bombers and a small flotilla of submarines were the only forces available to harass Rommel's supply lines into the autumn. [43] The Wellingtons arrived in October, from No. [27] Later, 10 Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM.79s and 20 Macchi C.200s flew over the island, with no air opposition. David gave a forty minute illustrated talk on the ‘Air War over Malta 1940-1942’, a battle in which some of the pilots who took part, had flown with the Tangmere Spitfire Wing in 1941. The island base, HMS Talbot, supplied 1,790 torpedoes at that time. On 9 February 1941, three submarines missed the same convoy bringing supplies to Tripoli, the principal Italian port in Libya. It was attacked from the sea and from the air. Malta was the only place from where British strike aircraft could launch their attacks. The siege was finally raised on 20 November 1942.This book follows the island’s wartime history, describing the heavily outnumbered WRAF defense against the many air-raids and how the small bomber force took the battle to Italian shores. [19], In 1940, an Italian assault on Malta stood a reasonable chance of gaining control of the island, an action giving the Italians naval and air supremacy in the central Mediterranean. From June 1940 to November 1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of the British Crown Colony of Malta pitted the air forces and navies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy. [30] No RAF airfield on Malta was operational at that time; one, at Luqa, was near to completion. His Forward Interception Plan, issued officially on 25 July 1942, forced the Axis to abandon daylight raids within six days. [49], German intervention over Malta was more a result of the Italian defeats in North Africa than Italian failures to deal with the island. [1], In July 62,276 tons of supplies were landed by the Axis, half of the figure in June. Hardly any spare or replacement parts were available—spares had to be obtained by sifting through the debris of wrecks or by cannibalising undamaged aircraft. Their success was not easy to achieve, given most of them were the slow U-class types. [181], By August 1942, 163 Spitfires were on hand to defend Malta; 120 were serviceable. An opportunity to attack the vessel came on 6 January. [100] One reason for accepting heavy losses was the difficulty in bombing accurately. [104] Soon after, Force K was reinforced by the arrival in Malta of Force B with the light cruisers HMS Ajax and Neptune and the K-class destroyers, Kimberley and Kingston, on 27 November. [23][24], Upon declaring war, Mussolini called for an offensive throughout the Mediterranean and within hours, the first bombs had dropped on Malta. [91], In mid-1941, new squadrons—No. It had a complete lack of battle experience. By May 1943, they had sunk 230 Axis ships in 164 days, the highest Allied sinking rate of the war. The bombing did not cause much damage and most of the casualties suffered were civilian. Royal Navy warships and Sunderland flying boats could not use the island for offensive operations, and the main fighter squadrons, Nos. To accept cookies from this site, please click the Allow Cookies button below. [126] He began the adoption of the loose finger-four formation in an attempt to cut RAF losses by introducing more flexible tactics to compensate for technical inferiority. Second, small numbers were quicker to position and easier to move around. … At the time of these first air raids, the defending fighters on Malta consisted of obsolete Gloster Sea Gladiators, in the Hal Far Fighter Flight. The Regia Aeronautica began the aerial bombardment of the island from airbases in Sicily. From June 1940 to November 1942, the fight for the control of the strategically important island of the British Crown Colony of Malta, which pitted the air forces and navies of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany against the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy. Baling out if the pilots ran low on fuel was the only alternative to landing on Malta. The losses of the convoy were heavy. Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the war. Mussolini also expected Francoist Spain to join the Axis and capture Gibraltar, which would close the Mediterranean to the British from the west. Malta was a military and naval fortress, being the only Allied base between Gibraltar and Alexandria, Egypt. The reluctance of the Italian Admiralty to act was also due to other considerations. To the Italians (and later the Germans), air power was the key weapon against Malta. Dönitz argued that he did not have the resources to protect the convoy, though the escort of the ship exceeded that which the Allies could have afforded to give a large convoy in the Atlantic at that point in the war. Malta’s fighter pilots had something of a respite when, in mid-1941, the balance in air power shifted between the opposing sides in the central Mediterranean. Third, the preservation of his force was critical. The relief on Malta was significant as the British could now concentrate their forces for offensive, rather than defensive operations. 148 Squadron RAF. One destroyed a gun, another hit near her bow, a third demolished another gun, while two hit the lift, wrecking the aircraft below deck, causing explosions of fuel and ammunition. Air War Malta by Jon Sutherland, Air War Malta Books available in PDF, EPUB, Mobi Format. By the end of May 1942, Kesselring's forces had been reduced to just 13 serviceable reconnaissance aircraft, six Bf 110s, 30 Bf 109s and 34 bombers (mostly Ju 88s): a total of 83 compared with several hundred aircraft two months earlier.[154]. Among the British losses was the cruiser HMS Hermione. The Luftwaffe's two units were both Junkers Ju 87 Stuka Gruppen (Groups). [156] Poor nutrition and sanitation led to the spread of disease. The extent to which the success in North Africa benefited Malta was apparent when a convoy (Operation Stoneage) reached Malta from Alexandria on 20 November virtually unscathed. Hello Select your address All Hello, Sign in. Air war over Malta : the allies: Authors: Galea, Frederick R. Keywords: World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations World War, 1939-1945 -- Malta: Issue Date: 1988: Publisher: Modelaid International: Citation: Galea, Frederick R., Caruana, Richard J., ed. [66] The Allied pilots on Malta had little combat experience and their Hawker Hurricanes were worn-out and for four months, JG 26 had few losses. Malta During WWII - Facts & Figures • Population in Malta and Gozo at the beginning of the war 270,000 • Air raids registered throughout the war over Malta 3,343 • Total hours under Air-raids 2,357 • Tonnes of bombs dropped on the Maltese islands 15,000 • Civilian casualties June 1940 - April 1944 1,581 In May 1941, he warned that "Without Malta the Axis will end by losing control of North Africa". Five Hurricanes arrived at Malta in early March, another six on 18 March. Kesselring began 1942 with a raid on New Year's Day, the 1,175th raid of the war. Even so, he was soon back in Egypt fighting at El Alamein. Staffel (squadron) Jagdgeschwader 26 (26th Fighter Wing or JG 26), led by Oberleutnant Joachim Müncheberg, quickly led to a rise in RAF losses; the German fighter pilots were experienced, confident, tactically astute, better-equipped and well-trained. [147] From 18 May – 9 June, Eagle made three runs carrying another 76 Spitfires to Malta. 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