Air Fronts: Theaters of Operation - The Mediterranean - HMSO: The Air Battle of Malta - 4. SECOND ASSAULT: THE LUFTWAFFE COMES AND GOES

THE AIR BATTLE OF MALTA. The Official Account of the R.A.F. in Malta, June 1940 to November 1942; PREPARED FOR THE AIR MINISTRY BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION; London : His Majesty's Stationery Office 1944

IV. SECOND ASSAULT: THE LUFTWAFFE COMES AND GOES
FEBRUARY - MAY 1941

" They don't like us ", signalled Air Vice-Marshal Maynard at the beginning of February 1941. The enemy was intensifying the assault with the use of parachute mines. There were large-scale raids, by moonlight and at dawn, to lay mines in Marsa Muscetto and Grand Harbour, the waters that lie upon either flank of the city of Valetta. A system of mine-watching and sweeping was therefore instituted. Many of the mines, missing the creeks, cratered and blasted the Three Cities and the dockyard district. On 17th February the island was raided for the eleventh night in succession, the alerts continuing until the early hours. Nevertheless, a convoy arrived from Egypt and the submarines continued to carry out successful operations. The harbours were still effective.

In the middle of the month the Germans went all out for air superiority. The pilots of the small Hurricane force were losing sleep by night, and by day they had to face formidable sweeps by Me. 109s. On 16th February, for instance, two formations of Messerschmittsfor which the Hurricane Mark I was really no match - came over Malta. Their tactics on this occasion were to split up on sighting the Hurricanes, one formation climbing above, the other dropping below. Flight Lieutenant (now Squadron Leader) J. A. F. MacLachlan led a Hurricane flight. This is his combat report, notifying his own casualty :

MacLachlan's left arm was amputated at Imtarfa, the great military hospital on the hill overlooking Malta's central plain. When he was allowed out, he came down to Takali airfield beneath the windows of the hospital. A colleague flew him round in a Magister ; then he took the aircraft off by himself and landed faultlessly. A few days later he flew a Hurricane, and asked permission to rejoin his squadron, but it was decided that he would have to return to Britain. His successes there on operations, while using an artificial arm, are well known.

The German air strength in Sicily increased towards the end of February. They sent fighter sweeps nearly every day and there were heavy dive-bombing attacks upon the airfields. On 26th February thirty Ju. 87s, twelve Ju. 88s escorted by twenty to thirty mixed fighters, together with ten Do. 215s and ten He. IIIs attacked Luqa. The anti-aircraft defences threw up a barrage for the airfield and eight Hurricanes took off. The guns destroyed five dive-bombers, confirmed, the fighters two ; there were eleven probables. But Luqa air-field was rendered unserviceable for nearly forty-eight hours and many of the bombers on the ground were " spitchered ", to use a piece of island slang which the Royal Air Force manufactured from the Maltese spiccha, to break. Six Wellingtons were burnt out, and of seven seriously damaged, some would take months to repair.

Although since the outbreak of war Malta's few fighters had destroyed ninety-six of the attacking enemy for a loss of sixteen fighters and eleven pilots, the enemy was slowly gaining air superiority and was flying lower and more boldly. He was neutralising the striking power of the air forces on the island, and in the course of ten days nearly all the Royal Air Force's flight leaders were lost.

March opened with another blow to these shrinking air resources. A signal reported it in these words :

" Blitz raid of several formations totalling certainly no less than one hundred aircraft, of which at least sixty bombers attacked Hal Far. A few of these aircraft dropped bombs and machine-gunned Kalafrana. Damage at Kalafrana was slight both to buildings and aircraft. One Sunderland unserviceable for few days. Damage Hal Far still being assessed.

Preliminary report as follows : three Swordfish and one Gladiator burnt out. All other aircraft temporarily unserviceable. All barrack blocks unserviceable and one demolished. Water and power cut off. Hangars considerably damaged. Airfield temporarily unserviceable. Eleven fighters up. Enemy casualties by our fighters, two Ju. 88s, two Ju. 87s, one Do. 215, two Me. 109s, confirmed. One Ju. 88 and three Ju. 87s damaged. By A.A., one Me. 109 and eight other aircraft, confirmed, also four damaged. There are probably others which did not reach their base but cannot be checked. One Hurricane and one pilot lost after first shooting down one Ju. 87 included above.

" For this blitz every serviceable Hurricane and every available pilot was put up and they achieved results against extremely heavy odds. The only answer to this kind of thing is obviously more fighters and these must somehow be provided if the air defence of Malta is to be maintained."

The Swordfish mentioned belonged to a Fleet Air Arm Squadron waiting on the airfield to operate during the night against tankers and merchant vessels in Tripoli harbour that were meant for reinforcing Rommel. The enemy was beginning to achieve his end. The Wellingtons and the Sunderland had to be sent away to other bases. By day and by night, and with a special standing patrol at dawn, the Hurricanes fought on. Enemy attacks were stepped up in intensity, the Germans relying upon sheer weight of numbers and large formations protected by fighters. The anti-aircraft artillery fired geographical barrages over areas and to heights agreed with the Royal Air Force, certain gun posts being detailed to engage low-flying aircraft.

During this intensification of the air fighting, the reconnaissance aircraft made daily inspections of both ends of the Axis shipping lines, bringing back information of great value. To intercept these aircraft the enemy, enjoying a degree of air superiority, now placed a standing patrol round the island.

Towards the end of March a convoy bringing supplies and reinforcements arrived in Grand Harbour. There were five alerts during the day of arrival. The most determined raid developed at 1.35 p.m. when thirty Ju. 87 dive-bombers, escorted by twenty Me. 109s, attacked the ships. Fourteen Hurricanes went up in two formations and destroyed nine dive-bombers. The guns destroyed a further four. Only slight damage was caused to the merchantmen.

MALTA THE TARGET. Walled in to the north and south by enemy territory, and to the west by Vichy controlled Tunisia, Malta was isolated by nearly 1,000 miles of sea from Gibraltar and over 800 from Alexandria, in 1941 the nearest Allied land bases. Enemy minefields in the Sicilian Narrows and against the island hemmed the approaches. Encircling Axis air fleets in Italy, Sardinia, Sicily and Africa seemed to imprison her.

In April a naval surface striking force, the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, undeterred by the heavy mining of Grand Harbour and the approaches, operated successfully from Malta. In one sortie they annihilated an Axis convoy and escort off Kerkeneh Bank. Bombing, particularly at night, was directed chiefly against the naval base during this month.

On 3rd April a delivery flight of twelve Hurricanes brought much-needed reinforcements. They were Mark IIAs, considered to be more of a match for the Me. 109s than were the Mark Is. The Ark Royal carried them from Gibraltar to a point where they could fly off, led by Skuas, and make a rendezvous with a Sunderland from Malta. They were piloted by men straight from England, some of whom had fought in the Battle of Britain. One of these pilots made the following notes about his flight :

" 1st April. At Gibraltar. We left the Argus and went aboard the Ark after lunch. She is the most enormous ship and carries about 160 officers and 1,600 men. Also five squadrons of aircraft. We were supposed to sail at 1700 hours, but it was postponed. We are not allowed to go ashore, so a party started in the wardroom.

" 2nd April. At sea. Woke up to find everything vibrating like the devil, with the ship doing twenty-four knots. We have H.M.S. Renown and Sheffield and five destroyers with us. Had a long talk from the Commander (Flying) with all the other pilots on deck procedure for flying off, and then we were shown our proposed course after we take off. In addition to the Skuas who are leading us, we are picking up a Sunderland flying-boat after about a hundred miles which will lead us the rest of the day. Had a run over my aircraft for R/T test and ran over engine Everything O.K.

" 3rd April The arrival. Was called at 0400 and got out of bed with a real effort. Had breakfast about half an hour later. All the knives and forks were leaping about the table because we had increased speed to twenty-eight knots. We eventually took off at about 062o and everything went according to plan. The only snag was that X made a bad take off and punctured one of the auxiliary tanks and broke off his tail wheel. He was naturally scared stiff of using up all his remaining petrol and of making a bad landing. However, all went well. He landed at the first airfield he saw, which was Takali, where we are now stationed. Most unfortunately Y crashed on landing. He came in too fast and had to swing to avoid something at the end of his run. The undercarriage collapsed. It is really sickening to have an aircraft, which is worth its weight in gold out here, broken through damned bad handling."

AS THE ENEMY SAW IT. Through 1941 and 1942 dramatic photographs of the onslaught on Malta appeared in German illustrated papers. This is a reproduction of two pages from Signal. The translation of the heading reads : " Siege from the air. Italian and German airmen are destroying Britain's ` Bar to Africa ' "
The upper pictures show in order Delimara Point, " a particularly favourable target " ; part of the Three Cities ; and Sliema Creek. Bombs are bursting on each objective. The lower pictures are a set showing the explosion of a munition store. As the Stuka flies away - its bomb doors are still open in the middle picture - the smoke from the explosion changes in shape from a " luxuriant cauliflower" to "the vainly threatening fist of a giant".

BLENHEIM STRIKE PASSING LINOSA. The Luftwaffe's temporary withdrawal allows the Royal Air Force to increase its attacks upon Axis supply lines. These Blenheims, eighty miles from Malta, are flying west, their objective the main enemy supply route from Naples to Tripoli.

Another twenty-three Hurricanes arrived toward the end of the month. Wellingtons and Swordfish started operating again and the Royal Navy had further successes. It was because of the success of this Malta-based offensive in April, coinciding with General Wavell's withdrawal from Cyrenaica, that mining and bombing against Grand Harbour increased again in the early part of May.

The 5th Destroyer Flotilla arrived at the beginning of the month but was unfortunate from the start. The Jersey was sunk by an undiscovered mine at the harbour entrance only four days after arrival. The cruiser Gloucester was slightly damaged and was sent away. After the bombardment of Benghazi and several other sorties the 5th Flotilla sailed on 21st May to take part in the Cretan operations. Further large reinforcements of Hurricanes arrived.

Almost at the same time it was observed that the Luftwaffe was leaving Sicily for the Russian front.

After achieving virtual air superiority, the Germans had partially neutralised the naval base and had limited the striking power of Malta-based aircraft : but neither was destroyed. The Hurricanes had never failed to hit back ; Wellingtons, and particularly the Fleet Air Arm Swordfish, had struck at Rommel's seaborne supplies in and out of harbour. The Royal Navy had never ceased to strike on and under the surface. Vital convoys had passed through the Mediterranean from east to west.

The people of Malta, after a winter of sustained night raids, dive-bombing and day alerts, stood firm. Flames flickered in the shrines among the shelters deep in the lime-stone rock. St Paul, the saint who brought Christianity by shipwreck to their forefathers, stood by them. Their menfolk joined the Services, the Royal Navy, the gunners, and the Royal Air Force. The foundation of an important base for air power has been laid under stress of constant enemy pressure. From a group of packing cases the defences had been built up into a potent weapon. Now, with the summer, a new and quieter phase of the Mediterranean battle came to Malta.