World War II Database

First Attack on Malta
11 Jun 1940

Because of its strategic position between Gibraltar and Alexandria (and Suez Canal beyond that) as well as being between Italy and Libya, the island of Malta was critical for both sides of the conflict. As a result, Malta found itself in the middle of the Mediterranean conflict as soon as Italy entered the war. Although it was no longer the base of the British Mediterranean Fleet (it moved to Alexandria), it was immediately targeted by the Italian aircraft to augment the Italian Navy efforts to disrupt British shipping. The first raid on Malta came a day after Italy declared war on Britain. Little after 0430 on 11 Jun 1940 55 Italian SM79 aircraft were launched from Sicily to attack the three airfields at Malta: Hal Far, Valetta, and Kalafrana. They were escorted by 18 C.200 Saetta aircraft. At this time, Malta's air defense consisted of a radar station and six Sea Gladiator fighters, and not all were in flight condition. Three of the Sea Gladiator aircraft scrambled immediately. Flight Lieutenant George Burges was the first of the three to make contact with the Italian bombers, but he did not intercept them until the first load of bombs were already dropped. He damaged one of the bombers. His fellow pilot later scored another hit on the damaged bomber, but the Italian aircraft managed to return to Sicily. Although the aging biplanes barely fought off the first raid, Malta would be constantly attacked by Italian and German air forces. In order to maintain Malta's ability to defend itself, the British knew they would need to constantly deliver war goods to the island.

Battle of Calabria
9 Jul 1940

On 6 Jul 1940, a heavily escorted Italian convoy heading to supply Libya. Its destination was Benghazi, but attempts were made to confuse Allied intelligence, tricking them to believe that it was heading toward Tripoli. The escorted consisted of two battleships, 8 heavy cruisers, 8 light cruisers, and 20-some destroyers eventually sailed with the convoy.

At the same time, a British convoy from Alexandria sailed toward Malta, planning to deliver supplies and evacuate civilians. The British escort consisted of 3 battleships, 1 carrier, 5 cruisers, and 16 destroyers.

On the night of 8 Jul, Italian command deciphered Allied radio signals and learned of the presence of the British convoy. The British also detected the presence of the Italian convoy. To draw the British ships closer to Italian air bases, the Italian ships turned north as they neared each other off Calabria, the "toe" of Italy. Shortly before engagement, technical problems aboard two light cruisers and two destroyers caused them to turn back with additional destroyers for escort. On the same day, Italian aircraft located the British convoy and attacked, hitting Gloucestor's bridge, killing the entire bridge crew, including her captain.

At noon on 9 Jul 1940 the two convoys were 90 miles apart. Because the slower Royal Sovereign and Malaya could not keep up with the fleet, British Vice Admiral Andrew Cunningham decided that he would only take Warspite with him and chase after the northward-sailing Italian fleet. At 1315, carrier Eagle launched Swordfish torpedo bombers against the Italian cruisers; they met no success. At 1515 that afternoon, at the distance of 21,500m, the ships began to exchange fire as the two groups drew closer together. At 1522, British Admiral John Towey decided that Italian shells were landing too closely and disengaged his cruiser, but the maneuvering did not prevent cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi's shell from striking cruiser Neptune and begin a fire. By 1530, the firing ceased between the two groups of cruisers in general.

At 1552, Italian battleship Giulio Cesare moved within 26,400m to Warspite and commenced firing. Battleship Conte di Cavour was told to hold fire to give Giulio Cesare's spotters an easier time; while that might had been accomplished, it also decreased the Italian fleet's firepower in half. One of Giulio Cesare's shells landed long and exploded near destroyers Hereward and Decoy, damaging them. At 1554, the slower British battleship Malaya caught up and joined the battle. After Giulio Cesare fired two near-misses, she was hit on the rear deck by Warspite's 381mm shell. The hit set off anti-aircraft ammunition, forcing half the boilers to shut down as a precaution, and the speed dropped to 18 knots as a result. At this point, Conte di Cavour began to fire. Warspite circled in place to allow Malaya to get closer. At 1601, Italian destroyers made smoke and covered the positions of the battleships beyond as they made retreat toward Messina. The British fleet lacked speed and did not pursue, choosing to return to Gibraltar. Both fleets attempted to make torpedo runs with their destroyers as the two fleets distanced from each other; none of them made any hits.

At 1440, Italian aircraft attacked the convoy with 126 aircraft and damaged Eagle, Warspite, and Malaya. A group of Italian aircraft attacked the Italian fleet by mistake, but caused no damage.

The outcome was inconclusive, but both sides claimed victory with worked their respective propaganda machines. Strictly speaking the engagement was more so a small Italian tactical victory for that the Italian convoy was able to successfully reach Libya while the British was turned back, but because of the damage to Giulio Cesare, some consider it a small British victory for that the British ships remained undamaged at the end of the battle.

The Battle of Calabria was also known as the Battle of Punta Stilo.

Operation Hurry
Aug 1940

Carrier Argus successfully delivered 12 Hurricane fighters to Malta in Aug 1940.

Operation Hats
Sep 1940

In Sep 1940, two convoys, one from Alexandria and the other from Gibraltar, simultaneously sailed for Malta. En route, British carriers launched air strikes against Italian air bases.

Operation Judgment Convoy
11 Nov 1940

A convoy was sent to coincide with the attack on Taranto. The convoy reached Malta successfully due to the fact that the Italian forces were overwhelmed with the British attack. For more details on the attack on Taranto, please see this article.

Operation White
17 Nov 1940

Before the Battle of Taranto, the Italian Navy employed the strategy of Fleet in Being, which made use of its mere presence to scare off British convoys without actually engaging in major combat. After Taranto, however, it realized that British aircraft made this strategy ineffective as the warships were still threatened even in port. As a result, a major shift in direction took place, and the Italian warships actively sortied into the Mediterranean. On the night of 17 Nov 1940, battleships Vittorio Veneto and Giulio Cesare set sail to intercept the British carrier group containing Ark Royal and Argus on Operation White, delivering aircraft to Malta. British air reconnaissance detected the Italian fleet, and the convoy launched the deliverables of 2 Skua and 12 Hurricane aircraft, and turned around for Gibraltar. Miscalculating the range, 9 of the British aircraft crashed into the sea as they ran out of fuel.

Operation Collar / Battle of Cape Spartivento
27 Nov 1940

After the losses as a result of Operation White, Operation Collar was launched later that month in attempt to supply Malta again. The convoy set sail with more warships in escort to prevent Italian interference.

An Italian fleet centered around battleship Vittorio Veneto set sail to intercept, as expected. The British detected the Italian movement, and the warships intercepted before the Italians closed in on the convoy. At 1145 on 27 Nov 1940, the two forces spotted each other. Admiral James Somerville of the British fleet split his force into two groups. The forward group was let by 5 cruisers, backed up by 2 battleships and 7 destroyers slightly behind them. In the rear, carrier Ark Royal waited to launch Swordfish torpedo bombers as she was escorted by two destroyers and some lighter ships.

At 1207, to the surprise of the British, the Italian ships suddenly turned about. Unknown to the British, the Italians were ordered to avoid confrontation unless victory would be certain, which led to apparent withdraw even though the two forces were about even in strength. The Italian order to disengage was given too late, however. The British cruisers were already committed to a chase, and by 1222 the two forces were only 23,500m from each other and began to exchange fire. British cruiser Berwick was hit by two 80-in shells, and Italian destroyer was seriously damaged by a shell from cruiser Manchester. By about 1226, the older British battleship Ramilles could not keep up with the formation, falling outside of firing range, and the Italian ships gained an advantage in the number of guns in the battle. At 1230, Vice Admiral Angelo Iachino gave the order to increase speed to 30 knots, confirming the Italian intention to disengage.

Carrier Ark Royal never got a chance to launch her aircraft by the time the Italians broke from combat.

This minor naval engagement was later labeled the Battle of Cape Spartivento. It was also known as the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy.

Operation Excess
6 Jan 1941

On 6 Jan 1941, a convoy left Gibraltar for Malta and Greece escorted by H Force while another convoy sailed from Alexandria for Malta. When the operation ended, the British lost two cruisers and a destroyer, and the Illustrious was damaged by German aircraft and would remain out of commission for several months for repairs.

Operation Tiger
May 1941

A convoy set sail from Gibraltar to Alexandria, while at the same time two small convoys from Egypt to Malta were launched. Carriers Ark Royal and Furious delivered 48 Hurricane aircraft to Malta.

Operation Tracer
Jun 1941

British submarines brought urgent supplies, while carriers Ark Royal, Furious, and Illustrious delivered 48 aircraft, for Malta.

Operation Substance
23 Jul 1941

A convoy of six transports with carrier Ark Royal, battlecruiser Renown, battleship Nelson, several cruisers, and six destroyers in escort was attacked by Sardinia-based Italian aircraft. One cruiser was damaged and one destroyer was sunk, but the transports reached Malta safely.

Operation Style
Aug 1941

A convoy from Gibraltar successfully delivered reinforcements and supplies to Malta, sinking an Italian submarine en route.

Operation Halberd
24-26 Sep 1941

A convoy of 9 merchant ships set sail from Gibraltar to Malta on 24 Sep 1941 with the smaller escort force under the command of Rear Admiral Harold Martin Burrough and the larger escort force (H Force) under James Somerville consisted of carrier Ark Royal, battleships Nelson, Rodney, and Prince of Wales, 5 cruisers, and 18 destroyers. On 26 Sep 1941, an Italian fleet sailed to intercept but did not make contact. On 27 Sep, an Italian torpedo bomber attacked and seriously damaged the battleship Nelson. On 28 Sep, the merchant vessel Imperial Star was attacked and scuttled. The remaining 8 merchant ships arrived at Malta on 28 Sep and delivered 85,000 tons of supplies.

Sinking of an Italian Convoy
Nov 1941

In Nov 1941, British K Force intercepted an Italian convoy off Cape Calabria and sank all 7 transports and both escorting destroyers.

Operation Perpetual
10-12 Nov 1941

During this operation, carriers Ark Royal and Argus delivered Hurricane aircraft from Gibraltar to Malta. While returning to Gibraltar, Ark Royal was torpedoed and damaged by German submarine U-81.

First Battle of Sirte
17-19 Dec 1941

On 16 Dec 1941, Italians sent a convoy code named M42 from Naples for Benghazi to supply Axis troops in North Africa. A mistake in aerial intelligence placed two British battleships in the area, when there were none at British disposal at the time, and as a result the escort force for the convoy was unnecessarily large. Close to the convoy were the battleship Caio Duilio, three light cruisers, and three destroyers. In slight distance, battleships Littorio, Andrea Doria, Giulio Cesare sailed in support with cruisers Trento and Gorizia, and 10 destroyers. In actuality, the British force was much smaller with only 6 light cruisers and 12 destroyers.

On 17 Dec, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft found a British formation near Sidi Barrani. Again, the aircraft's report mistakenly noted it as a battleship group when the battleship was actually a large tanker in the convoy as a battleship, hence further overestimating British strength in the region. The crew of the aircraft was not entirely to blame -- the British painted on guns on the tanker Breconshire for the very purpose of deceit. Admiral Angelo Iachino, upon hearing the reconnaissance, ordered his fleet the engage. The Italian fleet approached with caution, and the British convoy maneuvered to avoid the hostile ships, so the two groups did not engage in combat until after sunset when German aircraft found and attacked it. Using British anti-aircraft fire as a guide, the Italian fleet closed in and began firing at the distance of 32,000m. Admiral Vian of the British escort fleet laid smoke and fled.

At the end of the engagement, two British destroyers were damaged. All Italian transports reached their destinations and delivered their cargo.

It was after the Italians had completed their mission when the British realized the Italians were also escorting a convoy. The British squadron at Malta was dispatched to intercept them on their way back to Italy. On the night of 19 Dec the British squadron sailed into a mine field about one mile off Tripoli. Cruiser Neptune struck four mines and sank, while destroyer Kandahar also struck one and was scuttled the next day. The cruisers Aurora and Penelope were heavily damaged but were able to return to Malta. It dealt critical damage to the Malta-based K Force and was a severe blow to Allied operations in the Mediterranean.

Actions in Jan 1942

In Jan 1942, three small British convoys arrive at Malta from Alexandria. One escorting destroyer, Gurkha, was torpedoed and sank.

Also in the same month, two large Italian convoys got through to North Africa to resupply the German Afrika Korps.

Operation MF5
Feb 1942

In Feb 1942, three transports were sent from Alexandria for Malta. One of them was sunk by Axis aircraft, one was attacked and diverted to Tobruk, and the third was disabled and scuttled.

Operation Spotter
Mar 1942

Carriers Eagle and Argus successfully flew off the first Spitfire aircraft reinforcements for Malta.

Operation MG1/Second Battle of Sirte
22 Mar 1942

From Alexandria, four transports sailed for Malta, escorted by cruisers Cleopatra, Dido, Euryalus, and Carlisle, and 16 destroyers. The convoy was detected and both surface vessels and aircraft were dispatched to intercept. On 22 Mar 1942, the Italian ships made contact with the convoy. The transports continued to sail for Malta, while the cruisers and destroyers laid smoke and charged at the Italian fleet. After an exchange of fire, the two Italian heavy cruisers backed off, but returned to the action again when battleship Littorio and her destroyers came on the scene. At 1830, the British destroyers launched a torpedo attack; all torpedoes missed, and Havock and Kingston were hit by 15-inch shells from Littorio. At 1900, the battle subsided as the sun set. Most of the British escorts turned for Alexandria as their fuel ran low, while those that were damaged continued on to Malta.

On 23 Mar, German and Italian aircraft continuously attacked the island. Transport Campbell was sunk 20 miles from harbor and oil tanker Breconshire was damaged and anchored outside.

On 24 Mar, German dive bombers attacked, hitting all three of the remaining transports. By this point, only 5,000 tons of cargo had been unloaded, which meant 21,000 tons of supplies were now beneath the waves.

This engagement at Malta was also referred to as the Second Battle of Sirte.

Operation Calendar
Apr 1942

50 Spitfire aircraft were delivered by American carrier Wasp, escorted by battlecruiser Renown, cruisers Cairo and Charybdis and six American and British destroyers. Most of these aircraft were later destroyed on the ground by German bombing.

Operation Bowery and Operation LB
May 1942

Operation Bowery brought in 64 Spitfire aircraft with American carrier Wasp and British carrier Eagle. A few days later, Operation LB brought in 16 more with British carrier Eagle.

Operation Harpoon
12-15 Jun 1942

Operation Vigorous
12-16 Jun 1942

Launched simultaneously as the "Harpoon" convoy was the "Vigorous" convoy (MW-11) from Haifa, Palestine and Port Said, Egypt. The 11 transports were escorted by British and Australian warships of the 7th Destroyer Flotilla. Off Tobruk, Libya, they were met by Rear Admiral Philip Vian's Force A, which added 7 light cruisers and 17 destroyers to the escort group. The nearly obsolete battleship Centurion, equipped only with anti-aircraft guns, also joined the convoy; while she added some anti-aircraft protection, her role was also to simulate the presence of a battleship.

This convoy sailed through an area of the Mediterranean Sea between Crete, Greece (occupied by Germany) and North Africa (with Italian and German presence) that the Allies nicknamed "Bomb Alley". They expected, and received, intense air and surface attacks shortly after departing Alexandria, Egypt. Early attacks focused on damaging the cruisers and the transports, but as the convoy sailed on, the destroyers became the main targets for the attackers. On 12 Jun, two of the transports were diverted to Tobruk, one due to combat damage and the other engine trouble; the latter would be attacked en route and would sink. By 14 Jun, casualty figures were at two Allied ships sunk and two damaged. During that evening, British submarines deployed outside of Taranto, Italy detected movement of an Italian force consisted of two battleships, two heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and destroyers; unbeknownst to the British, this force under the command of Admiral Giuseppe Fioravanzo was equipped with radar supplied by Germany (mounted aboard destroyer Legionario), the first use of radar by the Italian Navy in the war. In the early morning of 15 Jun, the convoy attempted a reversal to throw off potential attacks, but were still met by German E-boats, damaging cruiser HMS Newcastle and sinking destroyer HMS Hasty. At 0700 hours, the convoy turned northwest for Malta again.

Meanwhile, Royal Air Force aircraft from Malta attacked the Italian port of Taranto in the same morning to provide relief as the convoy neared. Although heavy cruiser Trento was disabled by a torpedo launched by a Beaufort bomber at 0515 hours on 15 Jun, the rest of the Italian fleet still sailed to intercept. British submarine Umbra found the damaged Trento several hours later and sank her at 0910 hours, killing half of her crew.

Between 0940 and noon on 15 Jun, two more course reversals were ordered, but none of the maneuverings were able to throw off the attackers. South of Crete, cruiser HMS Birmingham was damaged and scuttled, and destroyer HMS Airedale was heavily damaged by German Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers, forcing HMS Aldenham and HMS Hurworth to scuttle her on the next day. In the afternoon, the convoy learned that the sister convoy from Gibraltar, "Harpoon", had reached Malta. At 1800 hours, near misses from German horizontal bombers heavily damaged destroyer HMAS Nestor. In the evening, reluctantly, the convoy turned back for Alexandria as the threat of the Italian fleet loomed larger. The fuel situation also contributed to the decision, as the excessive maneuverings used up a lot of fuel. En route to Alexandria, light cruiser HMS Hermione was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-205 south of Crete in the early hours of 16 Jun. Shortly after, HMAS Nestor would be scuttled at 0530 hours as she was deemed not-repairable after damage sustained from the day before.

As the Italian fleet retired to Taranto, a RAF Wellington aircraft from Malta torpedoed and damaged battleship Littorio; the Italian battleship was able to sail to port on her own power.

Operation Pedestal
9-15 Aug 1942

On 9 Aug 1942, the Z Force of two battleships, three aircraft carriers, seven cruisers, and 24 destroyers escorted another convoy for Malta. The deliverables consisted of 36 Spitfire aircraft and 14 merchant ships' worth of various supplies. The convoy started from Gibraltar, and was detected by Italian aircraft on 11 Aug. It was decided that one Italian cruiser division was to intercept the convoy, supported by ten submarines and a combined force of Italian and German aircraft.

On 11 Aug, German submarine U-73 avoided detection of British destroyers and infiltrated the convoy. She launched a torpedo attack on carrier Eagle and sank her. Realizing the operation was now in jeopardy, commander of the escort force Rear Admiral Syfret ordered the Spitfire aircraft destined to Malta to take off from the carrier Furious early; these fighters reached Malta without incident and Furious broke from the convoy and returned to Gibraltar. That evening, Italian submarine Dagabur attacked, but was discovered and destroyed by destroyer Wolverine; Wolverine was damaged in the process, and also broke from the convoy and returned to Gibraltar. At 2000 that night, the Italian air force reached the convoy, damaging the flight deck of the carrier Victorious. From Malta, aircraft were launched to divert further Axis air attacks on the convoy for the remainder of the night.

On 12 Aug 1942, Italian submarine Cobalto was found and destroyed by ramming. The first air attack of the day proved to be disastrous, with a merchant ship and destroyer Foresight sunk and carrier Indomitable's flight deck damaged. Without an operating flight deck, Indomitable became a liability, and turned back to Gibraltar as well; the convoy was now protected in the air only by land-based aircraft. During the day, the Z Force reached the end point of their escort duty and turned around for Gibraltar, leaving the remaining merchant ships under the protection of several cruisers and destroyers. The evening of 12 Aug saw the successful raid by Italian submarine Axum, sinking cruiser Cairo and damaging the largest oil tanker in the world Ohio and cruiser Nigeria. A follow-up air attack sank two merchant ships. The British seamen were demoralized. Less than an hour later, the convoy sailed into the ambushing Italian submarines Alagi and Bronzo; they damaged the cruiser Kenya and sank two merchant ships.

During the first hours of 13 Aug, cruiser Manchester and a stunning six merchant ships were sunk by a lone motor boat. As the British convoy limped on toward Malta, the Italian cruiser division of six cruisers and 17 destroyers was now ready to attack. However, German Marshal Albert Kesselring decided that the German aircraft were better poised to finish off the convoy and there was no need to risk the heavy surface ships. As a result, the Italian ships turned back for Messina; en route, British submarine Safari damaged Bolzano and Attendolo. On the night of 13 Aug, one of the German Ju 88 aircraft found and further damaged Ohio; the rest of the German aircraft failed to locate the convoy. The remainder of Pedestal's ships reached Malta on 15 Aug.

Despite losing one carrier, two cruisers, and 14 merchant ships, the arrival of the Ohio (which was towed into the harbors because of her battle wounds) at Malta brought a significant amount of fuel that allowed the British to continue to operate in Malta.

Operation Stoneage
Nov 1942

A convoy of four transports, escorted by three cruisers and 10 destroyers, sailed from Alexandria to Malta. The cruiser Arethusa was seriously damaged en route, but all transports made it to Malta safely, delivering supplies that were badly needed.

Operation Portcullis
Dec 1942

Four transports arrived from Port Said without loss.

Conclusion of the Campaign

As Axis strength dwindled in North Africa, Allied convoys in the Mediterranean became less threatened from Axis interception. As a direct result, the island of Malta began to play the role of an advance attack base. For example, the forthcoming campaign against Sicily and Italy would use Malta extensively.

Photographs

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Anonymous says:
   19 Apr 2007 12:44:43 PM
   
   Funny how the little scrap of land was the most bombed target in the war. Those maltese are tough!

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