The Siege of Malta, one of the most savagely contested encounters of the sixteenth century, followed after the forces of the Ottoman Empire invaded the island. [136], Along with the advantage in the air, the Germans soon discovered that British submarines were operating from Manoel Island, not Grand Harbour, and exploited their air superiority to eliminate the threat. By early May 1941, the Luftwaffe had flown 1,465 bomber, 1,144 fighter and 132 reconnaissance missions for just 44 losses. However, their losses were few—three aircraft on 10 January and four Ju 87s over several weeks—and the Germans had impressed the British with the effectiveness of land-based air power. In May 1941, he warned that "Without Malta the Axis will end by losing control of North Africa". Rommel did not wait for it to dock, and launched the offensive before its arrival. [49], German intervention over Malta was more a result of the Italian defeats in North Africa than Italian failures to deal with the island. The Allied defeat in France from May–June 1940 removed the French Navy from the Allied order of battle and tilted the balance of naval and air power in Italy's favour. Embry agreed and recommended that Spitfires be sent; the type began arriving in March 1942. The sheer scale of the force—around 180 ships and 40,000 soldiers—may have been one reason why it took so long to invade. Between July and December 1941, 717 RAF fighters passed through Malta and 514 left for North Africa. Lloyd had requested a highly experienced combat leader be sent and Turner's experience flying with Douglas Bader over Europe meant he was qualified to lead the unit. [114] Until the return of the Luftwaffe over Malta, the RAF defenders had claimed 199 aircraft shot down from June 1940 – December 1941, while losses were at least 90 Hurricanes, three Fairey Fulmars and one Gladiator in air combat; 10 more Hurricanes and one Gladiator destroyed in accidents and many more destroyed on the ground. By May 1943, they had sunk 230 Axis ships in 164 days, the highest Allied sinking rate of the war. Interested in participating in the Publishing Partner Program? The siege effectively ended in November 1942.[1]. This meant a lack of training, skill and practice in the essential art of night-fighting. As Mustafa settled in for a long siege, news arrived that a Christian relief force had landed on the north of the island. [52], The failure to intercept Axis shipping was evident in the figures which extended far beyond February 1941. The only notable triumph was the sinking of the 13,089-ton Victoria merchant ship, one of the fastest merchantmen afloat, by a Fairey Albacore of 826 Squadron, flown by Lieutenant Baxter Ellis, on 23 January. British submarines also made a substantial effort. Lloyd met Park and admonished him for taking an unnecessary risk.[166]. [122], One-third of all raids were directed against airfields. The Axis diverted their forces to the Battle of Tunisia, and attacks on Malta were rapidly reduced. This convoy is seen as the end of the two-year siege of Malta. [18], There were hardly any defences on Malta because of a pre-war conclusion that the island was indefensible. [37] On the other hand, British confidence was eroded when aircraft began to dominate the actions at sea later on in 1941 and 1942, as the Royal Navy had long been expected to be the principal defender of the island. An iconic Spitfire’s Birthday and her remarkable South African legacy. [157], In June, the Royal Navy sent two convoys, Operation Harpoon from Gibraltar and Operation Vigorous from Haifa and Port Said, to Malta. A total of eight raids were flown on that first day. Questions or concerns? The withdrawal of the Italian fleet to Naples, out of reach of British aircraft, was a strategic victory which handed naval supremacy to the British for the time being. On the first day, 55 Italian bombers and 21 fighters flew over Malta and dropped 142 bombs on the three airfields at Luqa, Hal Far and Ta Qali. The base came under attack, the vessels had to spend most of their time submerged, and the surrounding residences where crews had enjoyed brief rest periods were abandoned. Theatre: The Mediterranean island of Malta; Dates: 1940 to 1943; Outcome: One of the … Park retaliated by ordering his fighters to climb no higher than 6,100 feet (1,900 m). RAF forces on Malta could not afford to sit idle; they could prevent Rommel's advance, or slow it down, by striking at his supply lines. Of the 73,991 men sent by sea, 71,881 (97%), arrived in Africa. [92] In May 1941, 47 Hurricanes were flown into the island. The island of Malta is key to the control of the central Mediterranean Sea. An urgent supply convoy from Gibraltar to Alexandria (Operation Tiger) coincided with reinforcements for the Mediterranean Fleet, two small convoys from Egypt to Malta and 48 more Hurricanes flew off HMS Ark Royal and Furious in Operation Splice, with only the loss of the SS Empire Song, which hit a mine and sank with 10 Hurricane fighters and 57 tanks on board. from 1940 to 1943 the Italians flew 35,724 sorties against the island and the Germans 37,432 – but 31,391 of the Luftwaffe's missions were completed in 1942. Gibbs's Beauforts sank two ships and one of Simpson's submarines sank a third. At El Alamein in North Africa the British had broken through on land, and by 5 November were advancing rapidly westward. The island base, HMS Talbot, supplied 1,790 torpedoes at that time. [19] The Italians adopted an indirect approach and cut off the island. Supply issues were bad, the small German force left was forced to abandon operations on 22 April 1941. Supported by S- and T-class vessels, they dropped mines. But the RAF preferred to credit its losses to the Germans, even though the Italians flew more fighter missions over the island, had almost as many fighters on Sicily (184) as the Germans in the whole Mediterranean (252) in November 1942, and seem to have been better pilots, losing one aircraft per 63 sorties, compared to a German loss rate of one per 42 sorties. These mines were the bane of the Royal Navy's submarines. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. This made Malta a dangerous threat to Axis logistical concerns. But operating overseas in Africa meant most of the supplies to Axis forces would come via the sea. [155] While air superiority had been won back by the RAF, German pressure had allowed Axis convoys to re-supply the Panzer Army Africa. [179] In September 1942, Rommel received only 24% of the 50,000 tons of supplies needed monthly to continue offensive operations. U-class submarines operated from the Manoel Island Base known as HMS Talbot. On 13 January, the Ju 87s, now equipped with SC 1000 bombs failed to achieve a hit. In December 1942, air and sea forces operating from Malta went over to the offensive. On 14 January, 44 Ju 87s scored a hit on the ill-fated after lift. He called off the offensive. At Kalafrana, all the buildings were close together and above ground. [23][24], Upon declaring war, Mussolini called for an offensive throughout the Mediterranean and within hours, the first bombs were dropped on Malta. They then began a counter-offensive and drove the British back into Egypt. Around 3,000 mines were laid off Tunisia's coast by Italian naval forces as well. [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. Kesselring responded by sending in fighter sweeps at even higher altitudes to gain the tactical advantage. They claimed that the Germans purposely flew in front of the Hurricanes in their Bf 109Fs to show off the performance superiority of their fighters. [51] A large part of the Axis defensive success was due to naval mines. [131] While the Spitfires were a match for the Axis aircraft, many of those delivered in March and April were destroyed on the ground and in the air, where they were outnumbered; for five days in April there was just one Spitfire available to defend the island, for two days there was none. [164] According to Sadkovich. An MT boat hit St Elmo Bridge, which collapsed. Malta sent Bristol Beauforts to engage the Italian fleet and German U-boats attacking the convoy. The Germans launched Operation Sonnenblume, which reinforced the Italians in North Africa. View production, box office, & company info The Best TV and Movies to Watch in March. The bridge was never restored, and it was only in 2011 that a new one was built in its place. [17] According to the 1937 census, most of the inhabitants lived within 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) of Grand Harbour, where the population density was more than six times that of the island average. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [87], Within a few hours Lloyd had made an inspection tour of the airfields and the main workshops at Kalafrana. The Allied navies sank 773 Axis ships, totalling 1,364,337 t (1,342,789 long tons). The capture of North African airfields and the bonus of having air protection all the way to the island enabled the ships to deliver 35,000 tons. In 1940, Malta found itself at the heart of a raging battle between Allied and Axis powers for naval control of the Mediterranean. [19], Air power was the method chosen to attack Malta. [175], Wing Commander Patrick Gibbs and 39 Squadron, flew their Beauforts against shipping and increased the pressure on Rommel by attacking his supply lines in September. The pilots were flying-boat and other fliers with no experience of fighter operations. 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 Italians, in agreement with Kesselring, made the invasion of Malta the priority in the region. The outmoded Hurricanes still struggled against the very latest Bf 109Fs of Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53) and Italian Macchi C.202s; the Junkers Ju 88 bomber also proved a difficult enemy. With plenty of Spitfires to operate, Park sought to intercept the enemy and break up his formations before the bombers reached the island. The situation in North Africa required German air support, so the October offensive marked the last major effort by the Luftwaffe against Malta. [69] The RAF Hurricanes were kept operational by being patched up and cannibalised and their performance, already inferior to the Bf 109E-7, deteriorated. The ferry tanks, combined with a 29-gallon tank in the rear fuselage, brought the total tank capacity up to 284 gallons. Recognising the critical battle was approaching in North Africa (Second Battle of El Alamein), Kesselring organised Fliegerkorps II in Sicily to neutralise the threat once and for all. ; StG 1 made a determined effort against Tiger and Malta without result. [55], The Luftwaffe crews believed four direct hits would sink the ship and began practice operations on floating mock-ups off the Sicilian coast. In supplies, the Axis lost 315,090 tons. In a nutshell: The siege of Malta. Kesselring handed over Luftwaffe fuel, but this merely denied the German air units the means to protect the ground forces, thereby increasing the effectiveness of British air superiority over the frontline. [116] Actual Axis losses amounted to 135 bombers (80 German) and 56 fighters plus a number of other aircraft. Rommel still hoped another tanker, San Andreas, would deliver the 3,198 tons of fuel needed for the Battle of Alam el Halfa. [113] The Kriegsmarine sent nearly half of all the German U-boats on operations in the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean to support the effort against Malta and by 15 December, half of these vessels were either in the Mediterranean, or en route, having to run the gauntlet past the RAF and the navy based in Gibraltar.