HISTORY

SPITFIRES FOR MALTA

Text: Michal Krechowski

Photo: IWM

Due to its strategic location

at the crossroads of the

shipping lines between

Gibraltar and Alexandria

as well as Italy and North

Africa, Malta became a target

of the continuous enemy air

attacks. During the WWII, in

order to defend the island,

the British were forced to

constantly deploy more and

more fighters and pilots to its

“unsinkable aircraft carrier”.

Initially the air defense was provided by

the obsolete Gladiators and Hurricanes.

The much-desired Spitfires could only

be transferred to the island during the

spring months of 1942. Newly delivered

Spitfires Mk.Vb/Vc ultimately earned their

greatest glory defending this extremely

strategically important island.

Battle of Malta took place from June 1940

till November 1942 and went down in

history as the battle for the “unsinkable

aircraft carrier”. In the beginning of the

WWII this overlooked Mediterranean

island became one of the key spots of

the battle for the Mediterranean and the

battle of Africa as well as its strategic

importance was paramount. The aircraft,

submarines and ships operating out of

there were able to interrupt the supply

routes to the Rommel’s Afrika Korps and

in this manner to defend Africa, Suez

Channel, and valuable oil fields behind

it. It is well known fact that the mistaken

political and strategic judgement of the

air commanders lead to the situation that

in June 1940 there were almost no fighter

aircraft based on Malta. Had not four

crated Sea Gladiators been accidentally

discovered the whole island’s air defense

would have been non existing. One of

the aircraft was soon heavily damaged

and the pilots bravely defended Malta

with those three remaining airplanes

against the enemy attacks for eighteen

days until four Hurricanes arrived as

a reinforcement. Consequently, the British,

now fully aware of Malta’s importance

and its strategic value, started gradually

to reinforce the island defense with more

Hurricanes.

For the whole year of 1941, Malta had to

be defended against the concentrated

enemy attacks. The Axis powers bombed

the island’s infrastructure focusing on the

port, airport and storage facilities. In the

meantime, the convoys headed for Malta

were mercilessly pursued and destroyed

which in fact put the island under the siege.

On December 4, 1941, at night the German

Luftwaffe launched the continuous

bombing which lasted five long months

and intended to break the resistance

of the Royal Navy and Air Force finally.

At the end the plan to invade Malta, code

named Hercules, was hastily prepared.

The Field Marshall Albert Kesselring was

put in charge of the attacks on Malta. His

forces were clearly numerically superior

over the defenders. The frequent bombing

raids destroyed a major part of the British