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RAF ON MALTA – ON THE
ATTACK
The
reason Malta was so critical to Allied fortunes in the Middle East was
because of its strategic location. Lying midway along the Mediterranean
and halfway between Italy and the North Africa, it was the perfect place
from which to attack Axis shipping heading to Libya. The war in North
Africa was, as much as anything, a battle for supply: whichever side
managed to get the most fuel, men and munitions would ultimately win. It
is no coincidence that whenever Axis attacks on the island intensified,
Axis fortunes in North Africa improved.
Working
with the Royal Navy, steadily increasing numbers of RAF bombers –
Wellingtons, Blenheims, Beauforts and attack aircraft like the Beaufighter
– played a crucial role in attacking enemy shipping. Two Royal Navy air
squadrons also played their part. Most shipping attacks were carried out
by dropping torpedoes, although enemy ports, both in Italy and North
Africa, were also bombed. A third means of attack was to drop mines at
the mouths of enemy-held ports.
All
pilots on Malta suffered terribly from the bombing. The Special Duties
Flight, for example – a night-flying Wellington anti-shipping flight – was
based at Luqa, but its crews messes at the sea-plane base of Kalafrana,
several miles away. When the mess was repeatedly bombed they continued to
eat there, although one side was now completely open to the elements. For
most of 1942, the pilots and crews were expected to walk to and from the
airfield, even on returning from a long and hazardous night operation.
Being a
torpedo bomber was one of the most dangerous flying jobs in the RAF, and
this was even more so in the Mediterranean theatre. Chances of completing
a tour of six months was 17.5%. The chances of surviving a second was
just 3%.
During
the most intense period of the Axis blitz in early 1942, RAF bombing and
torpedo operations virtually ceased. By the end of April 1942, three
Wellington squadrons had become so depleted they were forced to move to
Alexandria; four Blenheim squadrons had similarly either left or become
inoperable since January 1942. Wrecks littered all three airfields.
Groundcrews had desperately tried to keep their aircraft airworthy but the
attrition rate was simply too great.
By the
summer of 1942, however, torpedo bombers operating in tandem from bases in
North Africa and Malta were making General Rommel’s life a misery. Tanker
after tanker was sunk, which was to prove a decisive factor in his defeat
firstly at Alam Halfa at the end of August, and then again at the Second
Battle of Alamein in October.
Also
key to Allied successes in the Mediterranean was the work of RAF
reconnaissance crews, who observed enemy shipping and aircraft movements
and were able to report on the results of Allied air strikes. Most the
most famous Malta-based pilot of all was Adrian Warburton, DSO*, DFC**,
DFC (US), a man whose fearlessness knew no bounds. He had arrived on
Malta in September 1940 as a navigator rather than a pilot, having shown
little aptitude for flying. Necessity pushed him back into the pilot’s
seat, however, and his transformation began. His bravery and ability to
always get his pictures was first confirmed during the run-up to the Royal
Navy’s aerial strike on the Italian Fleet at Taranto in November 1940, but
he continued to perform incredible feats of daring and soon became one of
the most valued pilots in the Middle East. ‘Warby’ – as he was known to
all – also arguably became the island’s first ace. Although
reconnaissance pilots were usually unarmed, Warby eschewed such rules and
never shied away from taking on another enemy plane whenever he had the
chance. No Malta pilot was more decorated than the incomparable Adrian
Warburton.
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