Read Online At All Costs by Sam Moses - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sam Moses
Tags: nonfiction
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types and with Air planes,” he wrote on July 12 to General Lord Hastings “Pug” Ismay, his chief of staff and secretary of the imperial defence. When a foot-dragging reply came back from the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Dudley Pound, Churchill replied with a testy message: “We must take the offensive against Italy, and endeavor once again to make Malta a Fleet base for special occasions.”
Admiral Pound, who was Cunningham’s superior in the chain of command, wasn’t convinced that Malta was worth saving. He asked Churchill to consider evacuating Malta and conceding the entire central and eastern Mediterranean, which would have meant abandoning whatever and whoever was left on the island to the Axis. Cunningham was told to start thinking about a withdrawal plan. “If it had come to pass it would have been a major disaster, nothing less,” said Cunningham.
The nagging issue of aircraft for Malta was ongoing. When eight Hawker Hurricanes landed at Luqa airfield to refuel on their way to Egypt, Malta’s commanding air officer, Sammy Maynard, snatched five of them, with their pilots—“impressed” was the word used to describe what might also be called “shanghaied.” The pilots were trained to simply ferry the Hurricanes, not fly them in combat, but this was war. None of them liked it. Some survived, and some didn’t.
Churchill knew the value of Hurricanes to Malta—their 324-mph top speed could match that of the fastest Italian fighters. Even with the Battle of Britain beginning at this time, he asked the Admiralty, “As we have a number of Hurricanes surplus at the moment, could not the Malta Gladiator pilots fly the Hurricanes themselves?”
Admiral Cunningham had been putting pressure on the First Sea Lord as well, and the Admiralty finally gave in. On August 2, 1940, a dozen Hurricanes were officially sent to Malta, flown off the ancient aircraft carrier
Argus
from 380 miles away. They buzzed Malta in two formations, with the roar of their 1,280-horsepower Rolls-Royce V-12 engines stopping hearts; but when people realized that the powerful planes were on their side, they danced in the streets. One Hurricane crashed when it hit a bomb crater on Hal Far airfield upon landing, and two more were destroyed on the ground in an air attack forty-eight hours later, but nine new arrivals were better than none.
The pilots thought they would be going back to England the next day, to fight the Luftwaffe over London in the Battle of Britain; but again, Sammy Maynard “impressed” them. They were angry about having to stay in that hot hellhole Malta, doomed to dust, hunger, and dysentery like the rest of the islanders. But they would get their chance with the Luftwaffe over Malta soon enough.
CHAPTER 9 •••
DEBUT OF THE LUFTWAFFE
O n August 30, 1940, a convoy with four merchant ships finally steamed toward Malta. Initiated and driven by Churchill, it was called Operation Hats—he liked to wear so many. The warship escort included the battleship
Valiant
and aircraft carrier
Illustrious,
the ships that introduced radar to the Mediterranean, enabling enemy planes to be located from fifty miles away. This convoy from Gibraltar rendezvoused with more warships, commanded by Cunningham and steaming from Alexandria.
The Italians saw them coming. From naval bases on Italy and Sicily, Regia Marina (the Italian Navy) sent out a fleet of warships.
The
Illustrious
carried twenty-four Fairey Swordfish biplanes, their forty-eight fabric wings fluttering in the breeze on the flight deck. Irreverently but affectionately called the “Stringbag,” for its fabric-and-wire construction, the Swordfish could carry a 1,500-pound torpedo slung under its belly or a combination of 500-, 250-, and 20-pound bombs. An Italian reconnaissance plane spotted the
Illustrious,
so the Italian warships turned away. Supermarina, the Italian admiralty, based in Rome, was afraid of the potent old Stringbags.
Regia Aeronautica (the
Admiral Pound, who was Cunningham’s superior in the chain of command, wasn’t convinced that Malta was worth saving. He asked Churchill to consider evacuating Malta and conceding the entire central and eastern Mediterranean, which would have meant abandoning whatever and whoever was left on the island to the Axis. Cunningham was told to start thinking about a withdrawal plan. “If it had come to pass it would have been a major disaster, nothing less,” said Cunningham.
The nagging issue of aircraft for Malta was ongoing. When eight Hawker Hurricanes landed at Luqa airfield to refuel on their way to Egypt, Malta’s commanding air officer, Sammy Maynard, snatched five of them, with their pilots—“impressed” was the word used to describe what might also be called “shanghaied.” The pilots were trained to simply ferry the Hurricanes, not fly them in combat, but this was war. None of them liked it. Some survived, and some didn’t.
Churchill knew the value of Hurricanes to Malta—their 324-mph top speed could match that of the fastest Italian fighters. Even with the Battle of Britain beginning at this time, he asked the Admiralty, “As we have a number of Hurricanes surplus at the moment, could not the Malta Gladiator pilots fly the Hurricanes themselves?”
Admiral Cunningham had been putting pressure on the First Sea Lord as well, and the Admiralty finally gave in. On August 2, 1940, a dozen Hurricanes were officially sent to Malta, flown off the ancient aircraft carrier
Argus
from 380 miles away. They buzzed Malta in two formations, with the roar of their 1,280-horsepower Rolls-Royce V-12 engines stopping hearts; but when people realized that the powerful planes were on their side, they danced in the streets. One Hurricane crashed when it hit a bomb crater on Hal Far airfield upon landing, and two more were destroyed on the ground in an air attack forty-eight hours later, but nine new arrivals were better than none.
The pilots thought they would be going back to England the next day, to fight the Luftwaffe over London in the Battle of Britain; but again, Sammy Maynard “impressed” them. They were angry about having to stay in that hot hellhole Malta, doomed to dust, hunger, and dysentery like the rest of the islanders. But they would get their chance with the Luftwaffe over Malta soon enough.
CHAPTER 9 •••
DEBUT OF THE LUFTWAFFE
O n August 30, 1940, a convoy with four merchant ships finally steamed toward Malta. Initiated and driven by Churchill, it was called Operation Hats—he liked to wear so many. The warship escort included the battleship
Valiant
and aircraft carrier
Illustrious,
the ships that introduced radar to the Mediterranean, enabling enemy planes to be located from fifty miles away. This convoy from Gibraltar rendezvoused with more warships, commanded by Cunningham and steaming from Alexandria.
The Italians saw them coming. From naval bases on Italy and Sicily, Regia Marina (the Italian Navy) sent out a fleet of warships.
The
Illustrious
carried twenty-four Fairey Swordfish biplanes, their forty-eight fabric wings fluttering in the breeze on the flight deck. Irreverently but affectionately called the “Stringbag,” for its fabric-and-wire construction, the Swordfish could carry a 1,500-pound torpedo slung under its belly or a combination of 500-, 250-, and 20-pound bombs. An Italian reconnaissance plane spotted the
Illustrious,
so the Italian warships turned away. Supermarina, the Italian admiralty, based in Rome, was afraid of the potent old Stringbags.
Regia Aeronautica (the
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