Operation Pedestal: The Fleet That Battled to Malta, 1942

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The ship blew up almost instantly in a sheet of flame and a cloud of smoke. Its 107 crew members had no time to launch lifeboats and evacuate the ship, but some were blown off the ship and into the water - water which had been covered in part by burning fuel as a result of the blast. Force R left Gibraltar on 9 August, ready to meet the convoy at a rendezvous south of Majorca; Force F made an uneventful passage of the Straits in dense fog during the night of 9/10 August. Fishing boats and one merchant vessel were passed at close quarters but due to the moonless night and the fog, Syfret thought it improbable that the force had been sighted from the shore. [34] Abwehr agents near Gibraltar and Ceuta had sighted the convoy and the British decrypted their Enigma messages, learning how well-informed the Axis were and of their plans to defeat the convoy. At about 08:00 on 10 August, German reconnaissance aircraft detected the convoy and at 12:45 reported that the convoy was about 70nmi (130km; 81mi) north of Algiers. [35] But Convoy WS21S has passed into history – albeit under the code name for the operation, Pedestal. The story has been told many times over the years. But there is still plenty of new material to be found, even after more than seven decades. On 6 March, Operation Spotter, a Club Run by the aircraft carriers Eagle and Argus flew off the first 15 Spitfire reinforcements for Malta. An earlier attempt had been abandoned but the right external ferry tanks were fitted; seven Blenheims flew direct from Gibraltar. On 10 March, the Spitfires flew their first sorties against a raid by Ju 88s escorted by Bf 109 fighters. [68] Operation MG 1 [ edit ] and HMS Sussex, something that he is to be highly commended for. There are many excellent photographs in the book (plus other illustrations. not least some very tidy ship profiles by the author). For the serious naval enthusiast this book offers a deeply satisfying high level of detail, mixed in with well-chosen and skillfully used eyewitness contributions; a fitting tribute to one of the key British convoy victories of World War Two.

He, for many years, remained something of an unsung hero for his part in the convoy, but since his story first came to light a decade or so ago, a street has been renamed in his honour in his native Vittoriosa. Official Despatch on Mediterranean Convoy Operations Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham,19 March 1941". The London Gazette (Supplement). No.38377. 10 August 1948. pp.4501–4512. Brian Crabb details all the ships involved in WS21S, the journey down to Gibraltar, and gives an exciting account of the desperate race through the Mediterranean, highlighted with accounts from those that took part. It is, as I have said, a story with every element one could wish for and laid out in fine style in this excellent book.Pedestal's story has been well told countless times: the tale of the defiant Ohio, which simply refused to sink, and of other ships which defied all odds has been, rightly, repeated time and time again. In June, the new carrier HMS Victorious replaced Furious on Club Runs. Operation Tracer began on 13 June; when Ark Royal and Victorious, escorted by Force H, departed Gibraltar. On 14 June, 47 Hurricanes, guided by four Hudsons from Gibraltar, were flown off; 43 Hurricanes reached Malta. [42] [43] Operations Railway I and II [ edit ] The Allies waged the Western Desert Campaign (1940–43) in North Africa, against the Axis forces of Italy aided by Germany, which sent the Deutsches Afrika Korps and substantial Luftwaffe detachments to the Mediterranean in late 1940. Up to the end of the year, 21 ships with 160,000 long tons (160,000t) of cargo had reached Malta without loss and a reserve of seven months' supplies had been accumulated. Three convoys to Malta in 1941 suffered the loss of only one merchant ship. From January 1941 to August 1942, 46 ships had delivered 320,000 long tons (330,000t) but 25 ships had been sunk and modern, efficient, merchant ships, naval and air forces had been diverted from other routes for long periods; 31 supply runs by submarines had been conducted. [1] Reinforcements for Malta included 19 costly and dangerous aircraft carrier ferry operations to deliver fighters. [2] were selected for their speed, size and reliability, protected by a large escort of Royal Navy warships. But on only the second day after their entry into the Mediterranean, the aircraft carrier Eagle

Operation Pedestal ( Italian: Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as Il-Konvoj ta' Santa Marija ( Santa Maria Convoy), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. [a] McAulay, Lex (1989). Against All Odds: RAAF Pilots in the Battle for Malta, 1942. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-169570-5. The Ohio would make it into harbour, and Mason became the first member of the Merchant Navy to be awarded the George Cross. Only he and two others were bestowed with that honour during the war. Holland, James (2004). Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943. London: Cassell Military. ISBN 978-0-304-36654-5. This is an excellent addition to the body of Pedestal literature – as well as a very detailed account of the battle, liberally sprinkled with first-hand descriptions from those who were there, there are more than a dozen appendices.

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In Operation Tiger, convoy WS 8 sailed from Gibraltar to Alexandria, combined with a supply run to Malta by six destroyers of Force H. Five 15kn (17mph; 28km/h) merchant ships passed Gibraltar on 6 May accompanied by Force H, along with a battleship and two cruisers en route to Alexandria; Clan Campbell, Clan Chattam, Clan Lamont, Empire Song and New Zealand Star. The merchants tried to reach Alexandria with air cover of Fairey Fulmars onboard Ark Royal and the anti aircraft fire of 9 destroyers. Bad weather helped, but Regia Aeronautica engaged the convoy during the day, and at dusk Empire Song was lost after hitting two mines. It sank with tanks and planes (10 Hurricanes and 57 tanks); [38] crew was saved by destroyers Fortune and Foresight till La Valletta. The destroyers from Force H participated in the convoy operation as far as Malta then returned. Force H bombarded Benghazi and rendezvoused with the convoy 50nmi (58mi; 93km) south of Malta late on 9 May. [39] The minefied had been laid by the same Italian cruiser force whose mines had sunk the freighter Parracombe in early May. [37]

Eberhard Weichold - the liaison officer of the Kriegsmarine at the Regia Marina in Rome - provided an apt summary of how the Axis viewed the outcome of the convoy. had been used to engage an enemy reconnaissance plane. A faulty shell fuse exploded as it exited the muzzle of one of the guns, killing him instantly. Motobomba FFF torpedo: 50cm (20in) in diameter and weighing 350kg (770lb), 260lb (120kg) comprising the warhead. [49] In the same action, the anti-aircraft ship HMS Cairo (A/Captain C.C. Hardy) was hit by two torpedoes fired by a German U-boat and had its stern blown off. There were 25 fatal casualties but the rest of the crew were taken off and the ship was sunk by gunfire by the destroyer HMS Pathfinder (Commander E.A. Gibbs). Escorting the convoy were three aircraft carriers – Eagle, Victorious and Indomitable– carrying 72 fighters between them; the battleships Nelson and Rodney; seven cruisers; 32 destroyers; eight submarines; and a number of smaller craft, including corvettes, tugs, minesweepers and motor launches. However, the main force was to withdraw when the convoy reached the Sicilian Narrows, leaving ‘Force X’ under Rear-Admiral Harold Burrough to accompany the merchantmen to Malta. This force consisted of three cruisers, an anti-aircraft ship, 12 destroyers and a tug.

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Ramming was discouraged by the Admiralty, due to the damage that often resulted to the ramming vessel. [57] a.m.: Brisbane Star, which was hit by a torpedo two days before, has been sailing independently, heading round Cape Bon and keeping inshore. Spitfires fly over the ship and remain flying over until it enters the harbour early in the afternoon. This story has fascinated me ever since and Brian Crabb has done a fantastic job of research into the origins, execution, and outcome of this epic operation. Quite the best of the many books I have read on the subject over the years. was forced to withdraw by bomb damage the next day, drastically reducing the air cover available to the convoy. There were further naval losses, and nine of the cargo ships were lost. Austin, D. (2002). The Place of Malta in British Strategic Policy 1925–1943 (PhD). Computer File. London: University of London. OCLC 499365025 . Retrieved 19 December 2015.