Hal Far Fighter Flight

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Gloster Sea Gladiator Faith

The Hal Far Fighter Flight was a Gloster Sea Gladiator equipped unit of the British Air Force that was deployed during the Second Great Siege of Malta . The staff of the Royal Air Force and Fleet Air Arm recruited unit was on the also known as HMS Falcon guided Royal Air Force Station Hal Far , shortly RAF Hal Far stationed.

The myth goes back to the Flight that the island was only defended by the three aircraft Hope , Faith and Charity in June 1940 , but more than three Sea Gladiators were operational. The names were not used by a Maltese newspaper until months later. Regardless of this, the Hal Far Fighter Flight gained great symbolic significance for the resistance of both the British troops and the local population.

background

Although the islands of the Maltese archipelago were of outstanding importance for the connection routes from the British Isles to the British colonies and dominions in Asia and Australia, they were hardly equipped for an effective defense at the beginning of the Second World War . The reason was the fact that Malta is only around ninety kilometers south of Sicily and at that time could be reached within thirty minutes by attacking aircraft of the Regia Aeronautica . At the same time, the islands were threatened by the Regia Marina . Therefore holding the island was deemed impossible. Consequently, the Mediterranean Fleet was relocated to Alexandria in October 1939 in order to evade the threat from Italian air and naval forces. Only a few submarines, the Monitor Terror and the gunboats Aphis and Ladybird remained on Malta . These were practically the only air defense component on the islands, since the establishment of a ground-based air defense and fighter pilot units was initially omitted. On the other hand, the construction of radar stations had already started in March 1939. The 241 AMES (Air Ministry Experimental Station) at the Dingli Cliffs was intended to detect high-flying aircraft, while the 242 AMES, which was set up in Ghar Lapsi from June 1940, served to detect low-flying targets.

Lineup

Hal Far airfield during an Italian air raid in 1941

At the beginning of 1940 a total of 18 Sea Gladiators of the 802 Naval Air Squadron were brought to Malta by the aircraft carrier HMS Glorius . The planes packed in boxes were initially stored. Three of them were relocated to Norway in April and were used by the British troops during the defense against the Weser Exercise Company , and three more came to the British troops in Egypt. In March 1940, the decision was made to use six of the remaining aircraft for the air defense of Malta. Existing personnel from the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm were used for the installation. First five aircraft were assembled, but dismantled again after a short time. In April, however, it had to be admitted that the islands needed protection from fighter pilots. Although the Sea Gladiator was already out of date at this point and it was not given a chance in the fight against modern fighter planes, a use against bombers still seemed promising. This decision was largely due to the initiative of Governor Sir William Dobbie , who immediately after his arrival in Malta intensified efforts to defend the island. Now four aircraft have been assembled and flown in again. Two of them were designated for use, one served as a spare parts dispenser and the last was kept in reserve. In May 1940 two more aircraft were assembled and the remaining machines in storage were released for spare parts production. By June two of the planes had crashed, so that two more had to be assembled. On June 11, 1940, at the beginning of the Second Great Siege of Malta, four Sea Gladiators were operational. Two of them were kept ready for alarm starts during the day. One of the machines, as Faith became known N5520 was with one of a Bristol Blenheim developed Bristol Mercury - equipped engine. This aircraft can be recognized by the three-blade Hamilton propeller, also from a Blenheim.

commitment

The Second World War began for Malta with the air raids of the Regia Aeronautica on June 11, 1940. Ten CRDA Cant Z.1007 bombed the Grand Harbor and Hal Far. The attacking aircraft flew at an altitude of 5500 meters. Later the flight altitude was reduced to 3000 m in order to improve the accuracy. However, the effectiveness of the Italian attacks was low. Although numerically weak, the planes and anti-aircraft guns used to defend the island were able to achieve some effect. The journalist Mabel Strickland reported that the Italian attackers feared the island's air defenses and therefore threw their bombs into the sea around thirty kilometers from the island and turned them off.

Towards the end of June, the island's air defenses were reinforced by four Hawker Hurricans . The Sea Gladiator formed together with the Hurricane No. 261 Squadron RAF , into which the Hal Far Fighter Flight was incorporated.

The Sea Gladiator Charity was shot down on June 29, 1940, the pilot Flying officer PW Hartley was badly burned. The Hope was destroyed during an air raid on January 4th, 1941, Faith survived the war. The fuselage of the aircraft is now on display in the Malta War Museum . Two more Sea Gladiators were born in May 1941 by No. 33 Squadron RAF , the fate of the remaining aircraft is not documented.

Maintenance of tradition

The No. 1435 Flight RAF took over the air defense of the island from December 4, 1941. The unit currently deployed to protect the Falkland Islands and equipped with Eurofighter Typhoon continues the tradition of the Hal Far Fighter Flight. The planes of the No. 1435 Flight carry the Maltese cross on the vertical stabilizer . Three of the aircraft are unofficially named Faith , Hope and Charity , and a fourth is called Desperation . The names are not on the aircraft themselves, but they use the code letters "F", "H", "C" and "D".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gloster Gladiator on aeroflight.co.uk (English)
  2. ↑ Faith, Hope and Charity ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.killifish.f9.co.uk
  3. ↑ BBC - h2g2 - Gloster Gladiator - World War II Aircraft (English)
  4. ↑ see, inter alia, Stephenson
  5. ^ Crawford 2002, p. 59-66.
  6. ^ Ministry of Information 1944, p. 8.
  7. ↑ Faith, Hope and Charity ( Memento of the original from September 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Faith at the Malta War Museum (English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.killifish.f9.co.uk
  8. ↑ UK Airpower 2011, p. 18, Keypublishing

literature

  • Tony Spooner: Faith, Hope and Malta GC. Ground and Air Hereos of the George Cross Island . Grécy Publishing Limited, 2008, ISBN 978-0-907579-58-8 (English).
  • Peter Elliott: The Cross and the Ensign. The Naval History of Malta, 1798-1979. Harper Collins Publishers, London 2009, ISBN 978-0-00-735288-3 (English).
  • Ministry of Information: The Air Battle of Malta, The Official Account of the RAF in Malta, June 1940 to November 1942 . London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1944 (English).
  • Kenneth Poolman: Faith, Hope and Charity: Three Biplanes Against an Air Force . William Kimber and Co. Ltd, 1954 (English).
  • Charles Stephenson: The Fortifications of Malta 1530-1945. Osprey Publishing Limited, Wellingborough 2004, ISBN 1-84176-693-3 ( Osprey Fortress Series 16) (English).
  • Alexander Crawford: Gloster Gladiator . Mushroom Model Publications, 2002. ISBN 83-916327-0-9 .