Malta convoys
The Malta convoys were allied convoys of ships with supplies and supplies for the island population and the defense troops on the island group of Malta in the Mediterranean during the Second World War . The British colony of Malta was an isolated and at the same time difficult to attack base from which allied naval and air forces could seriously disrupt the supplies of the Axis powers in the Mediterranean, mainly for the Italian colony of Libya and the Africa campaign . It was therefore the target of a long-lasting "siege", the so-called " second great siege of Malta " from 1940 to the end of 1942. The strategic importance of the islands was so great that the British motherland used large amounts of resources, ships and men to to maintain this advanced base, while the Axis Powers, for their part, made significant efforts to neutralize them.
The civilian population and the island garrison needed constant supplies of food, medical supplies, fuel, equipment, ammunition, replacement crews and the like, which they received from the motherland and other parts of the Empire , under wartime conditions . In addition to the Malta convoys, the islands were supplied from the air, by merchant ships operating individually as well as by surface warships and submarines. The convoy tactic, which was successful and effective in World War I , offered protection on the oceans, but in the cramped conditions of the Mediterranean it was extremely risky and dangerous. Ships of the Mediterranean Fleet and Force H as well as aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Air Force were used to protect the convoys . Until 1941, their opponents were mainly the Italian Regia Aeronautica and Regia Marina , then mainly the German Air Force and Navy .
In 1942, the battle for the island reached its climax and the Royal Navy formed large convoys from the western and eastern exits of the Mediterranean it controlled to avert the loss of the island. Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires were brought by aircraft carriers on the so-called Club Runs from Gibraltar to Malta. In the summer of 1942 the Axis air forces were on the verge of eliminating the island as a threat and there were German-Italian plans that they would finally take over in a Triphibian operation with the code name "Operation Hercules ", while Erwin Rommel's Panzer Army Africa was preparing in North Africa , to advance into the Nile Delta. It was only after the Second Battle of El Alamein in October and November 1942 that the threat to the island gradually subsided. Operation Torch , which took place at the same time, and the victory of the 8th Army in Egypt brought Malta piece by piece back within range of land-based Allied fighters. With the success of Operation Stoneage , a convoy in November 1942, the battle for the island was practically over and Allied Mediterranean convoys resumed their regular activities to supply the Allied land forces.
History and strategic situation
The archipelago, just over 300 square kilometers in size, with the main island of Malta and the capital Valletta , has been a British colony since the end of the coalition wars. In the 1940s it had a population of around 275,000. Already in peacetime, two thirds of the food demand had to be covered by imports. Malta was an important intermediate point on the trade route through the Suez Canal to British India , the Middle East, East Africa, the Far East and Australia. Located just 80 kilometers from Sicily , the islands are strategically positioned to control the Strait of Sicily between Italy and North Africa. In the immediate vicinity there are some smaller islands belonging to Italy such as Pantelleria and Lampedusa , of which only Pantelleria had an airfield during the Second World War. The distance from Malta to the coast of Tripolitania in Libya is about 350 kilometers, and that to Cape Bon in Tunisia is 285 kilometers.
In principle, Malta's supply was possible both from the east (via the Suez Canal ) and from the west (via the Strait of Gibraltar ). The vast British Empire offered the opportunity to assemble convoys of cargo ships and tankers from both directions. Convoys from the west had Gibraltar as their starting point, those from the east mostly Alexandria , sometimes also Haifa or Port Said . The route from Gibraltar had the advantage that these convoys did not come within range of enemy aircraft until the second half of the journey, since the Vichy regime , which controlled the western part of North Africa , was not belligerent. The convoys to the west, on the other hand, could be attacked much earlier by aircraft from Italian Libya and, from spring 1941, from Greece and Crete . In principle, a strong escort was necessary, which may also include aircraft carriers for air defense. Convoy security usually consisted of local security (mainly against submarines ) consisting of destroyers and smaller vehicles, a cover group of cruisers and destroyers and the main fleet at a greater distance. The main fleet was provided by the Mediterranean fleet in Alexandria for convoys from the east, and by Force H stationed in Gibraltar for those from the west .
The fascist ruled Kingdom of Italy only entered the war against Great Britain and the soon-to-be-defeated France three quarters of a year after the start of the war in September 1939 - in June 1940. It had a strong navy equivalent to the British Mediterranean fleet, with numerous bases along the long coastline and an air force of considerable size. The nearest major naval base was Taranto in southern Italy. With its colony in Libya within easy reach, Italy had its own source of supply for the strategically important oil . The colony of Italian East Africa , on the other hand, was isolated from the start of the war by British control of the Suez Canal. One of Italy's goals was to connect the two colonies by eliminating the British presence in Egypt and Sudan .
The Defense Forces on the island in June 1940 included among other things a brigade of infantry and smaller artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank units. For air defense there were also three operational Gloster Gladiator fighter planes available, some more were still stored in individual parts on the island. In the priority list, the defense of Malta was far below the high demands of the war in France and home defense. Since late April 1940, Lieutenant General William Dobbie was Governor and Commander of the Island Defense . Malta also played a subordinate role as a naval base. Only the HMS Terror monitor and a few submarines were stationed in Valletta's Grand Harbor at the time of the Italian declaration of war on June 11th .
1940
Convoys MF 1 and MS 1, first "Club Run"
The first convoy, MF 1 , left Malta on July 9th and reached Alexandria on July 11th. It consisted of three cargo ships and carried evacuated civilians as well as a number of dock workers. The second convoy of somewhat slower ships left Malta on July 10th and reached Alexandria on July 14th. It comprised five ships.
The security of the two convoys was provided by the Mediterranean Fleet under Andrew Cunningham and consisted of the battleships Malaya , Ramillies , Royal Sovereign and Warspite , the aircraft carrier Eagle , the cruisers Caledon , Capetown , Gloucester , Liverpool , Neptune , Orion and Sydney as well as 21 destroyers. On July 9th, the sea battle at Punta Stilo broke off the southern coast of Calabria with an Italian escort of two battleships, ten cruisers and 32 destroyers on the way back from North Africa, which ended in a draw.
On July 31, the first of the so-called "Club Runs" began, in which the aircraft carrier Argus was supposed to bring twelve Hawker Hurricanes within range of Malta. The Force H, including the fleet carrier Ark Royal , left Gibraltar at around 8 a.m. and carried out a diversionary attack on Cagliari on August 2 . All twelve hurricanes reached Malta safely.
Convoy MF 2
This convoy, consisting of a refrigerated ship, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and a freighter, left Alexandria on August 29 and reached Malta on September 2. The escort was formed by the cruisers Gloucester , Liverpool and Kent and four destroyers, with only the destroyers running as far as Malta. The Mediterranean fleet was at sea with Malaya , Warspite , Eagle , Orion , Sydney and twelve additional destroyers. On August 31, the convoy was attacked from the air and the reefer ship Cornwall was set on fire. The fire could be controlled and all ships reached their destination.
The Force H was also deployed from Gibraltar. She had the battle cruiser Renown , the battleship Valiant , the aircraft carrier Illustrious , the cruisers Calcutta , Coventry and Sheffield, and 17 destroyers. With the exception of Sheffield and ten destroyers, these ships ran as reinforcements to Alexandria.
Convoys MF 3 and MF 4
The four-ship convoy MF 3 sailed from Alexandria on October 8th and reached Malta on October 11th. Calcutta , Coventry and four destroyers formed the escort. The Mediterranean fleet was at sea with four battleships, the two aircraft carriers, six cruisers and 17 destroyers and acted as additional escort. A destroyer ran towards the convoy from Malta. The destroyer Imperial was hit by a mine en route and had to be towed to Malta.
After the arrival of MF 3 , convoy MF 4 was formed, which returned from Malta to Alexandria and arrived there on October 16. Calcutta , Coventry and two destroyers formed the close escort. In a night battle off Capo Passero on October 12, the cruiser Ajax sank two Italian torpedo boats and damaged a destroyer that was later sunk by the cruiser York .
Convoys MW 3 and ME 3
With these convoys, a new naming scheme was introduced, in which the convoys running from Alexandria to Malta were designated MW ( Malta westward ) and those returning with ME ( Malta eastward ). Typically, two such convoys were combined so that the escort could secure on their way there and back.
MW 3 , consisting of five ships, left Alexandria on November 4th and reached Malta on November 10th. The escort formed again Calcutta and Coventry and four destroyers. In addition, an older anti-mine vehicle joined the convoy that was to be stationed in Malta. The main fleet, consisting of Malaya , Ramillies , Valiant , Warspite , Illustrious , the cruisers Gloucester and York and 16 destroyers covered the operation, which took place simultaneously with convoys to Greece and Crete.
The battleship Barham , the cruisers Berwick and Glasgow and three destroyers left Gibraltar on November 7th as reinforcements for the Mediterranean fleet. They also entered Valletta on November 10th and delivered troops and material there.
The return convoy, ME 3 , left Malta on November 10, accompanied by the ships that had entered with MW 3 as well as Ramillies , Coventry , the Monitor Terror and three destroyers. It consisted of the unloaded ships of MF 3 and reached Alexandria on November 13th.
The name of the complex overall operation, which also included the attack on Taranto on November 12th and an advance into the Strait of Otranto , was MB 8 .
Convoys MW 4 and ME 4 and Operation Collar
Another pair of convoy, again part of a complex overall operation called MB 9 , took place at the end of November, at the same time as a Force H operation with the code name Collar .
On November 23, the fleet oiler Breconshire and three freighters sailed from Alexandria, again accompanied by Calcutta and Coventry and four destroyers. The Mediterranean fleet was also at sea and, in addition to the cover task for MW 4, also carried out tasks in connection with the reinforcement of the Souda Bay and attacks on the Dodecanese . MW 4 reached Malta on November 26th.
In Operation Collar , which began on November 25th with the passage through the Strait of Gibraltar, two more freighters ran to Malta and one to Souda Bay, accompanied by five destroyers and four corvettes. The cruisers Manchester and Southampton brought troops to Malta at the same time. Force H provided escort. It was divided into two squadrons, the first Renown , Ark Royal , the cruisers Despatch and Sheffield and eight destroyers. The second squadron was formed by Ramillies and the cruisers Berwick , Coventry and Newcastle , the latter coming from Malta. This operation culminated in the sea battle at Cape Teulada south of Sardinia on November 27, which was broken off by the British after minor losses on both sides and without damage to the convoy ships.
In convoy ME 4 , five empty cargo ships sailed from Malta on November 26, accompanied by Calcutta and three destroyers. Three of the ships went to Port Said and two to Alexandria, where they arrived on November 29th. The Mediterranean fleet carried out attacks on Tripoli during this time and covered other convoys between Egypt and Greece and Crete.
Convoys MW 5A, MW 5B, ME 5A and MG 1
In convoy MW 5A, two escorted freighters through the Malaya and four destroyers left Alexandria on the afternoon of December 16. Convoy MW 5B consisted of four freighters, a tanker and the troop ferry Ulster Prince , four of which came from Port Said and the other two from Alexandria. These ships left on December 15th and early 16th. The close escort was formed from Calcutta and one destroyer and one submarine. Valiant , Warspite , Illustrious , two cruisers and eleven destroyers covered the entire operation from a distance. A freighter from MW 5B ran alone to Malta due to its lower speed, covered by the destroyer Havock . All ships reached their destination unmolested on or after December 20.
On the way back, the escort ships in convoy ME 5A escorted four empty freighters back to Alexandria. Malaya and five destroyers escorted convoy MG 1 , consisting of two empty freighters, from Malta to Gibraltar. The Mediterranean Fleet covered both operations until the Force H MG 1 , which had expired with Renown , Ark Royal , Sheffield and ten destroyers, took over. An escort of MG 1 , the destroyer Hyperion , ran into a mine on December 22nd and was unable to move. She was later sunk by Janus stationed in Malta .
1941
This year, with the X. Fliegerkorps , whose units were stationed in Sicily, a new enemy appeared on the theater of war, the German Air Force . The first convoys of the year were severely disrupted by German " Stuka " planes.
Operation Excess and convoys MW 5½, ME 5½ and ME 6
On the afternoon of January 6, four fast freighters left Gibraltar in Operation Excess heading west, protected by the cruiser Bonaventure and four destroyers. Only one of the convoy ships was destined for Malta, carrying 4,000 tons of ammunition, twelve packaged hurricane hunters and 3,000 tons of seed potatoes. The original west course was a feint and the convoy changed direction after dark. Force H with Renown , Malaya , Ark Royal , Sheffield and eight destroyers took over the remote security. The following day, Malaya and two destroyers were assigned to the actual convoy and the rest of Force H led it to secure in a northeasterly direction. On January 9th, five Fairey Swordfish flew to Malta as reinforcement from Ark Royal . On the same day, contact was made with the cruisers Gloucester and Southampton and the destroyer Ilex of the Mediterranean fleet, which had previously delivered replacement crews to Malta. The Force H went west again in the evening hours, with the exception of Bonaventure and the destroyer Jaguar , which continued on to Malta. On the morning of January 10, two Italian torpedo boats were sighted, which were attacked by Bonaventure and Jaguar . One of the boats was shot immobilized and later sunk by the destroyer Hereward , the other escaped. Soon after the battle, the Mediterranean fleet came into view, which now took over the remote security. In the Strait of Sicily, the destroyer Gallant ran into a mine and lost its bow, the ship had to be towed to Malta.
Convoy MW 5½ began its voyage from Alexandria on January 7th. It consisted of the Breconshire and a freighter and was directed by Calcutta and two destroyers. The convoy was not attacked and reached Malta on the morning of January 10th. Immediately after arrival, convoy ME 5½ of two empty freighters from MW 5A cast off and Calcutta and a destroyer took over its escort. The convoy joined the rest of the excess convoy that was heading for Crete. On January 12th he split off south of Crete and ran on to Alexandria.
Like ME 5½, convoy ME 6 began its journey from Malta to Alexandria on January 10th. It consisted of four slow freighters and two tankers and was accompanied by three corvettes . It was originally intended that Gloucester and Southampton as well as a destroyer should provide additional cover for this convoy, but this was prevented by the air strike on the Mediterranean fleet described below. Ultimately, the convoy received cover from several warships only from Souda. He reached Alexandria on January 13th without damage.
The airstrike began around noon on January 10th and was launched by a wave of Italian torpedo planes that did no damage. A short time later, a larger formation attacked Stukas, which concentrated on the carrier Illustrious . Six direct hits and three near hits put the carrier out of action. Serious fires broke out on board and the defensive armament was half turned off. The carrier, whose steering gear had been damaged, left the fleet and ran to Malta, led by the destroyers Hasty and Jaguar . Attacked again on the way, he reached Grand Harbor on the night of January 11th. The losses on board amounted to 126 dead and 91 wounded.
The rest of the fleet was attacked again on the afternoon of January 10, with the battleship Valiant as the main target. This attack went off without major damage. The following day, the detached cruiser group was attacked and Southampton hit three times. The ship that caught fire had to be abandoned in the evening and was sunk by torpedoes from Gloucester and Orion . The losses from this attack were 9 dead and 14 wounded on Gloucester and 80 dead and 87 wounded on Southampton .
Illustrious ran back to Alexandria on January 23 after making makeshift repairs after being attacked several times in the port.
Convoy MW 6
This convoy consisted of four freighters, three of which came from Haifa and one from Alexandria. A total of three destroyers formed the close escort. The operation under naval code MC 9 began on March 19. The Mediterranean fleet with Barham , Valiant , Warspite , the carrier Formidable and nine destroyers ran out to cover the operation on March 21 and reached the convoy just in time for an air raid on it. The cruiser Bonaventure , which had left Souda, was already with the convoy and around 4 p.m. the cruisers Ajax , Gloucester , Orion , Perth and York as well as three other destroyers also reached the scene. Later still came Calcutta , Carlisle and Coventry together with another destroyer to. The fleet was now running north of the convoy, with the cruiser squadron as advanced cover. She stayed near the convoy for the whole of the following day and did not turn east again until after dark. The convoy reached Malta on the morning of March 23 and was immediately caught in an air raid, in which one of the freighters was badly damaged.
Operations MD 2 and MD 3 and convoy ME 7
These operations began on April 18 with the departure of the Mediterranean fleet with Barham , Valiant , Warspite , Formidable , Calcutta , Phoebe and eight destroyers from Alexandria. The fleet first ran to Souda to refuel and was followed by the Breconshire tanker, destined for Malta, twelve hours apart . Convoy ME 7 left Valletta's Grand Harbor on April 19 with four empty cargo ships, accompanied by four destroyers.
On the morning of April 20, Breconshire met with the main fleet and the newly joined Ajax , Gloucester , Orion and two destroyers. Around noon the eastbound and westbound convoy crossed, with ME 7 continuing to Alexandra with two cruisers and four destroyers and arriving there later without incident. The main fleet with Breconshire released this and a destroyer at dusk and bombed Tripoli in the early morning of April 21st. Except for a few reconnaissance planes in contact, no enemies were seen.
Breconshire returned to Alexandria on April 28th (after its rapid discharge) accompanied by the cruiser Dido , a mine-layer and four destroyers.
Convoys MW 7A and MW 7 B and Operation Tiger
The convoy MW 7A consisting of four fast cargo ships (14 knots ), escorted by Calcutta , Dido , Phoebe and four destroyers, as well as the slower moving (10 knots) convoy MW 7B with two tankers, accompanied by Carlisle , Coventry , three destroyers, one Corvette and a mine clearer, left the port of Alexandria on May 6th and 5th respectively and were both expected to arrive in Malta on May 10th. Remote security was provided by the Mediterranean fleet with Barham , Valiant , Warspite , Formidable , Ajax , Orion , Perth and twelve destroyers. The fast mine- layer Abdiel and the Breconshire also drove with the fleet . This group left Alexandria on May 6th. Shortly before noon on May 7, the cruiser Ajax and the destroyers Havock , Hotspur and Imperial left the main fleet to conduct a diversionary attack on Benghazi . The ships returned to the fleet on the evening of May 8th. The five anti-aircraft cruisers of the escorts Calcutta , Dido , Phoebe , Carlisle and Coventry were released on the morning of May 8 to meet the Tiger convoy.
This convoy with five cargo ships intended for the reinforcement of Alexandria had expired on May 6 with the Force H from Gibraltar. On May 8th, when entering the danger zone around Sicily, around noon the first shadowing reconnaissance planes showed up and around 1:45 p.m. the first wave of Italian torpedo bombers began, which could be repulsed without damage, as did other Italian attacks in the course of the afternoon. Around 20:15, Renown , Ark Royal , Sheffield and three destroyers turned off to begin the march back to Gibraltar. Around this time another Italian torpedo bomber attack began, which the ships were able to evade, but which resulted in a case of self-fire on board the Renown . Around midnight a mine exploded on the otter device (English paravane ) of the SS New Zealand Star , a short time later something similar happened to the reefer ship Empire Song , which had to turn off while burning and later sank after the ammunition supplies exploded . The majority of the crew had previously been taken on board by HMS Foresight . The Tiger convoy encountered the anti-aircraft cruisers detached from the Mediterranean fleet on the morning of May 9 and the main fleet in the afternoon. On his way to Alexandria, destroyers of the escort carried out another attack on Benghazi.
The overall operation (fleet code MD 4 ) can be considered a success despite the loss of the Empire Song . Among other things, well over 200 tanks and 64 hurricane fighters were transported to Alexandria, and that at a critical point in time when the Germans had just occupied the Greek mainland during the Balkan campaign .
Operation Substance (Convoys GM 1 and MG 1)
Operation Substance was the largest convoy operation with supplies for Malta since the beginning of the war. The convoy WS 9C , which expired on July 11th from the Clyde , comprised no less than six cargo ships and two troop carriers. He was led by the cruisers Arethusa and Manchester , five destroyers and the miner Manxman on his way to Gibraltar . The ships reached Gibraltar between July 17th and 19th.
The actual operation began on the night of July 21, when the naval oiler Brown Ranger sailed with a destroyer from Gibraltar, which was supposed to provide for the later refueling of the escort's destroyers. The convoy GM 1 formed from WS 9C passed the Strait of Gibraltar on the same night. The escort was the battleship Nelson , battle cruiser Renown , carrier Ark Royal , cruiser Edinburgh , Arethusa , Manchester and a total of 16 destroyers and a mine-layer. The destroyers were refueled on July 22nd by the Brown Ranger before it returned to Gibraltar.
The convoy MG 1A with seven unloaded ships cast off in Malta on July 23 and ran towards GM 1 . A ship had to turn around after being damaged when leaving.
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Enemy reconnaissance planes reported the sighting of Force H and GM 1 on July 23, and heavy air strikes developed from 10 a.m. The Manchester and the destroyer Fearless were torpedoed. Manchester was ordered back to Gibraltar with a destroyer, the Fearless had to be abandoned and sunk. Later that day, the Firedrake clearing mines in front of the convoy was hit by Italian SM.97 and had to be towed back to Gibraltar from Eridge , with Avon Vale as an additional escort.
In the evening hours of July 23, the convoy approached Sicily and largely escaped enemy reconnaissance. Only two torpedo boat attacks that damaged the Sydney Star were counted. The troops on board (500 men) were taken over by HMAS Nestor to be on the safe side.
On the morning of July 24, Arethusa , Edinburgh and Manxman departed from the convoy at high speed and reached Malta around noon, where the unloading of troops and supplies began. The main convoy arrived four hours later. The Force H cruisers returned to Gibraltar with six destroyers that evening. In the port of Malta, the ships of GM 1 were targeted on July 26th by the Italian Operazione Malta Due , an attack with small weapons of the Decima Flottiglia MAS , which failed disastrously.
The ships of the MG 1 going to Gibraltar , which had split into three groups, were all targeted by air strikes. They reached the safety of Gibraltar between July 26th and 28th, most recently the straggler quickly repaired in Malta.
The Mediterranean fleet came out of the ports on July 22nd and remained at sea in the eastern Mediterranean until the 24th. Their task was of a distracting nature - the opponents were to be led to believe that the Tiger operation was about to be repeated .
Operation Halberd (Convoys GM 2 and MG 2)
Operation Halberd of September 1941 was basically an enlarged new edition of Operation Substance from July. This time nine cargo ships were involved in convoy GM 2 in the direction of Malta, which were protected by Force H with the strong participation of the Home Fleet . Preparatory operations began on September 11th when the cruiser Edinburgh left Simonstown (South Africa) for Gibraltar. On September 17, the main convoy WS 11X cast off from the Clyde, which included, among other things, four ships destined for Freetown that were to take part in Operation Menace against the Vichy-French presence in Dakar . The convoy drove the new battleship Prince of Wales , cruisers Euryalus and Kenya and six destroyers, including a Dutch and a Polish.
From September 19, there was increased ship activity in Gibraltar, in part with the aim of confusing enemy reconnaissance. Convoy WS 11 , now GM 2 , crossed the strait in the early morning hours of September 25th. The close escort included the cruisers Edinburgh , Euryalus , Hermione , Kenya and Sheffield as well as nine destroyers. The Force H was at sea with the battleships Nelson , Prince of Wales and Rodney , the carrier Ark Royal and nine other destroyers. The convoy and Force H drove separately for the next two days after an initial rendezvous on the morning of September 25, only to reunite when they entered the most dangerous zone just outside Malta. This tactic proved successful, and it was not until September 27 that the Italian Regia Marina received the order to leave. At noon that day, Nelson was hit by an Italian torpedo plane and slowed down to 15 kn, but was able to stay with the convoy. A short time later, the presence of the Regia Marina was reported 75 nautical miles away. The Force H then turned to confront the Italians, but they withdrew. At around 7 p.m. the main fleet turned west to return to Gibraltar. In further air raids after dark, the Imperial Star was so badly damaged that the crew and 300 men reinforcements had to be picked up by the accompanying destroyers. The burning ship was self-sunk. That night Hermione launched a diversionary attack on Pantelleria Island , a little off the planned convoy route.
The arrival of the convoy on September 28 took place without any further loss and to great applause from the Maltese population. First four cruisers from the cover group arrived in the morning and began unloading. The cargo ships reached Grand Harbor in the afternoon.
Convoy MG 2 comprised three unloaded cargo ships, which left Malta on September 26 and 27 for Gibraltar. The more or less individually moving ships had to defend themselves against attacks by torpedo planes, submarines and motor torpedo boats, but all reached their destination unscathed. The main fleet of Force H reached Gibraltar on September 30th and October 1st, on the latter day the repatriation of the ships borrowed from the Home Fleet began.
October to December 1941, convoy ME 8
From the beginning of October to mid-December 1941 there was a temporary break in convoy activity to and from Malta. During this time, the Force K was initially formed from two cruisers and two destroyers, which severely disrupted the supplies of the Axis powers to North Africa from Malta. In November 1941, around 60% of the tonnage used by the Axis Powers was destroyed. Several club runs from Gibraltar to Malta also took place during this time. During one of these club runs , Ark Royal was torpedoed by the German submarine U 81 on November 13th and sank the following day, a heavy loss for the British and a great disadvantage for the supply of Malta.
The port of Malta was meanwhile largely occupied by the ships of the previous Gibraltar-Malta convoys and could hardly accommodate any more ships. Several attempts have been made to return the unloaded ships, often individually or in small groups. The vacated spaces should also be filled again by single drivers. Several of these ships had to stop their voyage and turn around due to damage from air strikes or were sunk while attempting.
The Breconshire , which had been waiting for a long time unloaded in Malta , was successfully escorted back to Alexandria on December 5th and immediately reloaded. On December 15, she returned to Malta in a heavily secured convoy operation, where there was now an acute shortage of fuel. She arrived there on the afternoon of December 18, and was covered by the Force K for the last part of the route.
Convoy ME 8 was the first larger convoy leading through the Eastern Mediterranean since May 1941. The cruiser Dido , which had meanwhile been repaired in the USA, was to be transferred to Alexandria, which offered the opportunity to escort some empty ships from Malta to the east. In the end, four cargo ships were selected to begin the voyage on December 26th. The escort was made up of Ajax , Dido and six destroyers. Carlisle and four destroyers came out from Alexandria to take over the escort for the second half of the voyage. The convoy was exposed to air strikes throughout December 28, but they did not cause any serious damage. On December 29th, the ships arrived in Alexandria and Port Said.
1942
Operation MF 2
With this convoy the landing ship HMS Glengyle should be escorted to Malta and at the same time the Breconshire should be brought back to Alexandria. On January 6, the cruisers Euryalus and Naiad and five destroyers left Alexandria to escort the Glengyle to Malta. On the same day, the Breconshire set sail from Malta, accompanied by four destroyers. In the early afternoon of the following day, both groups met and, after exchanging the two cargo ships and one destroyer each, returned to their bases without incidents.
Operation MF 3 (convoys MW 8A and MW 8B)
The escort of two convoys ( MW 8A and MW 8B ) to Malta, which left Alexandria at different times of the day on January 16, was combined under the code name MF 3 . Both convoys consisted of two cargo ships and four destroyers as escorts. The cruisers Dido , Naiad and Euryalus as well as three destroyers ran out as a cover group . The following day, Force K with Penelope and four destroyers left Malta to receive the freighters. The rendezvous was scheduled for January 18th.
On the night of January 18, the destroyer Gurkha (from MW 8B ) was torpedoed by the German submarine U 133 , caught fire and began to sink. The intervention of the Dutch Isaac Sweers enabled the recovery of a large number of survivors.
On the same night the freighter Thermopylae (from MW 8A ) accompanied by the cruiser Carlisle and two destroyers was released from the convoy after she had difficulty maintaining speed and was directed to Benghazi. At around 9:30 a.m. on January 19, however, she was badly hit in a bomb attack and set on fire. Of 385 crew and passengers, 261 were rescued by the escorting destroyer before the burning ship was sunk by the Arrow .
The rest of the two convoys rendezvoused with Force K in the early afternoon of January 18, handing over the cargo ships under protection. On the afternoon of the following day, all ships arrived in Malta unscathed, despite several air strikes en route that were repulsed by land-based aircraft from Malta and the Cyrenaica.
Operation MF 4
In Operation MF 4 , two freighters were escorted from Malta to Alexandria and the Breconshire in the opposite direction at the end of January . The westward running convoy, strongly secured by Carlisle , Dido , Naiad and Euryalus and eight destroyers , cast off from Alexandria on January 24th and met the oncoming ships at noon on the 26th, whose escort consisted of Penelope and five destroyers. Despite multiple air strikes on both groups, all ships reached their targets without damage.
Operation MF 5 (Convoys MW 9 and ME 10)
Convoy MW 9 , consisting of three cargo ships in two groups, was to be escorted to Malta in this operation in mid-February and in the opposite direction convoy ME 10 made up of four unloaded ships to Alexandria. Due to the events of the African campaign , when the British were retreating from western Cyrenaica and German aircraft gained local air superiority, as well as the extensive neutralization of British fighter pilots in Malta through continued bombing, this operation had less chance of success than the previous ones.
The two groups of MW 9 cast off in Alexandria on February 12, accompanied by four destroyers each. Of these, eight destroyers were seven newly commissioned destroyer escort the Hunt class . In the case of the group made up of two freighters, there was also the cruiser Carlisle . A formation of Dido , Naiad and Euryalus and eight destroyers acted as cover group, which sailed on the 13th. MW 9A and MW 9B were to unite at Tobruk and then continue their way to Malta overnight.
Shortly before the rendezvous on the evening of the 13th, MW 9A was attacked and one of the freighters suffered severe damage, which made it necessary to release it to Tobruk with two destroyers escort. The rest of the convoy was overtaken by the cover group on the 14th and experienced sporadic air strikes that day, until shortly before dark a single plane hit the ammunition-laden Clan Chattan and set it on fire. Much of the crew and passengers were rescued from the ship and out of the water before the ship sank.
In the meantime, the Force K with ME 10 had approached and after the replacement of the remaining freighters and some destroyers, the newly formed groups began to march on and back. The last remaining cargo ship from MW 9 was also hit in a new air raid and were towed by the Zulu , but had to be abandoned in the end. As a result, three destroyers were detached from Force K to catch up with ME 10 and return to Alexandria with this group.
ME 10 also experienced several air attacks on the way, but they did not cause any damage. This operation ended without one of the ships destined for Malta reaching its destination: the Campbell clan, released after Tobruk, was finally ordered back to Alexandria with an escort.
Operation MG 1 (convoy MW 10) and the Second Battle of Syrte
This operation, which was to bring another convoy from Alexandria to Malta, was the last for the time being planned under the supreme command of Admiral Cunningham , who subsequently left the theater of war to prepare for his role in Operation Torch .
On the morning of March 20, four cargo ships were dispatched to Malta ( Breconshire , Clan Campbell , Pampas and Talabot ), escorted by Carlisle and six destroyers. Cleopatra , Dido and Euryalus followed with four other destroyers later that day and were due to meet with the other group north of Tobruk on the 21st. Six Hunt-class destroyers escorted to the convoy from Tobruk, while Penelope and Legion joined the force from Malta on the morning of the 22nd.
At around 2:10 p.m. on March 22, Euryalus reported visual contact with the Italian fleet. In addition, the convoy got into a heavy air attack around this time, which was repulsed with the help of the anti-aircraft cruiser. At 4:30 p.m. the naval battle began in heavy seas and poor visibility (as a result of the smoke curtain laid by the British), while air raids by the Axis powers continued. The superior Italians, who among other things led the battleship Littorio into battle, were kept away from the convoy by the British with the help of billows of smoke and simulated and real torpedo attacks. As night fell, the battle was broken off by the Italians who had damaged some British ships. The cargo ships, however, remained unharmed and were able to continue the voyage to Malta, while the cover forces from Alexandria began the march back.
At around 9:15 a.m. the following day, Penelope and Talabot entered Grand Harbor, followed by Pampas . Breconshire was hit by a bomb a few nautical miles from the port entrance and stopped. An hour ago the Campbell clan was also hit and sank very quickly. The destroyer Legion stranded after a bomb hit at Marsaxlokk - it was sunk by another attack after being towed into port. The Breconshire was towed to Marsaxlokk and shared the fate of the Legion there . The destroyer escort Southwold was also sunk when he was protecting the broken-down Breconshire . Finally, the talabot and pampas were sunk in the port after only a fraction of the total cargo of around 26,000 tons had been brought ashore.
After this further serious setback for the supply of Malta, caused by the mean air superiority of the Axis powers, numerous attempts were made in the following months to bring the air defense of the island back to strength through club runs . However, the majority of the aircraft that took off were either destroyed by bombing on the ground or shot down on the way, which continued to make the situation precarious. Convoy operations have been postponed for over two months as being too dangerous. The British 10th submarine flotilla had to be withdrawn from Malta to Alexandria in April because there were no bomb-proof berths. The Force H had also assume a different role in May: She set the escort of the landing forces in the invasion of Madagascar ( Operation Ironclad ). On May 20, Admiral Henry Harwood took command of the Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria and received reinforcements from the Eastern Fleet in the following weeks , which should allow a resumption of convoy activity in June.
Operations Vigorous and Harpoon
These operations were designed to reduce losses among both by executing two large convoys from the western and eastern Mediterranean at the same time and ensuring that at least some of the ships reached Malta. However, for the sheer size of the operation and the escorts provided, the success was extremely modest and the losses were appalling.
Harpoon
In Harpoon , the convoy from the West, it was essentially a repeat of the previous surgery Halberd and Substance . Due to the increasing stresses caused by the course of the war and other ongoing operations, the escort forces for the WS 19Z convoy , which left the home waters from the Clyde on June 5, were much more modest this time. The five merchant ships were accompanied by the light cruisers Liverpool and Kenya and ten destroyers. After some complications, caused by the speed reduction of several of the freighters below the planned 14 knots, the convoy passed the Strait of Gibraltar on June 11th, where it was joined by a sixth cargo ship, the US tanker Kentucky , which Gibraltar was already on June 2 and had been armed there and provided with explosive charges for self-sinking. The oiler Brown Ranger followed, escorted by two corvettes, after dark to carry out an on-the-go refueling in the Mediterranean.
For the further route to Malta, the escort forces were organized as Force W , which consisted of the battleship Malaya , the carriers Argus and Eagle , the cruisers Charybdis , Kenya and Liverpool and eight destroyers. Another group, Force X , provided the close cover and comprised the anti-aircraft cruiser Cairo , nine destroyers, four deminers and six motorboats converted into deminers. The fast mine- layer Welshman , loaded with supplies, was attached to the convoy. The motorboats were originally intended to be towed by the freighters for the first part of the voyage in order to save fuel, but this was soon discarded due to unsuitable equipment and the difficulty of maintaining the planned speed of 13 knots. The nearby escort was refueled by the Brown Ranger on June 13th. The former then held their position in order to repeat the maneuver on the way back, which was not without danger, but went off lightly.
On the morning of June 14th, Italian air strikes by bombers and torpedo planes began, which put the cruiser Liverpool out of action and sank a freighter. The Liverpool was towed back towards Gibraltar by a destroyer, which was later relieved and returned to the convoy. (The tow with the cruiser reached Gibraltar in the late afternoon of June 17th.) On the evening of June 14th, the Welshman was detached from the convoy in order to advance alone to Malta at high speed. She was unloaded quickly and ran out again immediately to return to the freighters and to protect them.
In the early morning of June 15th, the Italian fleet was sighted from the Cairo . A smoke screen was laid for the convoy and torpedo attacks were launched on the enemy battle line. At about the same time (6:30 a.m.) further air strikes began, which sank another freighter and hit Kentucky , which was initially able to keep up. An hour later it was stopped by another air raid. The Italian cruisers and destroyers withdrew after several hours of fighting against the nearby escort around 9:30 a.m. The damaged Bedouin was towed by the Partridge , as was the Kentucky by the deminer Hebe . At the same time, British Beaufighters launched from Malta appeared and thwarted an attack by dive bombers at around 10:40 a.m. When the Beaufighters were replaced by Spitfires just under an hour later, a combined horizontal and dive bomber attack was taking place, which paralyzed another freighter. The commander of the Force X then decided to let this and the Kentucky self-sink to allow the convoy to cover the last 150 miles to Malta at the highest possible speed.
The Bedouin , still in tow , reported at this time that she would soon be able to run a machine again, and she and the Partridge were instructed to rejoin the convoy as soon as possible, which was slowly moving away at 14 knots. After the attempt at repair on the Bedouin had failed, the two ships turned around to set course for Gibraltar. When the two immobilized freighters were to be sunk by other ships in parallel, the Italian cruisers reappeared and concentrated their fire on the Bedouin . Both freighters and the battered destroyer were sunk by torpedoes in the following battle. Most of the Bedouin's crew was picked up by Italian destroyers.
The rest of the convoy reached the Straits of Sicily at nightfall. Unfortunately, due to the events of the day, the deminers had not been able to pursue their original plan to demine the access route to Malta. Mine clearance at night would have been too time-consuming. The Cairo and its destroyer umbrella shouldn't have entered the port, but were now forced to do so due to a lack of ammunition. Thus, all ships entered the port, with the motor boats leading them. A fifth of the original six freighters was hit by a mine just 400 meters from the breakwaters at the port entrance. The damage was limited to a coal bunker and the ship was able to dock. Three destroyers and one mine clearer suffered a mine hit from the warships, which sank the Polish Kujawiak .
The Cairo left on June 16 with an escort of four ships and returned to Gibraltar with the Force W. The cargo of the two cargo ships that had reached Malta was unloaded with the greatest effort and mobilized all available personnel within five days and safely stored in rock bunkers, a remarkable achievement. The Harpoon operation ended with the loss of four freighters, two destroyers and the serious damage to a cruiser, three other destroyers and a mine clearer. Upon receipt of the full report, the British Admiralty launched an investigation into Force W Commander , Vice-Admiral Alban Curteis , alleging that he had not parked his two cruisers in support of the Force X of Captain Cecil Campbell Hardy when they were under Shelling occurred. Curteis was however exonerated due to the circumstances.
Vigorous (convoy MW 11)
For Operation Vigorous, the escort of convoy MW 11 with eleven cargo ships, a sizeable escort was assembled under the command of Rear Admiral Philip Vian , the victor of Syrte. He had a total of eight cruisers (including an anti-aircraft cruiser), 26 destroyers and several smaller ships (including corvettes and deminers). Battleships or the all-important aircraft carriers were not available, however, so that Vian had to rely on the cannons of his ships and the help of land-based aircraft for air defense. However, only a few of the cruisers and destroyers were specialized for this task and due to the recent loss of the Cyrenaica , the British fighters from North Africa had to operate on the edge of their operational radius, and that was only possible for the first part of the route. As a solution to the embarrassment of the lack of battleships, a ruse was resorted to: the old, now disarmed battleship Centurion , used for targeting purposes , was added to the convoy to simulate at least a large warship.
The convoy was divided into three groups: MW 11A with five freighters ran from Haifa, MW 11B with two tankers from Alexandria and MW 11C with four freighters from Port Said. The latter was supposed to go ahead of the other two groups beginning on June 11th to simulate a supply trip for the Tobruk garrison and to lure the Italian fleet out of the ports. This plan did not work and the ships, escorted by the Coventry and eight destroyers, came under dive bomber fire on the evening of June 12, whereupon a damaged cargo ship had to be released to Tobruk. The rest of MW 11C joined the other two groups on June 13th. One of the cargo ships, unable to keep pace, was instructed to turn back for Alexandria. Heavy seas on June 14th led, among other things, to the capsizing of a motor torpedo boat and to the release of another freighter to Tobruk, which was later sunk by Stukas in front of the port entrance. Air strikes that afternoon sank another freighter.
The escort Vian had reliable news that he would face strong forces from the Regia Marina the next morning and knew that with a 14-hour brightness he had no chance of repeating his coup at Syrte or even withstanding it. He therefore decided to turn back after midnight on June 15th. In fact, the Italians had dispatched two of their newest battleships, the Littorio and the Vittorio Veneto , along with escort ships from Taranto. In a speedboat attack before daybreak, the destroyer Hasty was lost and the Newcastle was torpedoed. British aircraft counterattacks were at least successful in incapacitating the cruiser Trento , which later sank. However, the heavy bomb hits temporarily reported to Vian on the two battleships did not come true and after several changes of course in the morning and afternoon it was decided, despite reliable news, that the Italian fleet was on the march back, with six cargo ships remaining in the convoy and dwindling ammunition stocks Not accepting the risk of continuing the operation.
On the march back, after the loss of the Airedale , the cruiser Hermione was lost by U 205 and the damaged Nestor had to be abandoned before reaching Alexandria on the afternoon of June 16. This clear failure meant the end of convoy operations from the eastern Mediterranean until the victory over Rommel in Egypt in the Second Battle of El Alamein .
Operation pedestal
The worsening supply situation in Malta made the immediate planning of another large convoy operation necessary, this time exclusively from the west. Vice-Admiral Edward Neville Syfret , who returned from the invasion of Madagascar, was entrusted with this task. Pedestal was basically a rerun of Harpoon, with more supply ships and enlarged escort, and an eastern counterpart that only served as a diversion. Until the operation could begin in August, military supplies to the island were maintained by submarines and fast surface warships. The Home Fleet was thinned out considerably in favor of Pedestal , which was made easier by the temporary suspension of the Northern Sea convoys after the disaster of PQ 17 in July.
Admiral Syfret was given access to three aircraft carriers ( Victorious , Indomitable and Eagle ) as well as battleships Nelson and Rodney , seven cruisers (one of which was anti-aircraft) and two dozen destroyers for the operation. Of these, the cruisers Nigeria , Kenya and Manchester , the anti-aircraft cruiser Cairo and half of the destroyers were to provide the close escort (under Rear Admiral Harold Burrough ). Two fleet oilers were supposed to ensure fueling on the way. The Furious, with eight destroyers escorted, was supposed to run a club run in parallel . Eight submarines were provided for reconnaissance and shielding tasks and the task of clearing mines on the last section would fall to the units of the last convoy still in Malta.
WS 21S , consisting of 14 freighters (two of them American) and the tanker Ohio , was assembled in front of the mouth of the Clyde on August 3rd and escorted by Syfret's escort. The convoy passed the Strait of Gibraltar in the early morning of August 10th in thick fog. On the same day, the eastern diversion convoy departed from Port Said, escorted by Admiral Vian's cruisers and destroyers. This turned back the next day and Vian's warships undertook another diversion on the 13th with the bombing of Rhodes .
The Pedestal convoy was spotted by the enemy on the afternoon of August 10th and then shadowed more or less continuously. At 1:15 p.m. on August 11, the Eagle received a torpedo hit from U 73 and sank in a few minutes. Air strikes began in the evening of August 11 and intensified the following day, resulting in the loss of a freighter. In general, the British air defense was very effective these days. On the afternoon of the 12th, the spot was passed where the highest concentration of enemy submarines was; only the destroyer Foresight was lost by torpedo. Indomitable received three heavy bomb hits on the armored flight deck and was unable to land aircraft. Around 7 p.m. on the 12th, Admiral Syfret turned west with the main fleet and Admiral Burrough took the lead. A little later, Burrough's flagship Nigeria and the Cairo were torpedoed by the Italian submarine Axum , the former had to return to Gibraltar (after Burrough had switched to the Ashanti ) and the latter had to be abandoned. The Ohio was also hit, but stayed with the convoy. Later in the evening two freighters were lost in air raids and the Kenya also received a torpedo hit (from the Italian submarine Alagi ).
In the early morning of August 13, speedboats came to the train and also torpedoed the Manchester , which had to be abandoned at around 5 a.m., as well as five freighters (four of which sank). These heavy losses were also due to a temporary break in the order of the convoy. Shortly after sunrise, German planes attacked again and sank another freighter. More hits followed and when the convoy entered the port of Valletta at around 2:30 p.m., only three freighters were escorted. Of the stragglers, the badly damaged Ohio (whose captain was awarded the George Cross ) and a freighter made it to the safety of the port.
With only five of the originally 15 launched freighters arriving and heavy warship losses, this operation can only be assessed as a partial success, even if the defense capability of Malta began to increase again due to the landed supplies. The Ohio's over 30,000 tons of supplies and 15,000 tons of oil allowed the island's defenses to hold out until November.
Operation Stoneage (convoy MW 13)
Under the protection of Operation Torch (landings in northwest Africa from November 8th), the fast mine- layer Welshman called Malta from the west in November, while the sister ship Manxman with six guided destroyers cast off in Alexandria on November 11 with the same destination. Both ships reached Malta, unlike two false flag merchant ships that had recently been interned in Bizerta by the Vichy authorities . On November 13th, Tobruk fell into British hands. Thanks to the Allied successes in Cyrenaica, larger convoys from the eastern Mediterranean became an option again.
Operation Stoneage consisted of four cargo ships that left Suez on November 16 and ran with an escort of Euryalus and seven destroyers to Alexandria, where the destroyers were replaced by Hunt-class destroyers of the 5th Destroyer Flotilla . From the morning of November 18, the 15th Cruiser Squadron under Arthur Power formed remote security with the cruisers Arethusa , Cleopatra , Dido and Orion and seven destroyers. That day, air strikes began, with the Arethusa being torpedoed. She was towed back to Alexandria, where she arrived on the 21st. 155 men of the crew were killed in the actions.
Despite the attacks and the heavy seas, the rest of the convoy reached Malta in the early morning hours of November 20, with Euryalus and ten destroyers running with them into port. The cargo ships were unloaded in a short time until November 25th. This successful convoy and the simultaneous successes against the Axis powers in North Africa put an end to the time of the worst threat to Malta. The Force K was reorganized and stationed again on the island, as well as a naval squadron with Fairey Albacore and an MTB flotilla. This made Malta again an offensive base against the shipping traffic of the Axis powers in the Mediterranean.
Operation Portcullis (convoy MW 14)
With the capture of Benghazi (November 20) the supply of the advancing 8th Army was made much easier, and ships destined for Malta were also included in the following convoys from Alexandria to the Libyan port.
The first of these convoys, MW 14 , comprised four freighters and one tanker for Malta, which left Port Said and Benghazi on December 1st and 2nd. In the case of the four freighters, the escort originally consisted of five destroyers, to which the cruiser Orion and six other destroyers joined the following day . The tanker from Benghazi joined MW 14 on the afternoon of December 3 . On the same day, the mine- layer Welshman, loaded with supplies, also drove in the convoy, which in the evening drove on to Malta alone at his higher speed. On the way, the convoy received additional security from the cruisers Cleopatra , Dido and Euryalus as well as three destroyers. He reached his destination on December 5th without losses.
This successful operation became the model for a large number of follow-up operations that continued until the reopening of the Mediterranean in the summer of 1943 and in which convoys to Tripoli or other Libyan ports were also used to supply Malta.
Operation Quadrangle (convoys MW 15 to MW 18)
In Operation Quadrangle (A – D), which consists of four sub-convoys, some ships ran with the usual westward convoys and were received by Force K ships south of Malta and escorted the last part of the way. There were no losses. MW 15 cast off from Port Said on December 6th and met Force K on December 10th. The two freighters entered the port on the evening of the same day. MW 16 with three freighters hit Force K on December 13th and entered Grand Harbor early in the morning on the following day. MW 17 cast off from Port Said on December 12, but was held up in Alexandria for several days. He arrived in Malta on December 21st.
While MW 17 was still on the move, Admiral Harwood noted in his war diary that the supply situation for Malta had now improved significantly. The eastern supply route was now so safe that ships waiting in Gibraltar and destined for Malta could be redirected for other purposes.
The last convoy of the series, MW 18 , left Alexandria on December 28 and was ordered to Benghazi on the 30th because of reports of enemy naval movements. He left there that evening and reached Malta the following day.
Convoys departing from Malta in December 1942
Since the port facilities of Malta were not in good condition due to the years of bombardment and the presence of many shipwrecks, the rapid unloading and repatriation of the arriving ships enjoyed the highest priority. On December 7, nine unloaded ships from operations Pedestal and Stoneage were put together to form convoy ME 11 . The convoy with an escort from Orion and eleven destroyers met the oncoming convoy MW 16 and some of these ships returned the freighters from this convoy intended for Malta. ME 11 arrived in Alexandria on the morning of December 11th.
ME 12 , consisting of four freighters, began its voyage on December 17 and met MW 17 on the way . The convoy reached Port Said on the evening of December 20th.
ME 14 with four freighters cast off on December 28, escorted by Euryalus and four destroyers. On December 30th he came under a torpedo attack by a submarine, but this was without consequences. The convoy reached Port Said on January 1, 1943.
Losses and consequences
All in all, between June 1940 and December 1942 there were over 30 larger convoy operations with the starting point or destination Malta. In doing so, around 30 were lost on 110 journeys by merchant ships (three of them in port and two through internment). Around 200 members of the merchant navy were killed. The losses of warships were even more worrying: a battleship, two aircraft carriers, four cruisers, a fast mine-layer, 20 destroyers and mine ships and 40 submarines were lost with the loss of about 2,200 seamen. Many other ships were damaged.
After breaking through the “great siege”, Malta became an important base for the follow-up operations against Italy. Among other things, the headquarters of the Mediterranean Allied Air Forces was stationed here from the end of 1943 , previously the British Air Headquarters Malta .
See also
Movies
- Convoy To Malta , documentary, 1951.
literature
- M. Llewellyn-Jones: The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys: A Naval Staff History. The Whitehall History Publishing Consortium in association with Routledge, Abingdon 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-86459-6 .
- SW Roskill: The War at Sea 1939-1945, Volume I: The Defensive. ( History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series , Ed .: JRM Butler), HMSO, London 1954 ( online ).
- SW Roskill: The War at Sea 1939-1945, Volume II: The Period of Balance. ( History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series , Ed .: JRM Butler), HMSO, London 1958 ( online ).
- DA Thomas: Malta Convoys Pen & Sword, Barnsley 1999, ISBN 978-0-85052-663-9 .
- Richard Woodman : Malta Convoys 1940–1943. John Murray, London 2003, ISBN 978-0-7195-6408-6 .
Web links
- Arnold Hague: The Supply of Malta 1940–1942 on naval-history.net
- Mediterranean Convoy Operations , Supplement to the London Gazette , 1948.
Individual evidence
- ^ SW Roskill: War at Sea 1939-1945, Volume II: The Period of Balance. ( History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series , edited by JRM Butler). HMSO, London 1958, p. 57 f.
- ^ SW Roskill: War at Sea 1939-1945, Volume II: The Period of Balance. ( History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series , edited by JRM Butler). HMSO, London 1958, p. 63 .
- ^ SW Roskill: War at Sea 1939-1945, Volume II: The Period of Balance. ( History of the Second World War. United Kingdom Military Series , edited by JRM Butler). HMSO, London 1958, p. 67 .
- ^ DA Thomas: Malta Convoys. Pen & Sword, Barnsley 1999, ISBN 978-0-85052-663-9 , pp. 470 f.