The Axis Powers try to take Malta in Operation Pedestal | Second World War
(August 12, 2022) This week, 80 years ago, a British convoy was passing east through the Mediterranean to liberate the beleaguered Island of Malta. Malta, today an independent republic, is located 50 miles south of Sicily and 207 miles north of Libya in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.
Gibraltar is 1,091 miles to the west and Alexandria, Egypt is 937 miles to the east. Today Malta has a population of 368,250. Its position on the supply routes from the Kingdom of Italy to its Libyan colony made it extremely important during the war.
In May 1941, the German “Desert Fox”, Erwin Rommel, warned that “Without Malta, the Axis will end up losing control of North Africa.” For two years, the Luftwaffe and the Regia Areonautica fortified the island, launching 3,000 bombing raids in an effort to neutralize it.
When it was neutralized, the Axis forces in North Africa received 80 percent of the supplies sent to them. When it was not neutralized, the Axis forces received 20 percent. Meanwhile, not only the Luftwaffe and the Regia Areonautica were reinforcing Malta, but they and the U-boats of the Kriegsmarine and the Regia Marina were intercepting Allied supply convoys to Malta.
Until the time of Operation Pedestal, Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park was in command of the air defenses of Malta. He assumed those responsibilities around the same time that one of his former adversaries during the “Battle of Britain” – Luftwaffe Field Marshal “Smiling” Albert Kesselring – was assuming his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief of – South. Keith Park was instrumental in saving England during the “Battle of Britain.”
With the launch of Operation Barbarossa, most German resources were transferred to the Eastern Front, leaving the siege of Malta to the Italians. Finally, in January 1942, the Luftwaffe transferred the II Fliegerkorps, under the command of Bruno Loerzer, to the Mediterranean Theatre. By the summer, Malta was starting to starve. The soldiers’ rations had been reduced from 4,000 to 2,000 calories a day. Of course, for the citizens of Leningrad, this would be a holiday!
The Operation Pedestal convoy began assembling at Gibraltar on 31 July 1942. From the Royal Navy’s home base, Scapa Flow, Scotland came the battleships Rodney and Nelson, the carriers of the aircraft Victorious and Argus and the light cruiser Sirius. The Indomitable carrier and light cruiser Phoebe came from Freetown in West Africa (now Sierra Leone). In Gibraltar, they were joined by aircraft carrier Eagle and light cruiser Charybdis. A few days later, cruisers Nigeria and Kenya joined the group from the Clyde River, in England.
In total, four aircraft carriers, two battleships, seven light cruisers and 32 destroyers set sail on August 9, 1942 to escort 14 merchant ships through the Axis Gauntlet for the liberation of Malta. Vice Admiral Edward Neville Syfret was in command.
On August 11, 1942, the aircraft carrier Eagle was sunk by U-73, captained by Helmut Rosenbaum, who was awarded the Knight’s Cross the following day. That day there were several attacks by the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica without significant damage.
The aircraft carrier Furious launched 37 Spitfires, which then flew the remaining 600 miles to Malta. The Furious then returned to Gibraltar. On her way, one of her destroyers, Wolverine, collided and sank the Italian sub, Dagabur.
The next day, heavy Axis air and submarine attacks sank two merchant ships and the destroyer Foresight, and heavily damaged the Indomitable. The Italian sub Axum, with four torpedoes, damaged the cruisers Nigeria and Cairo and the SS Ohio, while the destroyer Ithuriel rammed and sank the Italian sub Cobalto. The Cairo later sank. The freighter Clan Ferguson was the victim of an airstrike.
On 13 August, the convoy was subjected to attacks by Italian E-boats and further air attacks, losing six other merchant vessels and the light cruiser Manchester.
Three days later, the tanker Ohio, owned by the Texas Oil Company, on loan to the British Ministry of War Transport, and commanded by Captain Dudley Mason, arrived under tow, and after loading the 10,000 tons his fuel, sank. But that was enough. Along with the Spitfires, future convoys could now be protected during unloading, and there was a viable threat to Axis convoys and the island would not starve. Captain Mason was awarded the George Cross on September 8, 1942, at the Palace of Saint James, for “… skill and courage…” in piloting the ship to Malta.
In addition to the two Italian submarines that were sunk, the Regia Marina lost the cruisers Bolzano and Muzio Attendolo for the rest of the war.
Although, as an operation, Pedestal was a failure due to the losses — 500 sailors and airmen, nine merchantmen, an aircraft carrier, one destroyer, two light cruisers, 34 aircraft — it succeeded in its purpose of keeping Malta in the war. , and fatally undermine the Axis effort in North Africa.
In a letter from King George VI (father of Queen Elizabeth II) dated April 15, 1942, the king awarded the George Cross, “…to the Fortress of the Island of Malta to give testimonies of heroism and devotion that will remain famous for a long time in history.”
Next week: Dieppe
Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those charged with criminal and traffic offenses, and those who have suffered personal injury through no fault of their own. He can be contacted at: [email protected].