Reading Charles Lamb's War in a Stringbag at the moment and really not liking having to put it down because of stuff that gets in the way...like work. Anyhoo, have just got through the Swordfish ops out of Malta and the attack on Illustrious and her subsequent "fighting" repair in Malta. It got me thinking that I don't have any memoirs, other than this one, that feature flying ops out of Malta. I know I've seen some but can't remember their titles (otherwise, look out Amazon). Anyone care to contribute to a Maltese air ops bibliography thread?! :indexCA7C9VES: Only one I can remember: Torpedo Leader - Patrick Gibbs: Beauforts on anti-shipping strikes Cheers Andy
Hi Andy, I found "NIGHT STRIKE FROM MALTA" by Kenneth Poolman to be a very good read. It tell the story of 830 Sqadrons operations agains Axis supply Convoys to North Africa.
Just a couple.... Spitfires Over Malta. (The Epic Air Battles Of 1942) By Brian Cull. Hurricanes Over Malta June 1940 - April 1942. By James Pickering AFC.
The Air Battle for Malta by Lord James Douglas hamilton Malta - the Thorn in Rommel's side by Laddie Lucas
I would also recommend "Fortress Malta" (can't remember the author). It doesn't focus only on the air operations but it is still the best book I have read about the war in Malta.
Thanks guys. I wonder if there's any by the pilots who flew the Gladiators Faith, Hope and Charity? Will let you know if I find anymore. Cheers Andy
What about the other one? From Great Aviation Myths. "Malta was defended by three Gladiators named Faith, Hope and Charity." - Actually four Sea Gladiators (named Faith, Hope, Charity and Desperation), of 261 Squadron RAF, were involved in the early air-defence of Malta. Later supplemented by a few Hurricanes. The basis of much exaggeration.
Thanks guys. I wonder if there's any by the pilots who flew the Gladiators Faith, Hope and Charity? Will let you know if I find anymore. Cheers Andy there is the book called faith, hope and charity.
What about the other one? From Great Aviation Myths. "Malta was defended by three Gladiators named Faith, Hope and Charity." - Actually four Sea Gladiators (named Faith, Hope, Charity and Desperation), of 261 Squadron RAF, were involved in the early air-defence of Malta. Later supplemented by a few Hurricanes. The basis of much exaggeration. Well, you learn something new every day! Why are the three more widely known or have I missed something while I was living in the bush all those years?! Cheers Andy
Andy, been sent this by an anonymous benefactor, (they call him... the Flash!!): "there were at least 7, with 8 held in reserve. The names Hope, Faith & Charity actually comes from the natives, who always saw the aircraft take off in 3 plane sections." He also sent this remarkably detailed Day by day account of the Gladiators role on Malta: http://surfcity.kund.dalnet.se/malta.htm As I'm rubbish on planes I can't back up the above statement but they are very much this gents interest.... "Who was that masked man??" Cheers, Adam.
Well, you learn something new every day! Why are the three more widely known or have I missed something while I was living in the bush all those years?! Cheers Andy The fourth one was scavenged for spares to keep the other three flying from what I have read.
From the above quoted website: It will be seen therefore, that at least six Gladiators, not only the three famous Faith, Hope and Charity, aided in the defence of Malta. Group Captain George Burges offers an explanation for the legend of the ‘immortal trio’: "people refer to the story of ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’. Reference to Admiralty records proves that there were quite a few other Gladiators on the island when hostilities with Italy started. We were certainly given four aircraft to set up the Hal Far Flight, and there were certainly some others at Kalafrana in crates and from time to time aircraft with other ‘rudder numbers’ appeared to replace casualties. Whether these other aircraft had been completed in their crates I do not know. An enormous amount of improvisation had to go on to keep aircraft operational and a ‘new’ fuselage would have ‘second-hand’ wings or engine. As the ‘rudder number’ was on the fuselage this would seem to be yet another new aircraft.” “Thus it was only during our training period, before the war started for us, and for only about the first week or ten days of the war period that the population ever saw three Gladiators in the air together – from then on it was two and sometimes only one. During this period none of us ever heard the aircraft referred to as ‘Faith, Hope and Charity’ and I do not know who first used the description. Nevertheless, the sentiment was appropriate because the civil population certainly prayed for us and displayed such photographs as they could get hold of. There is no doubt that the Gladiators did not ‘wreak death and destruction’ to many of the enemy, but equally they had a very profound effect on the morale of everybody in the island, and most likely stopped the Italians just using the island as a practice bombing range whenever they felt like it.” All this means that the Fighter Flight not was a last minute panic organisation, but had been in existence and equipped for nearly three months before the outbreak of hostilities.
Very comprehensive report thanks Adam. Just read a bit in "War in a Stringbag" about the Sea Glads being found in Malta in crates with "HMS Glorious" painted on the crates long after she had left the Med. Correlates with some of what is mentioned in the link. Some good investigative work to track down the Glads. Cheers Andy
Found this one via the RCAF Museum online gift shop: Amazon.com: Malta Spitfire: The Diary of a Fighter Pilot (Greenhill Military Paperbacks): Books: George Beurling and Malta: The Sptifire Year 1942 when I went to Amazon to find Malta Spitfire! Amazon.com: Malta: The Spitfire Year 1942: Books: Christopher Shores and Spitfires over Sicily Amazon.com: SPITFIRES OVER SICILY: The Crucial Role of the Malta Spitfires in the Battle of Sicily, January - August 1943 (Hurricanes Over Tobruk) (Hurricanes Over Tobruk): Books: Brian Cull and another memoir: Amazon.com: AIR BATTLE FOR MALTA, THE: The Diaries of a Spitfire Pilot: Books: James Douglas
and another! Amazon.com: Hell Island: Canadian Pilots and the 1942 Air Battle for Malta: Books: Dan McCaffery
Nice website for their Aviation museum, with some comprehensive stuff on recovery/restoration: Malta Aviation Museum
On the link previously mentioned (Malta Aviation Museum) look for the book about Wing Commander Adrian Warburton who flew recon missions from Malta and got the aerial shots (appropriately) for the Taranto raid carried out by the Stringbags. They did a great documentary not so long ago where they found his missing plane in Germany, buried him with full military honours and gave a personal momento from the crash to his widow (aged 91). To save buying a book, here is a link with a bit about the guy Wg Cdr Adrian Warburton found in Germany. RIP [Archive] - PPRuNe Forums
