Air Battle of Malta: Aircraft Losses and Crash Sites, 1940-1942

by Anthony Rogers

Overview

In the Second World War, Malta was besieged for nearly two and a half years, during which time a decisive air war was waged between Britain, Italy and Germany.This is part of that story, from the early days in June 1940, when only a few Gladiator biplanes were available to combat Italian bombers and fighters, to the intervention of the Luftwaffe and the tenuous defense by outclassed Hurricanes, culminating in the desperate months of fighting following the arrival on Malta of the Spitfire in March 1942.What became of the many aircraft destroyed over the Maltese Islands, and what was the fate of their pilots and crews?More than a thousand aircraft were lost. Many crashed into the Mediterranean; others came down on Malta and the neighboring island of Gozo. This book focuses on the latter some 200 British, Italian and German machines, and the fate of their pilots and crews. It reveals where those airplanes fell, thus providing a record that will continue to be valued by future generations.This comprehensive volume documents all known aircraft crash sites in and around the Maltese Islands and provides the circumstances of each loss are related in detail with accounts from both sides.In Germany especially there are many still unaware of the fate of family members who never returned after the Second World War. This book reveals what happened to some who even today are still officially listed as missing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781784381905
Publisher:	Greenhill Books/Lionel Leventhal, Limited
Publication date:	01/24/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	9 MB

About the Author

Anthony Rogers has written several books and has a particular interest in events that occurred in and around the Mediterranean during the Second World War.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgements ix

Introduction xi

1 June-August 1940 1

Italy joins Germany in the war against Britain and France - the Regia Aeronautica commences operations against Malta - Gladiators 'Faith', 'Hope' and 'Charity' - arrival of first Hurricanes

2 September-December 1940 5

Gladiators and Hurricanes against 2^a Squadra Aerea of the Regia Aeronautica

3 January-April 1941 9

Arrival of X. Fliegerkorps of the Luftwaffe - 'Illustrious Blitz' - Hurricanes outclassed by Messerschmitt Bf 109s of 7./J.G.26

4 May-December 1941 28

The Luftwaffe is redeployed - the Regia Aeronautica resumes offensive operations - the Luftwaffe returns with II. Fliegerkorps.

5 January-February 1942 47

Hurricanes and anti-aircraft guns against II. Fliegerkorps of the Luftwaffe

6 March-April 1942 60

Malta is reinforced with Spitfires - air war intensifies

7 May 1942 88

Spitfires replace Hurricanes in battle against Axis raiders

8 June-September 1942 115

Malta continues to hold out - Axis summer offensive - Operation 'Pedestal'

9 October 1942 143

Failure of the last Axis air offensive

10 November-December 1942 150

Axis operations against Malta are scaled down - Malta goes on the offensive

Appendices

I Aviation Losses 1940-42: Malta and Gozo 155

II Abbreviations 186

III Regia Aeronautica in the Air Battle of Malta 188

IV Luftwaffe in the Air Battle of Malta 189

V Comparative Ranks of the Royal Air Force, Regia Aeronautica and Luftwaffe 190

Notes 191

Bibliography 208

Index of Personnel 211

Index of Places 217

Editorial Reviews

"Rogers puts us in the seats of the doomed aircraft, together with the airmen who fought in them, allowing us to see through the eyes of those who witnessed with jubilation or shock at the destruction of aircrafts of their friends or foe. The relief at the escape and survival of its crews; and the sorrow at the demise of their fellow airmen, friends, countrymen or enemies in the sky… through Rogers’s words, we feel all this and more."

Times of Malta

"These stirring black and white images have shed light on the RAF air battle over Malta, a ferocious but often forgotten chapter of the Second World War. The stunning pictures show British Royal Air Force pilots proudly displaying Swastika-clad trophies from downed Luftwaffe planes on the island, a strategically situated outpost of the British Empire. Other shots show children playingamong the plane wreckage, pilots posing with their planes and surviving participants of the battle revisiting Malta - a British colony at the time - years later."

Maltese e-Newsletter

"A compelling and utterly fascinating account of one of the greatest air battles of the Second World War and the crash sites that exist today

author of The War in the West and The Battle of Br James Holland

Meticulously researched. Not only documents the location of all known air crashes — Allied and Axis — that occurred in and around the Maltese Islands during those years, but also tells the often fascinating story of each and every one. Malta’s strategic location in the Mediterranean was of vital importance to both sides, and the fighting that took place in its skies was brutal and frequent. This engagingly-written tome details the various crashes in chronological order, and includes in its appendices a table containing all the details of each crash, full endnote references and a properly compiled index, making it a valuable work of reference.

Issue 20 The Aviation Historian

"This book documents all known aircraft crashes that occurred in and around Malta and Gozo during 1940-42, describing in detail the circumstances of each loss and what became of the pilot or crew, including some who even today are officially listed as missing.The immediacy of eyewitness accounts from both sides provide a fascinating perspective of an epic battle - much of the material is previously unpublished, not least the narratives by those who were there. "

RECOLLECTIONS OF WWII

"This comprehensive volume documents all known aircraft crash sites in and around the Maltese Islands and provides the circumstances of each loss are related in detail with accounts from both sides. In Germany especially there are many still unaware of the fate of family members who never returned after the Second World War. This book reveals what happened to some who even today are still officially listed as 'missing'."

Desert Stories

"This book documents all known aircraft crashes that occurred in and around Malta and Gozo during 1940-42, describing in detail the circumstances of each loss and what became of the pilot or crew, including some who even today are officially listed as missing.The immediacy of eyewitness accounts from both sides provide a fascinating perspective of an epic battle - much of the material is previously unpublished, not least the narratives by those who were there. "

Recollections of WW2

"A compelling and utterly fascinating account of one of the greatest air battles of the Second World War and the crash sites that exist today

James Holland