Malta's air defence
Philippe Saliba, 13, of Kappara, an active member of the Malta Aviation Museum, shares his great interest the aerial defence of the Maltese islands in World War II
Malta was stripped of all its aircraft and war equipment as from the moment the war began. The only aircraft left was the Gloster Sea Gladiator, a biplane which was highly manoeuvrable, reliable and air worthy. There were only six planes of this type of fighter stationed in Malta but when Italy began its air raids over the islands only four were serviceable.
The gladiator's great advantage was that it proved exceptionally difficult to shoot down, owing to its sturdy structure and manoeuvrability. The biggest disadvantage was that it was hardly fast enough to catch the Italian bombers used over Malta in 1940.
On the first day of the Italian campaign over Malta one of the four was damaged beyond repair. But the other three continued to make a considerable nuisance of themselves and were nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity.
Of course our aircraft couldn't take on the 200 the Italians had in Sicily, but they forced the attackers to bomb from a greater height, thus losing accuracy. The only one of these planes left is Faith, which can now be seen in the war museum, in Valletta.
The Gladiators' sole responsibility to defend Malta only lasted for about 10 days because on June 21, 1940, they were joined by four Hurricanes passing through Luqa to the Middle East.
Malta had a very strategic position in the Medititerranean, especially for connections with the Middle East. So on August 2, 1940, HMS Argus brought 12 brand new Hurricanes to the island. These were advanced monoplane fighters. The eight-gun Hawker Hurricane Mk11A Z3055, being restored and exhibited in the aviation museum, took off from Safi strip just before daybreak on July 14, 1941. The aircraft crashed into the sea a short distance from the coast at Wied Iz-Zurrieq, probably due to engine fire, killing its pilot Sgt Thomas Hackston. The fighter was located by a diver, Davis Schembri, at a depth of 40 metres, in 1993.
The Supermarine Spitfire was the most advanced fighter on the allies' side at the time. On March 7, 1942, 15 were sent from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. From the instant the enemy learned about the arrival of these new fighters, it planned a massive attack. Forty-four Messerschmitt 109s were sent to destroy the Spitfires at the exact moment that they landed.
The Hurricanes defended the new consignment to the extent that all the new planes landed safely.
Subsequently other Spitfires were delivered and by May 1942 there were over 100 Spitfires out of a total of 200 planes stationed in Malta. The rest were Hurricanes and the three Sea Gladiators.
The Messerschmitt 109s had ought fought the Hurricanes but the Spitfires gave the Royal Air Force weapon superiority again.
With the landings in Sicily, in June 1943, Malta was virtually out of World War II. The island's war had been short but fiery. The aforementioned fighters had done a good job but this would not have been possible without the support and assistance of the Maltese. In fact on April 15, 1942, a simple message came from Buckingham Palace to the Governor of Malta: To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to the heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history. George R.I.
Today we can admire the Supermarine Spitfire MkIX EN199 at the Malta Aviation Museum. Thanks to the hard work of a number of volunteers, it was restored to every minimum detail.
The gladiator's great advantage was that it proved exceptionally difficult to shoot down, owing to its sturdy structure and manoeuvrability. The biggest disadvantage was that it was hardly fast enough to catch the Italian bombers used over Malta in 1940.
On the first day of the Italian campaign over Malta one of the four was damaged beyond repair. But the other three continued to make a considerable nuisance of themselves and were nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity.
Of course our aircraft couldn't take on the 200 the Italians had in Sicily, but they forced the attackers to bomb from a greater height, thus losing accuracy. The only one of these planes left is Faith, which can now be seen in the war museum, in Valletta.
The Gladiators' sole responsibility to defend Malta only lasted for about 10 days because on June 21, 1940, they were joined by four Hurricanes passing through Luqa to the Middle East.
Malta had a very strategic position in the Medititerranean, especially for connections with the Middle East. So on August 2, 1940, HMS Argus brought 12 brand new Hurricanes to the island. These were advanced monoplane fighters. The eight-gun Hawker Hurricane Mk11A Z3055, being restored and exhibited in the aviation museum, took off from Safi strip just before daybreak on July 14, 1941. The aircraft crashed into the sea a short distance from the coast at Wied Iz-Zurrieq, probably due to engine fire, killing its pilot Sgt Thomas Hackston. The fighter was located by a diver, Davis Schembri, at a depth of 40 metres, in 1993.
The Supermarine Spitfire was the most advanced fighter on the allies' side at the time. On March 7, 1942, 15 were sent from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle. From the instant the enemy learned about the arrival of these new fighters, it planned a massive attack. Forty-four Messerschmitt 109s were sent to destroy the Spitfires at the exact moment that they landed.
The Hurricanes defended the new consignment to the extent that all the new planes landed safely.
Subsequently other Spitfires were delivered and by May 1942 there were over 100 Spitfires out of a total of 200 planes stationed in Malta. The rest were Hurricanes and the three Sea Gladiators.
The Messerschmitt 109s had ought fought the Hurricanes but the Spitfires gave the Royal Air Force weapon superiority again.
With the landings in Sicily, in June 1943, Malta was virtually out of World War II. The island's war had been short but fiery. The aforementioned fighters had done a good job but this would not have been possible without the support and assistance of the Maltese. In fact on April 15, 1942, a simple message came from Buckingham Palace to the Governor of Malta: To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta to bear witness to the heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history. George R.I.
Today we can admire the Supermarine Spitfire MkIX EN199 at the Malta Aviation Museum. Thanks to the hard work of a number of volunteers, it was restored to every minimum detail.