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Second World War

Malta played an important role in World War II. It was the "key to the Mediterranean" and had to be held, whatever the cost, as Churchill insisted. On June 10, 1940 Mussolini declared war and at about 7 pm the next morning, the first bombs fell on Valletta and the Grand Harbour area.

To face the enemy aircraft Malta had only three aged Gladiator biplanes, apparently left behind accidentally at the Royal Air Force Base by the carrier "Glorius." They had become known as "Faith," "Hope" and "Charity" and on that day one was lost. Legend has it that the missing plane was "Charity" because "Malta never lost Hope or Faith in the final victory."

In the middle of 1942, the war was going badly for the Allies. During the first six months U-Boats sank 3,250,000 tons of shipping in the Atlantic. General Rommel rolled through Northern Africa, threatening the Suez Canal, but stopped 35 miles short of Alexandria (Egypt) because of a shortage of supplies. The German war-machine reached Stalingrad, with plans to head through the Caucasus for the Middle East oil fields. The Allies had Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt. Malta's strategic airfield was the key to holding the Mediterranean, but food and oil had to get through past German and Italian bombers. The 250,000 Maltese and 20,000 British defenders were dependent on imported food and oil.

The Santa Maria Convoy

After many unsuccessful attempts to supply Malta with the urgently needed goods, the Allies started Operation Pedestal in August 1942. This Operation was the final effort to transport supplies to Malta before the island was forced to surrender. A convoy of 14 merchant ships, 33 destroyers, two battleships, four aircraft carriers and seven cruisers started on August 10, heading towards Malta.

Five days later, the heavily damaged SS Ohio, an American tanker, arrived at Grand Harbour, welcomed by a cheering crowd. Only five of the 14 merchant ships finally reached their destination. The convoy is known as "Il-Konvoj ta Santa Marija" because it arrived on St. Mary's feast day.

Jan Bottenberg