Supermarine Spitfire Vbs were ferried
by the carrier HMS Eagle to within
flying distance of Malta. At last, the
defenders had a machine with a speed
to match the Bf 109 and the firepower
necessary to destroy the Ju 88.
Sgt J R ‘Jock’ Sutherland was by then
the duty diarist, he noted that the
Spitfires “...arrived in the afternoon
in two groups and were escorted in
by the Hurricanes. What irony! They
were a beautiful sight to watch and
many people felt it was definitely
an occasion for a party. They will
be flown by 249 [Squadron] from
Takali.”
In early May, 185 began a handover
of its Hurricanes to 229 Squadron.
On the 7th, two Spitfires arrived at
Hal Far, so 185’s pilots could become
acquainted with the fighter.
Australian Sgt J W ‘Slim’ Yarramade a diary entry on May 9: “The
balloon went up with a vengeance
this morning when 11 Spitfire Vcs
arrived on Hal Far. The ’109s kindly
co-operated, gratis, and initiated the
‘new types’ who arrived in the ‘Spits’ to
the charming, if not popular, parlour
game known as ‘109s in the circuit’.
“However, as the ground guns
put up a very good crossfire, all the
Spitfires, except two, landed in one
piece. The two had to be written off,
leaving us with nine.
“The aircraft were put in their
respective pens and soon six were at
readiness, owing to the magnificent
work of the crews, some of whom had
only seen a Spitfire once before. At
2 o’clock, the first scramble took place
and a section of four took off, led by
Flt Lt Lloyd.
“The boys got in amongst theThe first such operation involved
185 Squadron and took place on
September 28 when six Hurricane
fighter-bombers escorted another
six attacking Comiso, in Sicily. One
Hurricane was lost 10 miles north
of the neighbouring island of Gozo;
the pilot was rescued. There were two
more sorties that day, both successful.
With the onset of winter, the
Luftwaffe began to transfer aircraft
from the Eastern Front south to Sicily.
Malta’s air war was about to resume in
earnest.
German raids began on a relatively
small scale, increasing in intensity
towards the end of December, with
daylight bomber sorties heavilyescorted by Bf 109Fs.
Thompson’s entry for December 23
reads: “One scramble for ‘A’ Flight in
the morning and one for ‘B’ Flight in
the afternoon. On both occasions a
few Ju 88s came over, heavily escorted
by Me 109Fs. The Luftwaffe seems
to have completely taken over this
theatre of war, the Regia Aeronautica
[Italian Air Force] taking a back seat.
“The ‘Takalites’ [units based at
Takali, Malta] have recently suffered
heavy losses at the Luftwaffe’s hands.
“The predominant feature of
every raid is the heavy fighter escort,
comprised of Me 109Fs. These have
had, in every case so far, the advantage
of height and, consequently, speed.”
On the 29th, four of Malta’s fighter
pilots were lost and Luqa airfield was
attacked with devastating results.
Thompson summarised: “Altogether
a very good day for the Germans
who destroyed 16 Wellingtons and
destroyed or badly damaged nine
Hurricanes for the loss of two ’109s.”’109S IN THE CIRCUIT
In order to survive, the island
continued to be re-supplied by
sea, but there remained an urgent
requirement for additional fighters.
On March 7, 1942, 15 tropicalised1918 2018
The squadron’s wartime ‘line books’ are preserved at the National Archives. They
provide a unique account about life in Malta’s longest-serving fi ghter unit.
In all, there were 19 diarists. Of the 13 who could be identifi ed, four did not survive the
war: Wg Cdr Hugh W Eliot DSO DFC was killed on March 4, 1945 and is buried at Argenta
Gap War Cemetery. Plt Off Gordon R Tweedale DFM was shot down over Malta on May 9,- Flt Lt John W Yarra DFM was reported missing off the Dutch coast on December 10,
- Flt Lt Frank T Holliman disappeared during an offensive sortie with 185 Squadron
on April 23, 1945, two weeks before the end of the war in Europe.
THE ‘LINE BOOKS’ OF 185
escorted by Bf 109Fs.
Thompson’s entry for December 23Australian ‘Slim’ Yarra, one of the squadron’s diarists. He was killed in action on December 10, 1942.Above
Sgt H ‘Stanley’ Burton
took over the diary
after the departure of
‘Chubby’ Eliot.Right
The Offi cers’ Mess at
Hal Far after it was
bombed and in more
recent times.64 FLYPAST March 2018