66 FLYPAST March 2018
1918 2018
six Hurricanes and four Spitfires were
considered amazing serviceability.”
By the end of May, developments in
the Western Desert and on the Eastern
Front again led to the departure of
most Sicily-based Luftwaffe units.
Operations were left primarily to the
Italians, the reduction of German
aircraft in Sicily providing a temporary
respite that enabled Malta to
strengthen and reorganise its defences.
Spitfire deliveries continued, as Yarra
noted on June 9: “Today we received
four more Spitfires to add to our
collection. This brings our strength up
to 20.”
In Libya on June 21, Tobruk
changed hands yet again, this time
falling to the Afrika Korps. Shortly
afterwards, 601 Squadron departed
Malta to join the hard-pressed RAF
in North Africa. Meanwhile, II
Fliegerkorps was bolstered by Ju 88sand Bf 109s transferred from other
sectors and the Regia Aeronautica
began building up its forces in Sicily.
July opened with a renewed Axis
offensive that continued unabated for
two weeks. On the 14th, AVM Keith
Park took over as AOC from AVM
Hugh Lloyd. Soon after, the new
AOC issued an order for raids to be
intercepted en route to Malta to force
the bombers to jettison their loads
before they could cross the coast. The
tactic became standard procedure.TURNING THE TIDE
On August 24, 1942, ‘A’ Flight of 185
Squadron carried out an offensive
sweep over Sicily – the first by Malta-
based Spitfires. Three days later, Plt
Off P A J O’Brien recorded: “This
was a great day! ‘A’ Flight took part
in a wing sweep on three Sicilian
’dromes. Comiso was our target.building on the corner of Saviour
Street in the village, damaged by the
Spitfire in the final moment of its
terminal dive, remains as a poignant
reminder of the deaths of both men.NEW TACTICS
Mid-May 1942 can be considered
a turning point in the air battle.
With sufficient Spitfires to hand,
there was no longer a requirement
for Malta’s Hurricanes. On the 27th,
Yarra wrote that: “229 Squadron
went back to the Middle East today
taking with them the last of the
Hurricanes. We were not sorry to see
the Hurricanes go. Now that the boys
are back flying Spitfires again they
don’t want anything more to do with
Hurricanes.”
Three days later: “Today we have
70 Spitfires serviceable on the island.
Quite a difference from the days when“The scarred wall of a building on the corner of Saviour Street in the
village, damaged by the Spitfi re in the fi nal moment of its terminal
dive, remains as a poignant reminder of the deaths of both men”
Above
Plt Off Gordon R
Tweedale, squadron
diarist, was shot down
and killed at Saviour
Street in Lija. The
scratched stonework,
still visible today,
shows where the
Spitfi re impacted.