The siege of Malta by the Axis Powers during World War II is replete with heroic episodes and action. Undoubtedly, one of them was the daring attack by the Italian Navy to penetrate the Maltese harbour defences on the morning of July 26, 1941, 80 years ago. The attempt failed, thanks to the state of preparation and efficiency of the Maltese defending gun-crews. The Battle of Valletta, as it is known, is the focal point of this month’s anniversary story.

Four days earlier, a supply convoy code-named ‘Substance’ had successfully managed to evade Axis attacks and entered the Maltese harbours to help the islands’ fighting strength and its victuals, delivering 65,000 tons of supplies in the process. The Italian Navy’s aim was to destroy these ships in much the same way as the attack carried out the previous March in Crete when the cruiser HMS York had been crippled at Suda Bay. A second possible objective was to damage, and perhaps paralyse, the submarine base at Manoel Island in Marsamxett Harbour from where underwater craft used to harry and destroy Axis shipping plying between Italy and North Africa.

The plan was to blow a gap in the steel net which hung across the viaduct connecting the breakwater to the shore at the mouth of Grand Harbour. The fast e-boats would then  be able to enter the harbour and fire their torpedoes at the vessels as they lay at anchor.

At sunset, on July 25, the Italian 10th Light Flotilla (La Decima Flottiglia MAS) left the port of Augusta, Sicily. It consisted of 15 craft, which included the despatch sloop Diana, two large motor torpedo-boats 451 and 452, two midget submarines, a midget submarine carrier, a flotilla leader and nine e-boats under the overall command of Capitano di Fregata Vittorio Moccagatta.

The two midget submarines, 22 feet long and 21 inches in diameter, carrying a two-man crew, were propelled by silent electric motors with a speed of two to three miles per hour, had a range of 10 miles, and included a detachable warhead carrying 660 pounds of explosives. Because of its penchant of breaking down at crucial times, it was nicknamed maiale (pig). One of its developers, Maggiore Teseo Tesei, was a member of the attacking force.

Unfortunately, although this very daring plan was well-prepared with several reconnaissance sorties having been carried out by aircraft, the Italians finally had to rely on outdated information. Moreover, an air-raid planned to start at the same time as the seaborne assault, was mistimed and misdirected.

At 4.44am, before daybreak, the attack began. Tesei and Alcide Pedretti directed their midget submarine in the direction of the viaduct but no one knows what happened to them. A second craft directed at the bridge failed to explode but the third hit the central pylon, blew up and set off the unexploded boat. However, the objective of blowing a hole in the protective steel net was not achieved because the explosion bought down the viaduct’s span next to the breakwater. It fell between the pylon, blocked the access to the habour and created a further defensive line.

The explosions alerted the defences and the craft were detected by radar. Searchlights immediately illuminated the sea approaches to Grand Harbour and picked out the speeding assault craft. The defending guns, mainly six-pounders at Fort St Elmo and Fort Ricasoli, roared into action with their accurate firing either destroying the boats or forcing their crews to abandon them. The members of the crew of the large torpedo-boat 452 were all killed by a lucky shot and the craft was later towed into Grand Harbour. The attack had lasted a total of just six minutes.

The attack had lasted a total of just six minutes

Italian aircraft, Macchi 200s, tried to protect the few surviving units, but British planes – Hurricanes – also flew in to finish them off. In the ensuing dogfights, three Italians were shot down for the loss of one British plane whose pilot baled out and was rescued, while the seacraft were disabled.

Seventeen officers and ratings lost their lives, and two of their corpses were never recovered. Three officers and 16 ratings survived the ill-fated assault and were taken prisoner. They were detained at Corradino Military Prison until the following August 2, when  they were embarked on HMS Manxman on their way to a prisoner-of-war camp on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

A memorial to the dead Italian heroes was eventually designed and erected by Tullio Marcon at Augusta, Sicily. It has a headstone representing a rudder and Fort St Elmo, a chain as the partly-destroyed viaduct and nine bent rods held together by a chain to denote the unity of the dead men and the nine recipients of the Medaglia d’Oro for valour. An inscription, translated from Italian, reads as follows: “From here, on July 25, 1941, the gallant men of X Flotilla MAS sailed towards Malta for the unlucky and glorious enterprise.” (Da qui il 25 Luglio 1941 alla volta di Malta i prodi della X FLTT MAS per l’impresa sfortunata e gloriosa salparono.)

Although the action took place during the early hours of the morning, a large crowd gathered on the bastions of Valletta and the seafront of Sliema to witness the proceedings. What they saw unfolding before their eyes was a display, not only of courage and daring, but also of skill and precision-firing which made short shrift of the attackers. The gunners hemmed in the e-boats into a area of about 200 square yards from which there was no escape.

Vice-Admiral Sir Wilbraham Randle Ford, Flag Officer Malta, wrote in his official report on the action, that “within two minutes… of our opening fire, the attack had been completely defeated and there was never any further risk that the defences of the harbour would be penetrated. The harbour defence of Malta, largely manned by Maltese, scored an outstanding success in this, their first action, and to them must go the entire credit of maintaining the security of the harbour.”

Malta was justifiably proud of her gunners.

Italian attack on Grand Harbour

July 26, 1941

Italian officers and ratings

Casualties

Carlo Bosio, sottotenente di Vascello

Aristide Carabelli, sottotenente

Raffaele Cimini

Luigi Costantini

Salvatore Curimano

Bruno Falcomatà, capitano medico

Federico Fucertola

Mario Giobbe, capitano di corvetta

Giorgio Maglich

Vittorio Moccagatta, capitano di fregata

Giovanni Battista Parodi

Alcide Pedretti, secondo capo palombaro

Teseo Tesei, Maggiore

Guido Vincon, sottocapo silurista

Leonildo Zocchi

Prisoners-of-war

Luigi Barla, sergente palumbaro

Otello Battini, silurista

Fiorenzo Capriotti

Carinello Catania

Renato Chiodo

Francescco Coassin

Francesco Costa, tenente di vascello

Alessandro Follieri

Roberto Frassetto, sottotenente di vascello

Giuseppe Jannoli

Vittorio Marchisio

Vincenzo Montanari

Mario Montinario

Tindaro Paratore

Enrico Pedrini

Giorgio Sciolette

Edoardo Stangl

Pietro Zaniboni, sotto Ufficiale Nocchiere 3a Classe

Ezio Zanelli

Joseph F. Grima, Retired casual history lecturer, Asst director of education