The defenders return (1)

Sixty years ago, in September, World War II ended. The siege of Malta was lifted three years previously and peace returned to our islands.

To commemorate this event, over 700 veterans of the war will be coming over to Malta to celebrate the occasion with their Maltese friends.

One of the main highlights of the celebrations will be the flight, from Britain to Malta, of a Spitfire and a Hurricane aircraft. This will be the first time that either one of these aircraft has flown over Malta since 1952.

What was the siege of Malta? What was so special about it? Why was it acclaimed the world over and the island awarded the George Cross, the highest award for civilian bravery?

I will give you a few facts and figures that should refresh our memory.

In two months in 1942 - March and April - more bombs were dropped on Malta (an island a fraction of the size of London) than were dropped during the entire blitz of London.

A total of 6,728 tons of bombs were dropped on Malta in April 1942 (36 times the size of the bombing of Coventry). In comparison, the number of tons dropped in Dresden in Germany was 1,700.

A total of 296 tons of bombs were dropped on Ta' Qali airfield in 24 hours on March 20-21, 1942, making it the most bombed Allied airfield ever.

In April of that same year, 3,156 tons of bombs were dropped on harbour areas in Malta.

A total of 3,340 air raid alerts were sounded in Malta during the siege; 170 enemy aircraft flew over the island every day between December 1941 and April 1942 and 30,027 Maltese buildings were destroyed or damaged during the siege.

There were eight serviceable Spitfires on Malta on April 1, 1942 and 19 serviceable Hurricanes.

The number of serviceable aircraft on April 14, 1942 was zero!

Then, on April 20, 1942, 47 Spitfires arrived in Malta.

During the siege, 454 enemy aircraft were destroyed or damaged by Malta's anti-aircraft gunners; 102 enemy aircraft were confirmed shot down by Malta's anti-aircraft gunners during April 1942 and 350 enemy aircraft were destroyed or damaged during October 1942. Of these 82 were between in the period October 10-14.

A total of 174 RAF fighter pilots were killed in action over Malta between June 1942 and November 1942.

The Royal Navy submarines and the RAF and Fleet Air Arm operating out of Malta were wreaking havoc on Axis shipping carrying supplies and reinforcements to the German and Italian forces in North Africa.

The German High Command decided it could no longer tolerate this situation and decided to get rid of the problem and invade Malta.

If the German forces were to succeed in North Africa they had to be supplied. If they succeeded they would go on to the Middle East oilfields. Malta would have to fall!

There were 154 days of continuous bombing raids on Malta.

Fighter aircraft were vital for the defence of our islands. It was so difficult to get them here and there were so few. In the battle of Malta, fighter pilots would fly up to five sorties a day initially in obsolescent aircraft against incredible odds.

After combat they would be bombed all night in the unrelenting assault on Malta.

They lived on rations that at one stage of the siege consisted of half a sardine, three boiled sweets and a blob of jam a day!

No fuel and no food. Malta was, at one stage, two weeks away from having to capitulate.

Operation Pedestal was to become the turning point in the survival of Malta. The arrival of four ships enabled the people to be fed and then the tanker Ohio brought much needed fuel for the aircraft.

In August and September the attacking forces suffered heavy losses over Malta from the re-supplied defending fighters. In October1942, they conceded defeat.

The siege had ended.

Now over 60 years later, two of the aircraft that made all this possible and saved Malta from invasion, are coming back.

And what are we, or should we, as a country, be doing about it? Tomorrow I will tell you.