Much has been written and published about Operation Pedestal – or the Santa Marija Convoy, as it is popularly known by the Maltese – and it is not the present author’s intention to repeat here the events that took place on those fateful days from August 10 to 15, 1942.

However, listing some relevant facts and figures will help put this historical event in a better perspective. The convoy was undoubtedly a massive operation, and so was the reason why it was launched: to prevent Malta from surrendering to the Axis Powers through lack of supplies.

Even by only taking into consideration the number of ships involved, the convoy was certainly a huge undertaking: no less than 88 sea craft, including 14 merchant vessels (including a tanker) and 74 naval warships – four aircraft carriers with 106 aircraft on board, two battleships, four cruisers, 34 destroyers, three fleet oilers, six corvettes, four minesweepers (from Malta), two tugs, seven motor launches and eight submarines.

The supplies that got through were enough to prolong Malta’s resistance for at least another month

Perhaps it is pertinent here to put on record that a set of 88 stamps on 11 colourful sheets – with each stamp commemorating a different ship – was issued by Maltapost in 2012 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Operation Pedestal. Each stamp was based on drawings by Cedric Galea Pirotta.

The aircraft-carrier HMS Eagle as drawn by Cedric Galea Pirotta for the 88-stamp set issued by Maltapost in 2012. This first casualty of Operation Pedestal was sunk on August 11, 1942 with the loss of 160 crew members. Courtesy: Maltapost

One has also to acknowledge the part played by Malta-based aircraft that flew a total of 414 sorties in defence of the convoy. Four Spitfires and a Beaufighter were lost but 14 enemy aircraft were shot down.

The whole object of the convoy was to get the merchant ships with their 85,000 tons of supplies on board to Malta’s Grand Harbour. In the end, only 32,000 tons made it through, but they were enough to enable Malta to continue its brave battle against the odds.

Throughout the siege, the great strain on the available supplies obliged the government to maintain a week-by-week watch on remaining stocks to calculate a secretly-held “surrender date”. When the four merchantmen and the tanker from Operation Pedestal arrived in Malta by August 15, that date was only about three weeks away, thus underlining the importance of this convoy getting through. The supplies that got through were enough to prolong Malta’s resistance for at least another month. The merchantmen and their travails, in alphabetical order, were as follows:

Almeria Lykes (8,000 gross tons) – Captain W. Henderson – owned by Lykes Brothers of New Orleans – torpedoed by an e-boat at 3.15am on August 13. The unruly American crew forced the captain to reluctantly abandon the ship even though it could have been saved – the ship was scuttled at daylight to prevent it from being taken by the enemy. No fatal losses were recorded and the crew was picked up by HMS Somali.

Brisbane Star’s damaged bow photographed after arriving in Grand Harbour on August 14, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Brisbane Star (13,000 gross tons) – Captain R. Riley – of the Blue Star line – torpedoed by T/B aircraft at c. 11pm at Skerki Bank. Although appreciably damaged at its bows, the ship reached Malta safely on August 14. There was one fatal casualty.

Clan Ferguson (7,347 gross tons) – Captain A. Cossar – of the Clan Line. It was bombed and blew up at 8.55pm on August 12, with 13 fatal casualties.

Deucalion (8,000 gross tons) – Captain R. Brown – of the Blue Funnel Line. On August 12 at 12.30am, it had a near miss by a bomb but proceeded independently, escorted by HMS Brabham. Later, at 21.20pm, it was torpedoed and set on fire and blew up at 11pm. The survivors were picked up by HMS Bramham. There was one fatal casualty.

Dorset (10,600 gross tons) – Captain J. Tuckett – owned by the Federal Steam Navigation Co. At 11am on August 13, it was dive-bombed and hit, starting a fire; its engine room flooded and ship was abandoned. It was again dive-bombed at about 6pm and hit again. It sank stern-first at 19.20pm. The survivors were picked up by HMS Bramham. There were no fatal casualties.

Empire Hope (12,688 gross tons) – Captain G. Williams – owned by Shaw, Saville and Albion. It was bombed on August 12 at 8.30pm, set on fire and abandoned. HMS Penn picked up the survivors and then torpedoed the stricken ship. There were no fatal casualties.

Glenorchy (9,000 gross tons) – Captain G. Leslie – of the Glen Line. According to the master of Brisbane Star, it was torpedoed probably by an e-boat and sunk at 4am on August 13. There were eight fatal casualties.

Melbourne Star made it to Grand Harbour relatively undamaged on August 13, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Melbourne Star (12,806 gross tons) – Captain D. MacFarlane – of the Blue Star Line. It reached Malta relatively undamaged on August 13, though there were five fatal casualties among its crew.

Port Chalmers (8,500 gross tons) – Captain H.G. Pinkney – of the Port Line. It reached Malta undamaged on August 13, suffering no casualties.

Port Chalmers arrived in Grand Harbour unscathed on August 13, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Rochester Castle (7,700 gross tons) – Captain R. Wren – of the Union Castle Line. It reached Malta relatively undamaged on August 13, suffering no fatal casualties.

Rochester Castle entered Malta’s Grand Harbour safely on August 13, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Santa Elisa (8,500 gross tons) – Captain T. Thomson – of the Grace Line, New York. It was torpedoed by an e-boat off the Tunisian coast at 5am on August 13, set on fire and abandoned; it was then bombed half an hour later and sunk. The survivors were picked up by HMS Penn and HMS Bramham half an hour later. There were three fatal casualties.

Waimarama (13,000 gross tons) – Captain R. Pearce – owned by Shaw, Savile and Albion. At 7.30am on August 13, the ship was bombed and literally blew up. Nineteen survivors were picked up by HMS Ledbury but there were 91 fatal casualties.

Waimarama exploded after being hit by bombs on August 13, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

Wairangi (13,000 gross tons) – Captain H. Gordon – owned by Shaw, Savile and Albion. After it was torpedoed by an e-boat at 3.15am on August 13, the engine room and no 3 hold were flooded and the engines were put out of action, so it was abandoned. The survivors were picked up by HMS Eskimo. There were no fatal casualties.

SS Ohio (10,000 gross tons) – Captain D. Mason – owned by the Texas Oil Co. This was the only tanker in the convoy and it was carrying a very important cargo that was desperately needed in Malta: 11,500 tons of kerosene and diesel oil. It was mined and/or torpedoed at Skerki Bank at 8pm on August 12 and there were near misses in the morning and evening of August 13. The ship was abandoned but then re-boarded, and somehow limped into Grand Harbour on August 15, lashed to two destroyers – HMS Penn and HMS Bramham – one on either side, with the destroyer HMS Ledbury acting as an emergency rudder. Unbelievably, there was just one fatal casualty.

The tanker SS Ohio, lashed to the destroyers HMS Penn and HMS Brabham, with the destroyer HMS Ledbury acting as a temporary rudder, managed to somehow limp into Grand Harbour on August 15, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

The British Royal Navy did not get off lightly either, with a number of ships sunk or damaged as shown in this chronological list:

Helmut Rosenbaum, captain of U-73, which torpedoed and sank HMS Eagle on August 11, 1942. Photo: Wikipedia.com

At 1.15pm on August 11, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (Captain: L.D. Macintosh) was torpedoed by three or four torpedoes by the German U-boat U-73, captained by Kapitän Leutenant Helmut Rosembaum, and sank within eight minutes. Out of a crew of 1,100, there were 160 fatal casualties plus the loss of all the aircraft bar four.

At 1am on August 12, the destroyer HMS Wolverine (Captain: Lt-Commander P.W. Gretton) rammed the Italian submarine Dagabur, which sank with all hands. However, the destroyer suffered extensive damage and had to return to Gibraltar.

At 16.49pm on August 12, the destroyer HMS Ithuriel (Captain: Lt-Commander D.H. Maitland-Maggill-Crichton) rammed and sank the Italian submarine Cobalto but rescued 41 Italian sailors. Due to damage to its bows, the destroyer had to return to Gibraltar.

At 6.47pm on August 12, the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable (Captain D.H.Troubridge) was dive-bombed by German JU87s, suffering three hits and three or four near misses. As a result, the flight deck was put out of action, and there was a large hole in the ship’s bottom and in the aft and port sides abreast the wardroom. Its aircraft were diverted to land on HMS Victorious (Captain H.C. Bovell) and the ship returned to Gibraltar. There were 52 fatal casualties, including air crew lost in action.

The aircraft-carrier HMS Indomitable listing to port after being torpedoed. It eventually made it back to Gibraltar. Photo: Wikipedia.com

At 5.05pm on August 12, the destroyer HMS Foresight (Captain: Lt-Commander R.A. Fell) had its stern blown away by a torpedo. The resulting flooding made steering impossible and the ship was sunk by HMS Tartar (Captain: Commander J.R.J. Trywhitt). There were five fatal casualties.

At 7.56pm on August 12, the cruiser HMS Nigeria (Captain S.H. Paton) was hit by four torpedoes fired by the Italian submarine Axum, with the ship starting to settle by the bows. The ship made it back to Gibraltar but there were 52 fatal casualties.

In the same action, the anti-aircraft ship HMS Cairo (A/Captain C.C. Hardy) was hit by two torpedoes fired by a German U-boat and had its stern blown off. There were 25 fatal casualties but the rest of the crew were taken off and the ship was sunk by gunfire by the destroyer HMS Pathfinder (Commander E.A. Gibbs).

At 9.11pm on August 12, the cruiser HMS Kenya (Captain A.S. Russell) was torpedoed by the Italian submarine Alagi, seriously damaging its bow. It kept pace with the convoy and, later on, it made it to Gibraltar, suffering three fatal casualties.

At 1.20am on August 13, the cruiser HMS Manchester (Captain H. Drew) was torpedoed and remained immobile. It was scuttled later at 5.50am. There were 11 fatal casualties – 484 men were taken on board British ships while 525 reached the Algerian shore and were interned by the Vichy French.

The aircraft carrier HMS Victorious suffered eight fatal casualties, and all its air crew were lost in action.

The aircraft carrier HMS Furious flew 38 Spitfires to Malta, of which one was lost.

The embossed figure of Santa Marija on the side of the Great Siege Bell symbolising the arrival of the Santa Marija Convoy (Operation Pedestal) in August 1942.

The Axis powers also had their losses and it is a moot point who was the ultimate victor. Tactically, it was probably an Axis victory but, strategically, the Allies won because they succeeded in their ultimate aim: to fight the convoy through to the Maltese harbour, thus enabling the island to continue its heroic fight.

Fast-forward 50 years to 1992 for the inauguration of Michael Sandle’s (b. 1936) Great Siege Bell Memorial commemorating all who fought and died for Malta during World War II. Very appropriately situated in Valletta, overlooking the Grand Harbour, the bell includes the embossed figure of Santa Marija symbolising the arrival of the Santa Marija Convoy in August 1942.