The awesome tiers of bastions engulfing Grand Harbour have forever been a source of amazement to travellers reaching Malta by sea. But the spectacle of the sheer majesty of power only reached its summit when the most formidable navy in the world berthed there in the interwar years. The symbiosis bet­ween the mightiest fortress in Europe and the invincible British fleet was then complete.

An early view of Grand Harbour showing the fleet of warships all still powered by sails.

Before Britain, Malta had only hosted a navy rarely over six sailing ships in strength: efficient, bellicose but puny. That morphed dramatically when the British fleet used our harbours for its entire Mediterranean, southern and far-eastern activities.

HMS Cruiser, a warship launched in 1852 powered by sails, seen in Grand Harbour. Photo by Richard Ellis

This feature covers mostly British warships in Malta after the invention of photography – from wooden sailing ships-of-the-line, to hybrids driven by both sail and steam, to the mighty battleships and aircraft carriers propelled only by coal-fired steam. 

HMS Carysfort, a sail and steam Bacchante Class cruiser launched in 1878.

British battleships in Grand Harbour photographed by the German camera artist Geo Fürst around 1930.

Ships in Malta’s harbours attracted the attention of most of the commercial photographers, including the gifted and tireless Richard Ellis. The camera artist who captured best the menacing poetry of the British behemoths was the German Geo Fürst, who immortalised the epic spell of those ominous machines of death and destruction. His constant prowling round Grand Harbour with his Agfa camera earned him the reputation – almost certainly unfounded – of being a Nazi spy.

The Italian battleship Giulio Cesare in Grand Harbour in the interwar years.

In pre-war years, Malta’s harbours welcomed warships from all friendly nations. I am including the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare in Malta in the 1930s, emblematic of the tides of human fortunes.

Once the pride of the Italian navy, she returned humbled to Malta when the fleet surrendered here in 1943.

The French hybrid cruiser Iphigenie in Grand Harbour in May 1898.

Warships in Grand Harbour firing a funeral salute for a VIP in the early 1900s.

Given as war reparation to the USSR, she hit a mine in 1955, with huge loss of life – over 600 Russian seamen.

The British fleet in Grand Harbour at night on a regal occasion. The royal yacht Brittania can be seen in the foreground.