0:00:04 > 0:00:06Malta.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09An island of ancient legend and warrior knights.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13A link between Europe and North Africa.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20And, in 1940, a pivotal British base in the Mediterranean.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25For two years during the Second World War,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29the people of the island were forced underground in terror
0:00:29 > 0:00:31as the Axis powers unleashed on them
0:00:31 > 0:00:34one of the greatest aerial bombardments in history.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38If Malta fell, the British feared,
0:00:38 > 0:00:40then so would North Africa, the Suez Canal
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and the oilfields of the Middle East.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46The King himself recognised the suffering,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49awarding the entire island the George Cross.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54The tale is ingrained in the island's legend,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56but Malta's story is more than its siege.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This was a desperate fight for life
0:01:00 > 0:01:03won by the narrowest of margins.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07A fight for the seas, a struggle for the skies,
0:01:07 > 0:01:10the battle for Malta itself.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Looking out over the peaceful harbours today,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24it's almost impossible to imagine
0:01:24 > 0:01:27that, during the war, this was hell on earth.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33The battle for Malta was one of the most vicious
0:01:33 > 0:01:35of the Second World War.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37Malta is just 17 miles long,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but it endured a concentrated attack so violent
0:01:40 > 0:01:43it became the most bombed place on earth.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46This may seem out of all proportion to the island's size,
0:01:46 > 0:01:48but it underlined its crucial importance,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51for this tiny piece of rock in the middle of the sea
0:01:51 > 0:01:54held the key to the entire war in the Mediterranean.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01SPEECH IN ITALIAN
0:02:09 > 0:02:11And it all started with a speech in Rome.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24When Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared war on Britain,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26it meant war for Malta, too.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37Malta had been British since 1814, home to the Mediterranean Fleet
0:02:37 > 0:02:41and an important base in Britain's Empire across the seas.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44But it was now vulnerable to Italian ambition.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48You don't have to travel very far out from Malta
0:02:48 > 0:02:51to realise how isolated this place was.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54The nearest British port was Alexandria in Egypt,
0:02:54 > 0:02:56820 miles away to the east.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00To the west, you have to travel 990 miles to Gibraltar.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05But 60 miles to the north, and swarming with enemy aircraft,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09lay Sicily, just 15 minutes' flying time from Malta.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14AIR-RAID SIREN WAILS
0:03:14 > 0:03:18For Mussolini, the island was an obvious target,
0:03:18 > 0:03:20one he believed was ripe for the taking.
0:03:23 > 0:03:27When the bombs started coming down,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29the first reaction was terror.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35Italy and Malta shared a close bond, but overnight they were at war.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39What we call the rude awakening of the 11th of June.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Eight sorties in a day.
0:03:41 > 0:03:4615 civilians casualties, over 200 wounded.
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Our brothers, the Italians,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52did not take care of what was being said in Malta.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53They just bombed us and killed us.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Malta held great value to the British,
0:03:59 > 0:04:03but the first priority was saving her own shores.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08By 10th June 1940, the Nazis had swept across Europe
0:04:08 > 0:04:12and pushed the defeated British Army back to the Channel coast.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14No wonder Mussolini was confident.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18France was about to fall,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and it looked like Great Britain would be next.
0:04:23 > 0:04:24Peter Caddick-Adams
0:04:24 > 0:04:27is a lecturer in military history at Cranfield University.
0:04:27 > 0:04:32He believes Italy was gambling on Britain's exit from the war.
0:04:32 > 0:04:33The timing is key.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37What Mussolini is doing is jumping on the coat-tails of Germany.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41He wouldn't dare do anything against Britain before,
0:04:41 > 0:04:44but now it looks as though Britain is about to be swamped
0:04:44 > 0:04:46by the German war machine,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49and all of a sudden Malta finds itself on the front line.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51And Malta's role will be important.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Mussolini had dreamed of creating a new Rome.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01Malta would cement the link between Italy and his empire in Africa.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03And with Britain out of the war,
0:05:03 > 0:05:06it would be the easy prize it needed to be.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10The thing to remember with Mussolini's declaration of war
0:05:10 > 0:05:13is it takes the Italian military by surprise,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15as well as the rest of the world.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The Italians are not geared up
0:05:17 > 0:05:20to fight any kind of a war in any shape or form.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24In the First World War, Italy had lost a huge number of men.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30It had completely destroyed the nation's love of war-making,
0:05:30 > 0:05:33any kind of enthusiasm for military adventures.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36While Mussolini waited for the British surrender,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38his bombers still flew over.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41Anne Agius Ferrante was 16 in 1940
0:05:41 > 0:05:43and remembers those early attacks well.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45At first we were frightened.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48We got very used to the bombing,
0:05:48 > 0:05:51because for the first few months of the war,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53when the Italians were bombing us,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55they had absolutely no idea where to bomb.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57They were much happier to...
0:05:57 > 0:06:00to put the bombs in the sea and go home.
0:06:00 > 0:06:01As a matter of fact,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04there was a caricature in the paper saying, "Corraggio, fuggiamo."
0:06:04 > 0:06:06"Courage, let's run away."
0:06:06 > 0:06:10By the autumn, the island was still in British hands.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Il Duce's gamble had failed.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17Italy's bombing campaign had been spectacularly ineffective,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21even though in June 1940 Malta had been left under-defended.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Mussolini had assumed the British would roll over,
0:06:23 > 0:06:25but they'd fought on,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27winning the Battle of Britain in their own shores.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Now, with every week, more guns and more aircraft were arriving.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35For Italy, the opportunity to take the island quickly had slipped away.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37Mussolini had missed his chance.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Italy's inability to take Malta quickly
0:06:43 > 0:06:45had allowed the British to rearm.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Mussolini also overreached in Africa.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53The situation had reversed.
0:06:53 > 0:06:58Italy now faced defeat and had only one place to turn.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02One man's blunder had brought a new player to the Mediterranean -
0:07:02 > 0:07:03Germany.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09In December 1940, Hitler sent Fliegerkorps X to Sicily.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12Their impact was immediate.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18When the Italians used to come, they used to drop the bombs
0:07:18 > 0:07:22and then go away, but not the Germans.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24The Germans used to make sure
0:07:24 > 0:07:28that they dive on the place that they want,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and they never used to come in threes and fives.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33They used to come in big rows.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Meme Turner was a 19-year-old nurse
0:07:35 > 0:07:38working at Imtarfa Military Hospital.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41We used to watch them right from our mess,
0:07:41 > 0:07:46coming over the Grand Harbour, rows of ten,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50and they used to come right down, boom-boom-boom.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53They'd do it and off they'd go, and then the other lot comes.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Concentration of force had been key to German success in the war.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03With the Luftwaffe over Malta, nowhere was safe.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06This place may have been designed as a military hospital,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09but no-one had ever imagined that it would come directly under fire.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14Like much of the island, this hospital was now on the front line.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22Malta was now dependent on convoys from Alexandria and Gibraltar,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24convoys the Luftwaffe had to stop.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26While Britain was trying to supply Malta,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Germany was about to follow Italy into North Africa
0:08:29 > 0:08:31and had to protect troops being sent there.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32It was becoming clear
0:08:32 > 0:08:36the war in North Africa would be a battle of logistics
0:08:36 > 0:08:38and that Malta was at the crux.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45In January 1941, the Luftwaffe attacked a convoy to the island.
0:08:46 > 0:08:47Badly damaged,
0:08:47 > 0:08:52the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious steamed to Malta for urgent repairs.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56From the blitz of the Illustrious,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59it really bombed the engine room quite direct,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02and that's where the fire starts.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06And so many that died come in to hospital
0:09:06 > 0:09:09or as soon as they got into the bed.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12And we always used to remember -
0:09:12 > 0:09:16lie a Union Jack over them
0:09:16 > 0:09:18to take them down to the mortuary.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24We were in the next berth to Illustrious
0:09:24 > 0:09:28when, um...she was bombed
0:09:28 > 0:09:30pretty heavily.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32We watched these aeroplanes come in
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and saw the bombs coming down over our heads,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38and all we had was a little Lewis Gun,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40which wasn't much good.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42We knew they were aiming at Illustrious,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45but we knew that some might miss Illustrious
0:09:45 > 0:09:49and, um...come fairly close to us.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Lots of things were hammering away,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54but the Stukas got through all right.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57The Luftwaffe struck hard,
0:09:57 > 0:10:02but Illustrious had been well protected by British reinforcements.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Six months in, Malta's anti-aircraft guns were formidable.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13With Britain now safe from invasion, Malta continued to be rearmed.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Among the reinforcements was Battle of Britain ace Tom Neil,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22leading a flight of Hurricanes from Gibraltar.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Following a guide from an aircraft carrier,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29but still over water, fuel was running low.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36We'd been going for almost six hours, and I said to the bloke in front,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39"If you don't get us down within ten minutes, we're all in the water."
0:10:39 > 0:10:42And then, magically,
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Malta appeared by my left elbow.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48It suddenly appeared out of the cloud.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51And as we crossed the cliffs,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54all the ack-ack guns began to fire at us.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55But I didn't give a damn,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57I just wanted to get my wheels on the ground.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02And as I approached Luqa, suddenly the airfield erupted.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06Aircraft were bombed and burst into flames,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09and for the first time I looked up,
0:11:09 > 0:11:14and above me were 50, 60, 70 Germans bombing.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17They knew what we were doing long before we did.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22We landed eventually, the air raid was still in progress.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Aircraft were burning all the way around us.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27And then a man appeared, smoking a pipe.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31And he came, and he jumped on board my aircraft.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33He said, "There's an air raid on!"
0:11:33 > 0:11:36I said, "I know it, mate I've just landed in the middle of it."
0:11:37 > 0:11:40With Malta's defenders still greatly outnumbered,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43new pilots were thrown straight into the action.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45We'd been there about 20 minutes
0:11:45 > 0:11:49when three Germans appeared over the hill
0:11:49 > 0:11:53and wrote off what was left of the squadron.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56And before we'd even taken off,
0:11:56 > 0:12:00we were reduced to impotence with three aeroplanes.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03And quarter of an hour later, I was scrambled.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I remember climbing up above Malta, thinking,
0:12:06 > 0:12:08"What on earth has happened to us?"
0:12:15 > 0:12:18The infrastructure of the island was being reduced to rubble.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Thousands lost their homes.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Electricity and water mains were damaged,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25and distribution of goods became harder.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32These events were recorded each day by the Times of Malta.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It was run by Mabel Strickland.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37We publish seven days a week.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40And by the way, tremendous credit goes to the newsboys.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42It would have been useless to have printed
0:12:42 > 0:12:44if we hadn't been able to distribute.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Were your printing machines underground?
0:12:47 > 0:12:48No, that wasn't possible,
0:12:48 > 0:12:53but they were sited around a deep shelter my father had prepared.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55Despite huge bomb damage,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59the Times was printed on every single day of the siege.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03Each edition is kept here, at the National Library in Valletta.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07On Friday 10th April,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09there's a piece about the problems facing the island
0:13:09 > 0:13:11and distribution of food and so on
0:13:11 > 0:13:13and how they're proposing to tackle them.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15And it's interesting, because it reassures them
0:13:15 > 0:13:18that that it's the breakdown of communication that's the problem,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20not the shortage of food.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24'These editions also give an insight into the public mood.'
0:13:24 > 0:13:25There's a lovely advert
0:13:25 > 0:13:29on the back page of the Thursday June 12th 1941 edition
0:13:29 > 0:13:32by CH Bernard and Sons, who are military tailors.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35And it says, "We were blasted well out.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37"But we have blasted well started again."
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Nobody escaped the hardship.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Margaret Crawford had remained on the island
0:13:43 > 0:13:45while her father served with the Navy.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50One snatched food when you could, and water, of course.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52The shortage of water was a terrible thing.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55You had a bucket of water,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58which had to do everything for the day.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02And do you remember reading the Times of Malta?
0:14:02 > 0:14:04Oh, yes.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- We couldn't do without the Times of Malta.- Yes!
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- BOTH LAUGH - I know.- It...
0:14:11 > 0:14:14- It was used for everything! - Yeah, I...
0:14:14 > 0:14:17- Not only reading!- Yes.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Although the suffering was shared, for Anne Agius Ferrante,
0:14:21 > 0:14:25there was a marked divide between British and Maltese.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29My father was really very fond of the British
0:14:29 > 0:14:31but disapproved certain things,
0:14:31 > 0:14:35like us girls during the war going a bit wild with the...
0:14:36 > 0:14:38..RAF and others.
0:14:38 > 0:14:41But there was this colonialism,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44and we were treated as colonials.
0:14:44 > 0:14:48But there was no ill feeling as such.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51It was just that they felt we were inferior,
0:14:51 > 0:14:54rather than that we were no good.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57But as historian Simon Cozens has found,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00it's a sentiment that could cut both ways.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03This is a diary for the whole of 1941.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07This belonged to a Maltese civilian who lived in Sliema.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09"25th of October 1941.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12"Today is the worst day of my life.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17"At noon, Italian planes bombed a petrol dump
0:15:17 > 0:15:20"which blazed fiercely indeed.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22"In the afternoon,
0:15:22 > 0:15:25"we discovered that Gemma
0:15:25 > 0:15:28"has been carrying on with an airman.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32"With the atrocious name of Clive!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37"She told us a packet of lies
0:15:37 > 0:15:39"and has indeed disgraced us."
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The relationship between the Maltese and British
0:15:45 > 0:15:47may have been uneasy at times,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50but most accepted they were fighting for a common cause.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54In a very real sense, they were all in it together.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57But each had their own set of problems.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Malta was a very difficult place to fly from,
0:16:02 > 0:16:07because the island itself was just a series of very small fields
0:16:07 > 0:16:10with rock barriers everywhere.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14And if you had an engine failure in Malta, you usually killed yourself,
0:16:14 > 0:16:17because flying into a rock barrier,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19er...the aircraft burst into flames.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23But one of our great problems was the aircraft weren't up to it,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27and a lot of people were killed as a result of engine failures.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36Britain regarded Malta as a base from which to attack Axis shipping.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38It meant her defenders were neglected
0:16:38 > 0:16:40in favour of strike forces.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46This is the lazaretto on Manoel Island.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49During the war it was home to the 10th Flotilla,
0:16:49 > 0:16:51Malta's submarine force.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Although never more than 12 submarines,
0:16:53 > 0:16:58they sank half a million tonnes of Axis shipping in just 18 months.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Tubby Crawford was second-in-command
0:17:00 > 0:17:02of Britain's most successful submarine,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05HMS Upholder.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Well, at that stage, it wasn't too bad.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Food and drink were there.
0:17:10 > 0:17:16Each submarine had a cabin area, the captain had his own cabin.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20There was a big veranda all round the lazaretto,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23where armchairs and things were available
0:17:23 > 0:17:25so you could relax out there.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29At the lazaretto, the submariners lived in some comfort,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33a necessity for morale after the appalling conditions at sea.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Operating on Malta was an intensely claustrophobic experience.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50You're on a tiny island with no chance of escape,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53being bombed to hell day in, day out.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57But imagine being on a submarine, which is even more cramped.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59Whatever they were feeling on the island,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02it was a hundred times worse for the submariners.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06Well, they are very cramped,
0:18:06 > 0:18:08and the ship's company
0:18:08 > 0:18:11live amongst the torpedoes up in the front end.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18We all got a bit stinky, so you didn't notice it, you know!
0:18:18 > 0:18:23The people, when you come ashore, say you can't mistake the smell
0:18:23 > 0:18:25diesel and everything else.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Malta is just a rock sticking out of the sea.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32It was a ghastly place for us.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34The food was dreadful!
0:18:34 > 0:18:37Everybody had Malta dog, or diarrhoea,
0:18:37 > 0:18:39which used to produce the most ghastly smell.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44The fleas abounded, mosquitoes bit us to death.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It was a very unpleasant place to be.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Unpleasant, but with the Axis gaining in North Africa,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Malta had never been more important.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54We knew very well
0:18:54 > 0:18:58that we had to stop these convoys getting over to Rommel
0:18:58 > 0:19:00to help our army...
0:19:01 > 0:19:06..which is, er...the whole purpose of being there, really.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11General Erwin Rommel commanded the Axis army in North Africa.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18By mid-1941, he needed 70,000 tonnes of supplies each month,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22nearly all shipped across the Mediterranean.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Malta's submariners had yet to make much impact,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28but that was about to change.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30In May, HMS Upholder,
0:19:30 > 0:19:32led by Lieutenant Commander David Wanklyn,
0:19:32 > 0:19:33was heading back to Malta
0:19:33 > 0:19:36when Crawford spied an Axis convoy on the horizon.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44I was actually on watch when we sighted her.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Our listening gear was out of action,
0:19:47 > 0:19:51we had two torpedoes left, it was just getting dark.
0:19:51 > 0:19:55And I spotted a couple of shapes,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58so I called Wanklyn into the control room,
0:19:58 > 0:20:00and the attack started.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06He just says, "Take her down,"
0:20:06 > 0:20:09and so then up to the First Lieutenant
0:20:09 > 0:20:11and the crew to carry the order out.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14It stayed quiet,
0:20:14 > 0:20:19except for the navigating officer saying the speed for the enemy.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24Orders to the planes went from the First Lieutenant.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Speed, telegraphman.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34They finally got off the two torpedoes.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42We managed to hit with the two torpedoes,
0:20:42 > 0:20:43and down she went.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49And we went down as well, to try and get clear.
0:20:51 > 0:20:57Well, we knew we'd hit something, we did hear a grating noise,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01and it sounded almost like a wire scraping down the side
0:21:01 > 0:21:06of the submarine, and someone just said, "Oh, that's all right."
0:21:06 > 0:21:09"That's the Conte Rosso breaking up as she goes down."
0:21:12 > 0:21:16We had quite a heavy depth-charging after that.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21But you never know how long it's going to take.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Meantime, you're all sort of trying to zigzag and creep away.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32It is frightening, yes.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35It does shake, and some lights go out,
0:21:35 > 0:21:41and you can hear the propellers of the destroyers up top.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44And as you hear the thrashing of the propeller,
0:21:44 > 0:21:45as it gets louder and louder,
0:21:45 > 0:21:48you know, everybody starts crouching,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50and wondering when the crash is going to come.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56But there you are. You've just got to wait for it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:00And, finally, you throw them off.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06In the battle for supplies, Rommel felt the loss of every ship keenly.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Particularly because the Axis was struggling to replace them.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15This made the loss of the enormous Conte Rosso a particular blow.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18For Malta, it marked a turning point in fortunes.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Submarines and aircraft operating from the island
0:22:21 > 0:22:23savaged Rommel supply lines,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27and the Luftwaffe also departed. Pressure had been lifted.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30For months, the Maltese had been driven underground,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32into shelters cut into the rock,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35but in the summer of 1941, the bombing suddenly lessened,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38as the Luftwaffe left Sicily for the invasion of Russia.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42The relief was huge, and life improved, but it wasn't to last.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45As the Russian winter brought a freeze to the campaign in the east,
0:22:45 > 0:22:49so Hitler turned once more to the war here in the south.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51The Luftwaffe had returned.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56They come back to the Mediterranean,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59and under Albert Kesselring's command,
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Malta starts to take a beating from his Luftwaffe squadrons.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06And I think what's happening here
0:23:06 > 0:23:09is that Kesselring has commanded an air fleet in the Battle of Britain.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11He is now back in the Mediterranean with a miniature version
0:23:11 > 0:23:15of the United Kingdom, and what he wants to do
0:23:15 > 0:23:17is return to his tactics in the Battle of Britain,
0:23:17 > 0:23:21but get it right this time, using Malta as the punchbag,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24and so what he's going to do is grind Malta into the dust
0:23:24 > 0:23:27with a huge bombing campaign as a prelude to invasion.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35A witness to the return of the Luftwaffe was John Mizzi.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41He lived in Birkirkara, in the centre of the island.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44They used to come in the morning at breakfast.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48You knew that from between eight and nine they would come out.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50They used to come at noon
0:23:50 > 0:23:52until 1:30, you had an air raid.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Then they used to come at four in the evening, five, six,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59perhaps, so you could regulate your day.
0:24:02 > 0:24:08We knew we were going to be beaten to pieces, because they now had 109F's -
0:24:08 > 0:24:12a more up-to-date model of the 109 -
0:24:12 > 0:24:16and they were patrolling Malta as though it was their own base.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19And eventually, we got to the stage that the pilots
0:24:19 > 0:24:25had no aeroplanes to fly, and we were used as aircraft spotters.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28So many people were lost unnecessarily.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30Golden people, shot down.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34And also as a result of aircraft failure.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38We used to complain every day, all day.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42The people who were leading us didn't really know what was happening.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45We were flying stuff we should never have flown,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49we weren't reinforced in the manner that we should have been,
0:24:49 > 0:24:54and our Air Marshal was concentrating on other things.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58Commanding the RAF on Malta was Air Vice-Marshal Hugh Pughe Lloyd.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59With a background in bombers,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02he'd shown little understanding of fighter tactics.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Tom Neal was confronted by Lloyd
0:25:04 > 0:25:06after yet another pilot had been shot down.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11He stood in front of me, and put his face very close to mine and said,
0:25:11 > 0:25:15"You know, Neal, it isn't the aircraft, it's the man."
0:25:16 > 0:25:19And I must confess that, on that particular occasion...
0:25:20 > 0:25:24..I came very close to striking a senior officer.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Complacency was to blame for the continued use of obsolete aircraft.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32This was a result of indifferent leadership.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34There had been the chance to build up a new fighter force
0:25:34 > 0:25:35that hadn't been taken.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40And it was the Maltese people that were going to pay dearly.
0:25:40 > 0:25:47"27th December, 1941. Mother found a cannon shell in the terrace."
0:25:47 > 0:25:52"At about 8:30 PM, we saw a German bomber crash
0:25:52 > 0:25:56"and burn in the sea off Dragonara."
0:25:56 > 0:25:59"It was the most glorious show ever."
0:26:01 > 0:26:02This is New Year's Eve.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06"Night raids started at 7:30 PM to last all night."
0:26:07 > 0:26:10"Awful ending for 1941."
0:26:11 > 0:26:14And what's incredible about that is that we know
0:26:14 > 0:26:17it's only going to get a whole load worse.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Absolutely.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Rommel was losing ground in North Africa,
0:26:22 > 0:26:27as Malta's forces sank nearly 80% of all Axis convoys.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30Subduing Malta was now a priority.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31If you're here on the ground,
0:26:31 > 0:26:33there's no doubt conditions were brutal,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36but the truth is, up to this point, Malta had got off lightly.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38The Italians had failed to invade
0:26:38 > 0:26:40when Malta had been defensively vulnerable,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44and the Germans had never fully focused on dealing with the island.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47At the dawn of 1942, everything changed.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50As Malta's strikeforces cut increasing amounts of shipping,
0:26:50 > 0:26:54so Axis forces in North Africa began to suffer.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Germany realised that solving the problem in Malta was the key
0:26:57 > 0:26:59to winning in the Mediterranean.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Field Marshal Kesselring was convinced that this meant invasion.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09"In order to produce a safe connection route from Italy
0:27:09 > 0:27:14"to North Africa, the capture of Malta is an absolute requirement."
0:27:15 > 0:27:19All that stood in his way was a weak and inferior air defence.
0:27:19 > 0:27:23"German fighters are fundamentally superior to British fighters."
0:27:23 > 0:27:27"It is primarily important to crush the enemy air force on the ground
0:27:27 > 0:27:30"and in the air through ongoing incessant attacks
0:27:30 > 0:27:33"by bomber and fighter planes, day and night."
0:27:33 > 0:27:35"Signed, Field Marshal Kesselring."
0:27:37 > 0:27:39When Kesselring had written his report, he'd been right.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The Hurricanes were inferior.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Despite better planes being available back in Britain,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46the defenders of Malta were still flying aircraft
0:27:46 > 0:27:49that were underpowered and underarmed.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Malta's war leaders had been slow to demand better fighters,
0:27:52 > 0:27:53but Britain had now woken up
0:27:53 > 0:27:56to the strategic importance of the island's position.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Finally, in March 1942 came the reassuring sound of an aircraft
0:28:00 > 0:28:03that was more than a match for the German and Italian fighters.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08PLANE ENGINE ROARS
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I was on the roof one morning, and the next thing I saw
0:28:19 > 0:28:24was two aircraft speeding up right above our heads
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and doing the victory roll.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29And I recognised that they were Spitfires.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32The cannon-armed Spitfire had finally arrived.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41It was a huge morale boost for the islanders.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51It wasn't just the fighter pilots that were eagerly awaiting
0:28:51 > 0:28:53the arrival of the Spitfires.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55So, too, it seems was The Times of Malta, who report with great glee
0:28:55 > 0:28:58that Spitfires had gone into action for the first time.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And then the very next day, March 12th,
0:29:01 > 0:29:05"Spitfires over Malta. Their first kill."
0:29:05 > 0:29:06It says, "Spitfires engaging."
0:29:06 > 0:29:09"These dramatic two words that have chilled the hearts
0:29:09 > 0:29:12"of many German pilots again made history today."
0:29:12 > 0:29:15"For the first time since the war began, Spitfires were in battle
0:29:15 > 0:29:18"over this tiny island fortress in the central Mediterranean,"
0:29:18 > 0:29:21"and they met with success in their first engagement."
0:29:24 > 0:29:28It was an encouraging start, but had it come too late?
0:29:28 > 0:29:31Many more would be needed to make a decisive impact.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42On Sicily, Kesselring had more than 800
0:29:42 > 0:29:45German and Italian aircraft at his disposal.
0:29:45 > 0:29:46Malta had 80 fighters.
0:29:51 > 0:29:55When the Germans started coming, they meant business.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58And there were bombs, bombs and bombs.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02With these raids, there were times
0:30:02 > 0:30:04when we just couldn't breathe in between.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07There were always raids, raids, raids.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11But the thing was that we had to carry on our work.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14We still had to go to the hospital to carry on work.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23With much of the Mediterranean now in Axis hands,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26reaching the island was becoming increasingly difficult.
0:30:29 > 0:30:33By 1942, the situation got desperate, extremely desperate.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Convoys were being sent, and not much coming into Malta,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40and seeing the ships coming into harbour, convoys,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44hearing of convoys coming in and not making it.
0:30:44 > 0:30:48And the great loss of life and shipping, you name it.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52That was really sounding ugly and looking ugly and feeling ugly.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59By the spring of 1942, Malta's port facilities had been wrecked.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03The island's infrastructure was largely destroyed.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08And it was now that strong leadership was most needed.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10As the battle of Malta intensified,
0:31:10 > 0:31:13so the demands on her war leaders became greater.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16What had been adequate before was now found wanting,
0:31:16 > 0:31:18as the islanders discovered to their cost.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24'In March, a four-ship convoy was sent from Alexandria.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26'It was the first attempted since December.'
0:31:28 > 0:31:32We always knew the convoys were coming, because the Italians
0:31:32 > 0:31:37always reported the early attacks on them, so we knew that.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43It's hard to express just how much Malta needed the March convoy
0:31:43 > 0:31:46to be a success, so when three out of four ships reached
0:31:46 > 0:31:49the island safely, the relief was immense.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51But getting here was only half the job.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53Incredibly, no extra hands were brought in
0:31:53 > 0:31:55to help with the unloading.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Not one serviceman, and despite low cloud preventing enemy raids,
0:31:59 > 0:32:03for two whole nights, no unloading took place at all.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06When the skies cleared, the Luftwaffe returned
0:32:06 > 0:32:08and sank all three ships in harbour.
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Of the 26,000 tonnes of precious cargo, only 5,000 were salvaged.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15It was nothing short of a disgrace.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25The lost cargo was entirely down to poor planning.
0:32:25 > 0:32:27In failing to prepare for the unloading of the ships,
0:32:27 > 0:32:29Malta's war leadership had failed the people.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35It had directly contributed to their mounting misery.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37During the heavy, heavy bombing, we had nothing.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40We didn't dare go out during the heavy bombing.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42When there was nothing to eat,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45the farmers were frightened to go to work,
0:32:45 > 0:32:47the fishermen were frightened to go out to sea,
0:32:47 > 0:32:49because they use to machine-gun them.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53So when the convoy didn't come in, there was no food on the island.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55If you had the money, there was nothing to buy.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00It was tough after the March convoy,
0:33:00 > 0:33:05because more rationing was enforced.
0:33:06 > 0:33:11But one didn't really think about it, you know.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13One got used to hunger, too.
0:33:22 > 0:33:25We carried on above ground, between the raids.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28We ran like rabbits down into the shelters
0:33:28 > 0:33:30if the bombers were too near.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Then the dockyard grimly moved underground, into the living rock.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37Soft, yellow limestone rock,
0:33:37 > 0:33:41that trembles and vibrates under direct hits, but doesn't yield.
0:33:45 > 0:33:46Malta had been neutralised.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51The island was on its knees, gasping for life.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Above ground, the RAF was engaged
0:33:56 > 0:33:58in one of its biggest ever aerial clashes.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12The only time I'd been in the public shelter was a terrible experience,
0:34:12 > 0:34:15really, because it was a big shelter under Valletta,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19and the people had bunks, and it was sort of dirty,
0:34:19 > 0:34:24and it was like a sort of ghetto, and the noise of the bombs,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27the vibrations, was something terrible.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30The poor people, most of them didn't have a home.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33They lived down there, so they cooked down there,
0:34:33 > 0:34:36they slept down there, they made love down there,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38they did everything down there.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42This was the Malta Blitz.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Axis forces mounted round-the-clock air attacks.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52In eight weeks, nearly 7,000 tons of explosives fell on the island.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58Malta had become the most bombed place on earth.
0:35:01 > 0:35:03At the lazaretto,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06the submariners had been forced out of their comfortable digs.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12The bombs were destroying the submarine base,
0:35:12 > 0:35:15so by expanding the old sewage system,
0:35:15 > 0:35:17they were able to create a labyrinth of tunnels.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20Already living under the sea when on patrol,
0:35:20 > 0:35:23the submariners were now forced to live underground when back on Malta.
0:35:24 > 0:35:25These are their bunks.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29It's hard to imagine a tougher existence.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33And there was no let up in the raids.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38We were all out having dinner,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42and we left it rather a long time before going down to the shelter.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46Too late.
0:35:46 > 0:35:51One of the bombs dropped, and we got the blast.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56It was a big, big window. That blew right in.
0:35:57 > 0:36:03And with it, we three, and I was knocked out for a little while,
0:36:03 > 0:36:09came to, and their voices saying, you know, "Maggie, where are you?"
0:36:09 > 0:36:11"Are you alive?"
0:36:13 > 0:36:18And I must have sat up and said, "I don't know, but I think so!"
0:36:20 > 0:36:23And of course, they hooted with laughter.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28But, of course, I had been injured.
0:36:28 > 0:36:29It was a bad night.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35It was hard going, because on top of it all you were hungry,
0:36:35 > 0:36:39you had nowhere to live when your house was bombed,
0:36:39 > 0:36:41but we had no alternative.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47And when your back is to the wall, you seem to have a lot more courage.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55How do you put up with that kind of incessant level of bombing?
0:36:57 > 0:36:58If you're there...
0:37:01 > 0:37:04..you just have to, don't you? Get on with it.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10News broke that would stiffen Maltese resolve
0:37:10 > 0:37:12and cement British claims to the island.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18The King made his award of the George Cross on 15th April,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21but it wasn't announced in The Times of Malta until the 17th,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23two days later.
0:37:23 > 0:37:28But, interestingly, the very next day, Saturday 18th,
0:37:28 > 0:37:31now on the headline, alongside The Times of Malta,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34is a little image of the George Cross.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37It was an image that remained on the paper right throughout the war,
0:37:37 > 0:37:39and, indeed, is on it still.
0:37:41 > 0:37:47I was so proud that it was given to Malta and the Maltese,
0:37:47 > 0:37:50because of its heroism that it had.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54Of all the people, and I always say, right from a grandpa,
0:37:54 > 0:37:58right down to a child, we all took part.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01And if it wasn't for Malta,
0:38:01 > 0:38:04they would have never won the battle in Africa.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11The award of the George Cross,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14the King is thinking about what we're doing.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16We're not alone. That's the most important thing.
0:38:16 > 0:38:19There were some who grumbled that we were better off not in the war,
0:38:19 > 0:38:23or that it was better in the form of food or whatever was needed,
0:38:23 > 0:38:29but generally, it was that feeling, a sign of courage.
0:38:29 > 0:38:30You are not alone.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37The George Cross was a symbolic lift at a desperate moment.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40But it was the material boost of 47 new Spitfires
0:38:40 > 0:38:42that gave the island the chance to fight back.
0:38:44 > 0:38:46Among the new pilots arriving on 20th April
0:38:46 > 0:38:48was a promising young artist.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52This is the diary of Dennis Barnham,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55a Spitfire pilot who served here in 1942, and I can honestly say
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I've never read a better or more vivid account of air fighting.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Just on these pages alone,
0:39:00 > 0:39:02this is the description of his first combat over Malta,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05where he and two other Spitfires take off
0:39:05 > 0:39:07to intercept more than 50 enemy aircraft.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10What's so incredible is the immediacy of it.
0:39:10 > 0:39:14Each of these extracts written just hours after the events took place.
0:39:17 > 0:39:18"And I'm at Malta.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20"It's an island of exquisite peace for a while,
0:39:20 > 0:39:23"and then violent fury with death everywhere."
0:39:30 > 0:39:33'Two new squadrons of Spitfires was a step in the right direction.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39'But again, few plans had been made for their arrival.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43'Air Vice-Marshal Lloyd was now increasingly out of his depth.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49'On his first evening, Dennis Barnham
0:39:49 > 0:39:51'and the other pilots were taken by bus
0:39:51 > 0:39:54'up to the Xara Palace for a pep talk by Lloyd.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59'It was a talk that did little to calm Dennis's nerves.'
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Lloyd had barely begun, when suddenly a aircraft roared overhead.
0:40:05 > 0:40:09Bombs whistled down, then exploded almost on top of them.
0:40:09 > 0:40:11The whole building shook, but as the dust settled,
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Lloyd merely cleared his throat and said,
0:40:13 > 0:40:17"As I was saying, the Germans are cowards and bullies."
0:40:18 > 0:40:21He conceded that the task facing the new pilots was a tough one,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24but to help them, now had ten twin-engined bombers
0:40:24 > 0:40:27with which to take the attack to the enemy.
0:40:27 > 0:40:29Compared with what they were up against,
0:40:29 > 0:40:31it was clear to all that ten bombers
0:40:31 > 0:40:33was hardly going to make much difference.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36No wonder Dennis left feeling even more terrified than ever.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43His unease was soon proved right.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49'The long-promised Wellingtons arrived, ten of them.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51'Throughout the last week they tried their hardest -
0:40:51 > 0:40:53'six of them were blitzed on the ground.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56'After the raids, clouds of smoke would roll back
0:40:56 > 0:40:59'from the Lucca drome, changed to a hazy red dust that would drift away
0:40:59 > 0:41:02'with the wind and reveal another Wellington burning.
0:41:02 > 0:41:05'When they operated, they did magnificently,
0:41:05 > 0:41:07'making three trips to Sicily in one night.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10'Of the four Wellingtons still serviceable,
0:41:10 > 0:41:12'two did not return from that raid.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15'In the big bedroom in the house, 12 beds were empty.'
0:41:17 > 0:41:20There were few Spitfires left either.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24Within 48 hours, just seven remained.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Exposed and unprotected, they were shot up on the ground.
0:41:27 > 0:41:30One day, I did see a plane coming down,
0:41:30 > 0:41:33and I thought, "That's not our plane."
0:41:33 > 0:41:36It was one of the Messerschmitts.
0:41:36 > 0:41:41He did really machine-gun all the Spitfires that were laying there.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47'On the ground, Spitfires were easy pickings for Axis aircraft.
0:41:47 > 0:41:49'Targets that should never have been there.
0:41:53 > 0:41:54'Deep in the rocks,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57'Malta now had the most sophisticated ground control
0:41:57 > 0:41:58'outside Britain.
0:41:58 > 0:42:02'The new fighter planes should have made a big difference.'
0:42:02 > 0:42:04The operation rooms used so successfully
0:42:04 > 0:42:07in the Battle of Britain were also replicated here,
0:42:07 > 0:42:09from the plotting table through to the coloured clocks
0:42:09 > 0:42:11and the squadron tote boards.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14In the spring of 1942, there was one major difference,
0:42:14 > 0:42:17as you can see from that conspicuously empty squadron board.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22On Sicily, there were hundreds of enemy aircraft.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Here on Malta, for five separate days in April 1942,
0:42:26 > 0:42:28there was just one aircraft available.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30And on two days, none at all.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36'But without aircraft, the operations room was redundant.'
0:42:38 > 0:42:40'Plans for their arrival had to improve.'
0:42:46 > 0:42:49'At Berchtesgaden, Hitler met with Mussolini to discuss plans
0:42:49 > 0:42:53'to invade Malta, codenamed Operation Hercules.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57'Germany would supply airborne troops and air power,
0:42:57 > 0:43:01'but the invasion itself would be Italy's responsibility.'
0:43:05 > 0:43:08"German parachutists and equipment should be made available
0:43:08 > 0:43:09"to the Italians who want to take Malta
0:43:09 > 0:43:12"through a surprise raid around the end of May."
0:43:15 > 0:43:18Weakened and vulnerable, the island was braced for invasion.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23Dennis Barnham was among the few still defending Malta.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27"Two 109's were coming in from my side.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29"There was a loud report from my engine.
0:43:29 > 0:43:30"Blue smoke came into my cockpit,
0:43:30 > 0:43:33"and I was upside down and spinning again.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36"I saw the blue seas and cliffs hanging over my head.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39"They seemed very close. 'Am I going to be killed now?', I thought.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41"I remember saying to myself,
0:43:41 > 0:43:43" 'You'll have to hurry, Dennis, old chap.'
0:43:43 > 0:43:45"There's not much time!
0:43:46 > 0:43:49"But I must put on opposite rudder, for she came out of the spin."
0:43:49 > 0:43:52SPITFIRE ENGINE ROARS
0:44:02 > 0:44:04A week after his arrival, Barnham came here,
0:44:04 > 0:44:07to the RAF rest camp in St Paul's Bay.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10It's pretty clear from the diary that he was already exhausted,
0:44:10 > 0:44:11and filthy.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15As he says, "My hair was dusty, my clothes were sticking to me,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17and my socks smelled."
0:44:17 > 0:44:20So, stripping off, he jumped into the cool water.
0:44:20 > 0:44:23It was, he says, "Quite unutterably glorious."
0:44:23 > 0:44:27But even here, with spent cannon shells lying all around,
0:44:27 > 0:44:31what should have been a respite came to a dramatic halt
0:44:31 > 0:44:33with the arrival of yet more enemy aircraft.
0:44:35 > 0:44:39Pilot Officer Herbert Mitchell summed it up perfectly.
0:44:39 > 0:44:41"The tempo of life here is indescribable.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44"It all makes the Battle of Britain seem like child's play."
0:44:46 > 0:44:48The scars of that air battle remain.
0:44:50 > 0:44:53You can still find evidence of the war all over the island,
0:44:53 > 0:44:56even in a tiny field like this.
0:44:56 > 0:44:57How about this?
0:44:57 > 0:44:59This may look like a rusty fence post,
0:44:59 > 0:45:03but in actual fact, it's a 20mm Oerlikon cannon.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05And look over there. There's the other one.
0:45:05 > 0:45:0915 feet apart, exactly the spacing they would have been on a Spitfire.
0:45:09 > 0:45:10Fortunately, the pilot,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13a Canadian called McCann, was able to bail out,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15but his Spitfire plunged deep into the ground,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17the wings disintegrated as it landed.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20The cannons were thrust deep into the soil.
0:45:20 > 0:45:2370 years on, they're still here.
0:45:30 > 0:45:31Time was running out.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Unsurprisingly, many were losing their grip on humanity.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41A plane was shot down.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46And it actually landed in the rubble of the opera house,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49and everybody cheered like mad.
0:45:50 > 0:45:53It was terrible really, in war, isn't it?
0:45:55 > 0:45:58German pilot Walter Schwarz came down near Attard,
0:45:58 > 0:46:00in the centre of the island.
0:46:00 > 0:46:06The German 109 crashed about a mile away from our house.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12When I got there, there were more dogs than people.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16And the dogs were eating bits of flesh from the pilot.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22By the middle of May, Dennis Barnham was at breaking point.
0:46:22 > 0:46:24He'd not been on the island a month.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32For pilots like Barnham,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36Malta was veiled by an atmosphere of doom and violence.
0:46:36 > 0:46:39But the island's defences were steadily improving.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42More Spitfires arrived on the 9th of May.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46The control room had them airborne again in minutes.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51In the next raid, the RAF shot down 60 Axis aircraft.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56And the enemy was releasing pressure too.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00"Thereupon the Fuhrer expressed the following dramatically
0:47:00 > 0:47:02"and was very dissatisfied.
0:47:02 > 0:47:06"No confidence whatsoever in the confidentiality of the Italians.
0:47:06 > 0:47:09"The British are more likely to have an articulate picture
0:47:09 > 0:47:12"of Italian intentions than the Italian commanders.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15"The Italian assault forces are completely insufficient
0:47:15 > 0:47:18"and no confidence whatsoever in the Italian fleet.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Kesselring had planned to eradicate Malta.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26But the island received an unlikely reprieve.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31Rommel had persuaded Hitler to back a new push in North Africa
0:47:31 > 0:47:34that would require maximum resources.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37Plans to invade Malta were quietly dropped.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43German interest in taking Malta had waned.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46But the suffering of the people was still to increase.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49The island was starving.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54You really get a sense of how the shortages of food
0:47:54 > 0:47:56are really starting to kick in.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58There's a piece here, "The Feeding Problem."
0:47:58 > 0:48:01It says, "Keepers of poultry "and rabbits are their wits' end
0:48:01 > 0:48:03"to solve the problem as to how to feed them.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05"The ration allowed by the government
0:48:05 > 0:48:09"does not even go halfway to meet the necessity."
0:48:09 > 0:48:11There's another piece about firewood for bakeries.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13There's no firewood left
0:48:13 > 0:48:15because all the wood on the island has been burned already.
0:48:15 > 0:48:20"One commodity stocks which must be rigidly conserved is coal."
0:48:20 > 0:48:22This is the absolute last resort.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25If you can't have fires, you can't bake bread.
0:48:25 > 0:48:30The problems in producing enough food by the end of June 1942
0:48:30 > 0:48:32are just getting worse and worse.
0:48:36 > 0:48:39It was in June, when the siege settled down on Malta
0:48:39 > 0:48:42good and proper, grim and cruel.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45The phrase "target date" was introduced too.
0:48:45 > 0:48:50It's when the bread runs out, along with the ammunition and fuel.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52And the realisation that this was actually the test
0:48:52 > 0:48:55of how long we could make everything last.
0:48:57 > 0:48:59We were very rationed.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01We were to have only one slice of bread.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05And there were times when we could have only one egg
0:49:05 > 0:49:09and we used to get them because there was the farmers beside us.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12The staple food of the Maltese workman is bread.
0:49:12 > 0:49:17They were given a slice or so per head a day.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19The bread became black.
0:49:20 > 0:49:22The government set up a feeding scheme
0:49:22 > 0:49:24called the "victory kitchens".
0:49:24 > 0:49:26With few supplies,
0:49:26 > 0:49:30the island had to feed over 250,000 mouths every day.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33You had to go with a bit of paper worth three pence.
0:49:33 > 0:49:37You used to get a bowl of disgusting soup.
0:49:37 > 0:49:42Or a tin between four of McConnachies herrings in tomato sauce
0:49:42 > 0:49:44or something like that.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48When the authorities start off instituting victory kitchens,
0:49:48 > 0:49:52they were in a way unpopular, but they were a necessity.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55You couldn't do without them in a way.
0:49:55 > 0:49:58Because you don't have any food at home.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00And sanitation was worsening.
0:50:01 > 0:50:02The documents here ...
0:50:02 > 0:50:05Simon Cousins has unearthed official papers
0:50:05 > 0:50:08that demonstrate how bad things have become.
0:50:08 > 0:50:13And even the people in highest office have to cut corners.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Break their own rules.
0:50:15 > 0:50:21For example, "The flushing of lavatory pans after urination
0:50:21 > 0:50:23"to be prohibited.
0:50:23 > 0:50:25"And I'm not permitting anybody
0:50:25 > 0:50:28"to wash their hands under running water."
0:50:28 > 0:50:33But that's incredible because the flushing of loos and washing hands
0:50:33 > 0:50:38in particular, are one of the number-one tenets of hygiene.
0:50:38 > 0:50:39Most basic.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43And this is addressed to the district medical officers.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48"It is particularly necessary to economise in the issue of drugs,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50"cotton wool and dressings.
0:50:50 > 0:50:56"As an example, bandages should not be used once only,
0:50:56 > 0:50:59"but washed when necessary and used repeatedly
0:50:59 > 0:51:02"until they are completely unserviceable."
0:51:04 > 0:51:07The island had survived is blitz,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10but beating starvation would be a greater test.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16I wondered sometimes whether we would ever leave the island.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20And the Maltese people, you know, the more bombs that were dropped,
0:51:20 > 0:51:23the louder their prayers.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26It was quite amazing really.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28They were really stoic.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31They always believed that it would be all right.
0:51:31 > 0:51:33I think they were rather marvellous.
0:51:39 > 0:51:45On the 10th of August 1942, a convoy of 14 ships set sail from Gibraltar.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49It was the last chance to save the island.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54With much of the North African coast in Axis hands,
0:51:54 > 0:51:58the convoy could expect to be attacked the entire way.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01The chances of getting through seemed desperately remote.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07On Malta, the island was now ready to unload
0:52:07 > 0:52:09and distribute the goods quickly.
0:52:12 > 0:52:14There was no secret about it at all.
0:52:14 > 0:52:19A fortnight before, all the roads had been signposted,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24saying where the trucks with the supplies had to go
0:52:24 > 0:52:28to dump the food, the ammunition.
0:52:28 > 0:52:31Everybody knew that the convoy was due.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38With lessons of past failures learned, nothing was left to chance.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42Making its way across the sea
0:52:42 > 0:52:45was a convoy that carried more than food and fuel.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47It carried deliverance.
0:52:47 > 0:52:52For those here on Malta, all they could do now was wait.
0:52:57 > 0:53:00At sea, the convoy was repeatedly attacked.
0:53:03 > 0:53:06The ships were the most defended of the war,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09but the forces arrayed against them were immense.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15We could hear the poor, wretched ships as they got nearer,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18being bombarded and so on.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21One could see from the rooftops the battle going on.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28The most important ship of the convoy was the SS Ohio,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30a tanker filled with vital fuel.
0:53:32 > 0:53:35Already hit ten times, and taking on water,
0:53:35 > 0:53:38three destroyers hurried to its rescue.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43From the roof of my house, I could see the entrance of the harbour
0:53:43 > 0:53:45and I could see ships coming in.
0:53:45 > 0:53:48Three at one time, one on its own.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Of the 14 ships, nine had been sunk.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54One more was still at sea.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57The Ohio was inching towards land.
0:54:00 > 0:54:04With a destroyer strapped either side and a third leading her in,
0:54:04 > 0:54:08as dawn broke, the Ohio finally came within sight of Grand Harbour.
0:54:09 > 0:54:10Now tantalisingly close,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12but travelling at no more than walking speed,
0:54:12 > 0:54:16there was still no certainty she would make her destination.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24The Ohio, I remember, a ship,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28a big ship with its decks completely awash,
0:54:28 > 0:54:30no-one on board, like a ghost,
0:54:30 > 0:54:34being brought in by a destroyer and two tugs going very slowly.
0:54:38 > 0:54:39All along the bastions,
0:54:39 > 0:54:43crowds watched Ohio's agonisingly slow progress.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46But at 8am, she finally passed through the breakwater
0:54:46 > 0:54:48and into Grand Harbour.
0:54:48 > 0:54:51It was the 15th of August 1942,
0:54:51 > 0:54:54the most important date in Malta's calendar -
0:54:54 > 0:54:56the feast day of Santa Maria.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14I don't think I've ever cried with so much emotion.
0:55:15 > 0:55:20And the Army were throwing their hats up in the air on the quay there.
0:55:20 > 0:55:23And people were crying and singing and clapping.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28The convoy of Santa Maria was so welcome
0:55:28 > 0:55:31because that really brought everything.
0:55:31 > 0:55:35I think at the end, if it wasn't for that convoy,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38we would have been down then.
0:55:38 > 0:55:43Even children took place to see that they were all emptied,
0:55:43 > 0:55:48to take them away and put them in storage somewhere, the rations.
0:55:48 > 0:55:53Because otherwise we would have been really starved -
0:55:53 > 0:55:56no ammunition, no medicines, no nothing.
0:56:01 > 0:56:04That was the most momentous moment
0:56:04 > 0:56:08because we realised that was the saviour really.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11I don't think there was a dry eye, you know,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14people all wept with joy.
0:56:17 > 0:56:20The tanker Ohio managed to come into Grand Harbour,
0:56:20 > 0:56:23plus the four merchant men -
0:56:23 > 0:56:25ammunition, fuel and foodstuffs.
0:56:28 > 0:56:32And subsequently aeroplanes could fly and people could eat.
0:56:32 > 0:56:36Dress a bit and eventually hit back hard at the Axis powers.
0:56:40 > 0:56:43Just two weeks after the Ohio reach the island,
0:56:43 > 0:56:47four Axis tankers were sent to Rommel's aid.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50Malta's now stronger and better organised forces sank them all.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55The island had seen out its darkest day.
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Malta's ordeal was far from over,
0:56:59 > 0:57:01but she'd faced down her stiffest challenge.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04The siege had been lifted and the convoys were getting through.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08In a matter of months, the island's fortunes had reversed completely.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10The RAF had regained control of the skies,
0:57:10 > 0:57:14her strike forces were sinking more Axis shipping than ever before
0:57:14 > 0:57:17and she had in place the leadership upon which could depend.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22But it was the change in Axis strategy that spared Malta.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Kasselring's fears had been realised.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Fortress Malta proved decisive in North Africa.
0:57:31 > 0:57:35In the desert, Rommel's supplies were drained
0:57:35 > 0:57:38as Malta was crippling his supply lines.
0:57:38 > 0:57:4040% of fuel was sunk in August.
0:57:40 > 0:57:42Another 20% lost in September.
0:57:44 > 0:57:47The Axis adventure in North Africa was doomed.
0:57:50 > 0:57:53The struggle of the Maltese people to defend their islands
0:57:53 > 0:57:56has become a famous one and the debt the Allies owe them is huge.
0:57:56 > 0:57:58But Malta's importance lay in the wider battle.
0:57:58 > 0:58:00Its offensive role was vital.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04In July 1943, the Allies turned north to Sicily.
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Spearheading the invasion, lying just 60 miles away,
0:58:08 > 0:58:10and now swarming with aircraft, was Malta.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17Churchill later identified the defence of Malta as the keystone
0:58:17 > 0:58:20to Britain's position in Egypt and the Middle East.
0:58:20 > 0:58:24It was more than a great tale of hardship and valour.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27Indeed, success in North Africa started and hinged on
0:58:27 > 0:58:29the battle for Malta.
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd