Operation Pedestal

This last major supply operation in Malta was born out of an urgent need to immediately conduct a convoy after the rout of the Harpoon convoy . The decision was made without hesitation, since any other was actually a refusal to defend the island.

Very little time was spent preparing the operation. The commander chosen for the operation, Vice Admiral Sifret , was at sea on his way back to the UK after the invasion operation in Madagascar . He was ordered to go to Takoradi and fly to London to begin planning the operation on July 13, together with Rear Admirals Barrows and Lister, who were to become his deputies.

In general, Pedestal operation was a repetition of Harpoon without the eastern part of the operation, and with the larger forces of the metropolitan fleet dedicated to support it. The plan was drawn up following a familiar pattern of several compounds: the main compound, Connection “Z”, operating before the Sicilian Straits, Connection “X” going to Malta, the connection of minesweepers for trawling passes, aircraft carriers for delivering additional “ Spitfires ” to Malta (operation Bellows), refueling tankers (Connection “R”) and free destroyers, ready to replace losses and eliminate unexpected coincidence. A return from Malta to Gibraltar of ships that survived the Harpoon operation was envisaged. Finally, the Mediterranean fleet had to fulfill the appearance of a convoy in the eastern basin in order to divert attention and separate enemy forces.

By July 27, plans had been developed, and on July 29, Vice Admiral Sifret convened on board the flagship of the battleship Nelson , in Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands , a meeting of commanders for detailed explanations. On July 31, the aircraft carriers Argus and Victorious came out accompanied by the Sirius cruiser and the destroyers Foresight , Fury , Icarus and Intrepid from Scapa Flow for a rendezvous with the rest of the escort west of Gibraltar for the exercise (Operation Berserk), which preceded the convoy. These exercises were to be conducted by three aircraft carriers that have not recently worked out the interaction in the management and guidance of fighters.

Vice Admiral Sifret stepped out of Scapa Flow on August 2 on the Nelson battleship, along with Rodney's battleship, in guarding the destroyers Ashanti , Eskimo , Pathfinder , Penn , Quentin , Somali and Tartar to join the convoy WS-21S , which left Clyde in same day. The convoy consisted of fourteen ships: Almeria Lykes , Brisbane Star , Clan Ferguson , Deucalion , Dorset , Empire Hope , Glenorchy , Melbourne Star , Ohio , Port Chalmers , Rochester Castle , Santa Elisa , Waimarama and Wairangi , with escort from the cruisers Kenya and Nigeria and in various periods of the destroyers Amazon , Bicester , Blyskawica , Derwent , Icarus , Intrepid , Keppel , Lamerton , Ledbury , Malcolm , Penn , Sardonyx , Venomous , Wilton , Wishart and Wolverine . The convoy meeting was held before the release of Rear Admiral Barrows, who commanded the compound going to Malta. At the transition of the convoy to Gibraltar, many exercises were carried out using all types of communication in order to achieve a high level of training of merchant ships, both in communication and in maneuver.

Before the operation of Berserk and the subsequent passage of the Straits of Gibraltar, many movements took place near Gibraltar. The Eagle carrier, the cruiser Charybdis and the destroyers Vansittart , Westcott and Wrestler left as part of Berserk on August 5, the cruisers Kenya and Nigeria arrived to refuel very early on August 7 and left at 04:40 in the dark, while the Indomitable aircraft carrier and the cruiser Phoebe and Siri with a local escort from the destroyers Lightning and Lookout refueled after dark on 8 August.

August 9 and 10 were the busiest due to the passage of the convoy through the strait in dense fog during the morning hours of August 10. In addition to the numerous refueling ships of all classes, on August 9 a group of tankers made up of Brown Ranger and Dingledale escorted by corvettes Coltsfoot , Geranium , Jonquil , and Spiraea together with tugboats Jaunty and Salvonia . There is so little fuel left in Malta that not one of the ships and ships that went out could count on refueling on the island; tankers had to remain in position throughout the operation so that the escort could return to Gibraltar.

On August 10, the composition of all compounds that passed the strait was as follows:

• “W” compound: Nelson and Rodney battleships, Eagle , Indomitable and Victorious aircraft carriers, Charybdis , Phoebe and Sirius cruisers and the destroyers Antelope , Eskimo , Ithuriel , Laforey , Lightning , Lookout , Quentin , Somali , Tartar , Vansittart , Jishan , Lightning , Lookout , Quentin , Somali , Tartar , Vishittart , Wish , Lightning , Lookout , Quentin
• Compound X: Cairo , Kenya , Manchester and Nigeria cruisers, destroyers Ashanti , Bicester , Bramham , Derwent , Foresight , Fury , Icarus , Intrepid , Ledbury , Pathfinder , Penn and Wilton and tugboat Jaunty .
• R-Link: Brown Ranger , Dingledale tankers and Coltsfoot , Geranium , Jonquil and Spiraea corvettes.
• Operation Bellows: "fighters for Malta," included the aircraft carrier Furious , which was separated from the main forces of the convoy under the cover of destroyers from the "additional" compound.
• Additional mix of destroyers: Amazon , Keppel , Malcolm , Venomous , Vidette , Westcott , Wrestler and Wolverine .

In addition, it is worth mentioning the compounds that were in Malta:

• The compound of the minesweepers, which was to trawl ahead along the course of the convoy on the approaches to Malta, consisted of four ships: Hebe , Hythe , Rye and Speedy , plus boats 121, 126, 134, 135, 168, 459 and 462.
• The compound "Y", from the ships Orari and Troilus from Malta, accompanied by the destroyers Badsworth and Matchless . They all remained in Malta after the Harpoon operation.

Three cruisers and 26 destroyers refueled from tankers on August 11, despite the constant tracking of enemy aircraft. The aircraft carrier Furious separated from the main forces in order to launch Operation Bellows, in the midst of which the Eagle aircraft carrier was torpedoed and sank from the attack of the German U-73 boat. 927 people were rescued by the destroyers Laforey and Lookout and tugboat Jaunty . The loss of the Eagle deprived the convoy of a third of the fighter jets.

In the coming darkness, the Axis countries committed combined attacks of diving bomber and torpedo bombers, but without loss for the escort and convoy. This ended the events of the day of August 11th.

August 12

Everything indicated that on August 12, at dawn, massive attacks would begin, as the convoy entered deep into the zone of action of enemy air bases, from which, according to estimates, the enemy could lift about 600 combat aircraft. Post-war data points to 334 bombers (including 90 torpedo bombers) and 273 fighters. The maximum number of combat-ready aircraft in Malta was 36 " Bofighters " (long-range) and 100 " Spitfires ." The air defense of the convoy after the loss of the Eagle aircraft carrier included 34 Hurricane , 10 Martlet and 16 Fulmar aircraft.

The air defense consisted of a permanent air patrol of 12 fighters, which began barrage from 06:00. The first air attack began shortly after 09:00 and continued throughout the day. The enemy achieved the first success after four hours of attacks, when the ship Deucalion was damaged by a bomb. It separated from the convoy and escorted by the destroyer Bramham went to Malta near the Tunisian coast. Both were subjected to unsuccessful bombardment during the day, but shortly before dusk the aviation torpedo hit Deucalion , it caught fire and eventually exploded.

In the afternoon, an anti-submarine alarm was announced on the convoy several times, and at 16:00, the joint attack of the destroyers Pathfinder and Zetland ended with the destroyer Ithuriel forced the Italian boat Cobalto to surface, and then rammed and sank it.

At 18:30, a massive, carefully coordinated air raid began; about 100 aircraft accompanied by fighters attacked from several directions. As a result of the battle, the destroyer Foresight was incapacitated and later sank. The aircraft carrier Indomitable was damaged to complete disrepair flight deck. The carrier Victorious only retained combat capability. When the attack stopped, the main forces of Vice Admiral Sifret came to separate - at 19:00 the compound “W” turned to the west, the connection “X” continued escorting the convoy to Malta.

After just an hour, the convoy was dealt the first serious damage. The Italian submarine Axum has launched four torpedoes that damaged the cruisers Cairo and Nigeria and the tanker Ohio . Nigeria turned to Gibraltar, and Cairo sank, so the escort lost the only ships suitable for targeting fighters. As a result, when an air attack began after about 30 minutes, and the convoy was in some disarray from the losses incurred, 6 Befaiter fighters in the air at dusk were unable to repel the attack. During this attack, the ship Empire Hope was hit and was abandoned, the destroyer Penn received all the survivors. The Clan Ferguson was torpedoed and exploded; among its cargo was 2,000 tons of aviation gasoline and 1,500 tons of explosives. Nevertheless, 96 people from him reached the Tunisian coast, and were interned by the Vichy . The ship Brisbane Star was also torpedoed and left the order, see below for details. Finally, completing the evening chaos, the Italian submarine Alagi after 21:00 fired four torpedoes into the cruiser Kenya ; he almost dodged, but the fourth torpedo hit the stem. The ship continued with the convoy, and was able to give a speed of 25 knots.

Upon learning of the loss of two-thirds of the cruisers of the compound, Vice-Admiral Sifret ordered the cruiser Charybdis , the destroyers Eskimo and Somali to join the convoy, but they were not able to do this until 03:30 the next day. At midnight, the torpedo boats began their attack, waiting at Cape Bon. After 01:00 on August 13, two Italian boats torpedoed the cruiser Manchester . It was subsequently decided to flood it, which was done at 05:00. Most of the survivors reached the coast of Tunisia and was interned there. Within an hour, small speedboats snatched out one of the scattered ships of the convoy, of which many had lagged behind and tried to overtake him. The ships Almeria Lykes , Glenorchy , Santa Elisa and Wairangi were sunk . Only the ship Rochester Castle , which received a torpedo in the right cheekbone, survived and joined the convoy, retaining the course of 13 knots.

August 13

Thus, the situation at dawn on August 13 was as follows: escort from cruisers Charybdis and Kenya and destroyers Ashanti , Eskimo , Fury , Icarus , Intrepid , Pathfinder and Somali , transports of Melbourne Star , Rochester Castle and Waimarama . The Ohio tanker escorted the convoy and caught up with the Ledbury destroyer, the Dorset remained afloat, but without escorting somewhere further astern, the Port Chalmers escorting the destroyers Bramham and Penn were about ten miles away, and the Brisbane Star went clinging to the Tunisian coast.

Meanwhile, the threat from the Italian cruisers was significantly reduced - the lack of cover fighters (priority was given to the daytime cover of the bombers) and the activity of reconnaissance aviation from Malta forced them to move east; aircraft from Malta continued to alarm them. The final attack was delivered to the Italian cruisers by the British submarine Unbroken (P-42) (commander - lieutenant, later vice-admiral and cavalier of Victoria Cross , Alistair Mars), which damaged the heavy cruiser Bolzano , and another torpedo tore off the light cruiser Muzio Attendolo . More Italian surface ships did not threaten the convoy.

The events of August 13th for the convoy began with an air attack immediately after 08:00, when the bomb hit the ship Waimarama . The explosion destroyed not only the ship, but also the attacking bomber. The destroyer Ledbury saved at least 45 people from the crew. Over the next ninety minutes, the most determined attacks of the Ju-87 were directed at the Ohio tanker. At the same time, the ship Dorset also got hit and lost its course, and the ship Port Chalmers caught fire, but still continued to move in the convoy. The final air attack took place at 11:30, without a loss for the convoy. At 12:30, the convoy reached the Malta fighter's reach zone and continued on its way without further problems.

The destroyers Bramham and Penn were left with two damaged ships, the destroyer Ledbury was sent to search for the cruiser Manchester , which was thought to remain afloat, while the compound “X” continued its journey to Malta, meeting trawlers from the island, who made the passage in the minefields . They met the convoy at 2:30 pm and led the ships Melbourne Star , Port Chalmers and Rochester Castle to Grand Harbor at approximately 6:00 pm on August 13. At this time, the minesweeper Rye and two boats went in search of the Ohio tanker. Bramham , Ledbury and Penn at 20:30 received orders to join the compound "X"; the junction turned west and the beginning of the reverse transition to Gibraltar.

August 14th

In the dark, another attack was undertaken, as a result of which the Dorset sank and Ohio got hit again. The destroyers of Bramham , Penn and the minesweeper Rye were ordered to go back to the convoy, spent the rest of the night unsuccessfully trying to tow Ohio , at dawn they were joined by the destroyer Ledbury .

The ship Brisbane Star, meanwhile, also reached Malta, clinging to the Tunisian coast during August 13, and at night taking a throw to the island. During the day, not attacked by anyone, it ignored the demands of all French signal posts to stop and reflected the attempts of officials to board and force it to enter the port, as well as the pressure of the ship’s doctor and the rescued, also demanding that the ship enter the French port because of condition of the wounded. Nevertheless, the captain was firm in his intentions and led the ship to Malta in the evening of 14 August.

August 15

In the end, the Ohio tanker was brought to the port and stranded, and the fuel delivered to them was pumped and used.

Return auxiliary connections

The compound “X”, meanwhile, continued its transition to Gibraltar, being attacked by a submarine in the early morning of August 14th and two air attacks during the day. They did not inflict damage and the compound met with Compound Z at 18:00, reaching Gibraltar at 18:00 on 15 August. The damaged ships of the Z compound sent to the base earlier also all reached Gibraltar safely, except for the destroyer Foresight , which was sunk by the destroyer Tartar attempting to tow it. The “R” also arrived safely in Gibraltar on August 16, and finally three destroyers of the Hunt type arrived: Bramham , Ledbury and Penn , which briefly stayed in Malta after the triumphant salvation of the tanker Ohio .

The ships arriving in Malta delivered 32,000 tons of cargo and 15,000 tons of fuel - enough to provide Malta (with the exception of aviation fuel) until December 1942.

No further operations from the west in 1942 were undertaken; the sudden liberation of Egypt and Cyrenaica from the hostile army since October made the transition from the Eastern Mediterranean much safer, and the blockade from Malta was actually lifted by Stoneage.

• Defense of malta
• Maltese convoys
• Arctic convoys

• Gordon Smith. Naval-History.Net (English) . - The Supply of Malta 1940-1942. The date of circulation is October 20, 2009. Archived April 9, 2012.
• Gudmundur Helgason. HMS Charybdis (88) (English) . The appeal date is May 24, 2019.
• Chapter 2 - Operation Pedestal