The Air Battle for Malta: The Diaries of a Spitfire Pilot

236 Pages·2006·9.97 MB·English

by  James Douglas-Hamilton

To those in the Royal Air Force who gave their lives in the
Second World War and to their families.
‘He either fears his fate too much
Or his deserts are small
That dares not put it to the touch
to gain or lose it all’
James Graham, Marquis of Montrose
First published in Great Britain in 1981 by Mainstream Publishing Co
(Edinburgh) Ltd
Reprinted in 2000 by Airlife Publishing Ltd.
This 4th edition published in 2006 by
Pen & Sword Aviation
An imprint of
Pen & Sword Books Ltd
47 Church Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2AS
Copyright © James Douglas-Hamilton 1981, 1990, 2000, 2006
Introduction © P.B. (Laddie) Lucas CBE DSO DFC
ISBN 1 84415 331 2
PRINT ISBN 978 1 84415 331 2
EPUB ISBN: 9781844684373
PRC ISBN: 9781844684380
The right of James Douglas-Hamilton to be identified as Author of this work has
been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
A CIP cataloge record for this book is
available from the British Library
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form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying,
recording
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from
the
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
Introduction by P. B. (Laddie) Lucas, CBE, DSO, DFC
Part One
1 The Struggle for Survival
2 Hitler, Operation Hercules and Churchill
Part Two
3 The Squadron Commander and His Diary
4 The First USS Wasp Malta Relief Force
5 The Fighter Pilot’s Paradise
6 The Victory of 10 May
7 Ferocious Encounters
8 The June Convoy and Invasion Postponed
9 July Battles and a Remarkable Escape.
10 The Convoy Lifeline and a Fighter Offensive
11 The Breaking of the Luftwaffe – October 1942
12 The Raising of the Siege and The Call of Duty
Part Three
13 The Fighter Pilots and The Victory of Malta
Sources
Select Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
T
he author and Publishers wish to thank the following, who have kindly
given permission for the use of copyright material:
Ernest Benn Ltd., for extract from Grace under Malta, by Sybil Dobbie; Mrs
Diana Cameron for extracts from 603 Squadron Diary, written by Squadron
Leader Lord David Douglas-Hamilton and her father, Squadron Leader Bill
Douglas DFC; Cassell and Company Limited for extracts from Volumes II and
IV of the History of the Second World War by Sir Winston Churchill; William
Collins and Company Limited for extract from The Rommel Papers, by B. H.
Liddell Hart; Peter Davies for extracts from Tattered Battlements, A Malta Diary
by a Fighter Pilot; Robert Hale Limited for extract from Malta, The Triumphant
Years, by G. Hogan; Heinemann for extract from the Memoirs of Lord Ismay;
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office for extracts from The Air Battle of Malta, the
official account of the RAF in Malta, June 1940 to November 1942, published
by the Ministry of Information, from the History of the Second World War
Volume II by Captain S. W. Roskill, and from the History of the Second World
War Volume III by General Playfair; Hodder and Stoughton for extracts from
The Unconquered Isle, The Story of Malta GC, by Ian Hay; from Briefed to
Attack, Malta’s part in African Victory, by Air Vice Marshall Sir Hugh Lloyd,
and from The Siege Within the Walls, Malta 1940–1943 by Stewart Perowne;
Jarrolds and Lawrence Pollinger Ltd., for extracts from Where no Angels Dwell,
by Air Vice-Marshall Sandy Johnstone, DFC, and from Spitfires over Malta by
Paul Brennan and Ray Hesselyn; William Kimber and Company Limited for
extracts from The Battle of Malta, by Joseph Attard, from The Fighter Aces of
the RAF 1939–1945 by E. C. R. Baker, from The Memoirs of Field Marshal
Kesselring, and from Faith, Hope and Charity, Three Planes against an Air
Force, by Kenneth Poolman.
Mr and Mrs Dermot McDermid for extracts from the papers of Group
Captain Arthur Donaldson DSO, DFC, AFC; Oxford University Press for
extracts from the Struggle for Crete, by G. McD. G. Stewart; Mrs Brian Power,
for extracts from Lord David Douglas-Hamilton’s Diary and papers; The Public
Record Office for extracts from the Prime Minister’s papers; for extracts with the
gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen from the Royal Archives and for
extracts with the permission of The Times of Malta.
The author also wishes to thank the Rt Hon. Francis Pym MC, Geoffrey
Pattie, Air Commodore Henry Probert MBE, and Mr McDonald of the Air
Historical Branch, Mrs Brian Power OBE, Duke of Hamilton, The Rt Hon. Earl
of Selkirk KT, GCMG, GBE, AFC, Paul Evans DFC, GroupCaptain Cahill DSO,
GroupCaptain Jack Satchell DSO, Denis Barnham DFC, Professor Reg Jones
CB, CBE, Ian Ritchie, Miss Park, Sir Edward Brown MBE, Dr Bevan Jones, Air
Vice Marshal Frank Dodd CBE, DSO, DFC, AFC, Lord deL’Isle VC, KG,
GCMG, Sir John Colville CB, CVO, Miss Eliza Oxley, Harold Lind, Charles
Wild, Owen Dudley Edwards, Dr Eugene Pugatch, Mike Foulis, the US Naval
Historical Center in Washington DC, the US Embassy, the US National
Archives, the Imperial War Museum, the RAF Museum, and the House of
Commons Library for their assistance.
The three Spitfire pilots who give the author invaluable accounts, to whom
he is very grateful are:
Laddie Lucas CBE, DSO, DFC, one of the first Spitfire pilots in Malta.
Tony Holland DFC, the remaining survivor of the Spitfire pilots of 603
Squadron flown off the USS Wasp, and Air Vice-Marshal Sandy Johnstone CB,
DFC, one of the last Spitfire pilots to arrive in Malta, when the circumstances
had changed.
The missing link in the story was provided by the late Group Captain Arthur
Donaldson DSO, DFC, AFC. He was present during the last massive
confrontation between the Luftwaffe and the Spitfire pilots in October, 1942.
Curiously only one fighter pilot received the Victoria Cross in the Second World
War, but Arthur Donaldson probably came as close to winning it as any.
The bulk of the story is based on the 603 Squadron Diary and the personal
Diary of its Commander, Squadron Leader Lord David Douglas-Hamilton, along
with other material provided by his widow, Mrs Brian Power, as this covered the
period when Malta’s very existence hung in the balance, and the battle fought on
10 May 1942 was the turning point in the Air Battle for Malta.
Had it not been for the Diaries, in which he paid tribute to the Spitfire pilots
who served with him, David might have taken his place among the countless
unknown warriors of the Second World War. As it happened he was one of the
only four brothers in the Royal Air Force all of whom became professional
flying instructors and Squadron Commanders. His three older brothers became
Wing Commanders and then Group Captains, but of the four of them David was
the only brother to command a Spitfire squadron at the height of the battle. He
was a patriot and a leader and therein lay his greatness.