Operation Pedestal

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The HMS Eagle, sunk by the German submarine U-73
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The HMS Eagle, sunk by the German submarine U-73

Operation Pedestal was a British operation to get vital supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during World War II and the height of the Axis siege of Malta. The British knew that Malta would have to capitulate if supplies of desperately needed fuel and ammunition did not reach its forces here. The convoy is also known as the Battle of Mid-August and, in Malta, as the Santa Marija Convoy[1].

Despite serious losses, enough crucial supplies were delivered to enable Malta to continue as an offensive base.

Contents

[edit] Background

Previous convoys such as Harpoon (from Gibraltar) and Vigorous (from Egypt) had had most of their merchantmen sunk and their escorts damaged.

The supplies were to be carried in a convoy of fourteen merchant ships. Key among them was the SS Ohio, the only large tanker available (and the largest tanker in the world at the time). In case it was lost, the others would carry some fuel supplies in the form of drums. So that the convoy could get through it was to be protected by a huge force of warships, including two battleships, three aircraft carriers, seven cruisers and thirty-two destroyers. Once they reached the Sicily channel, Force Z (the battleships, the aircraft carriers, and three cruisers) were to return Gibraltar, while the convoy was to continue on to Malta escorted by the remaining four cruisers and the destroyers. The operation started on 9 August 1942, when the convoy sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Regia Marina, on their side, had the problem of low diesel oil reserves, which kept the largest vessels in the Italian ports, reducing their scope for operations. When the British convoy was detected, it was decided to attack it with German and Italian aircraft based in Sardinia, then send ten submarines into the Sicily channel; an Italian cruiser division was to deliver the final attack. To allow this to happen diesel oil was transferred from the battleships' tanks to the cruisers.

[edit] Operation timeline

[edit] 11th August

1pm: The German submarine U-73 sneaks through the destroyer screen of thirteen vessels, and sinks the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle using four torpedoes.

HMS Furious launches her shipment of Supermarine Spitfires, which fly on to Malta for the defence of the island. Her part of the mission complete, Furious turns back for Gibraltar.

The destroyer HMS Wolverine (escorting Furious) detects, rams and sinks the Italian submarine Dagabur. Wolverine's bow is seriously damaged, but the vessel is able to make Gibraltar for repairs.

8pm: An air attack by Italian (S.84, CR.42, C.202, and Re.2001) fighters and bombers against the aircraft carriers damages the flight deck of HMS Victorious.

Allied aircraft from Malta make attacks on Sicilian airfields to damage, deter, or draw off Axis planes.

[edit] 12th August

The Italian cruiser division, formed of three heavy cruisers (Gorizia, Bolzano, and Trieste), three light cruisers (Eugenio di Savoia, Raimondo Montecuccoli, and Muzio Attendolo) and seventeen destroyers set sail to meet the British convoy.

The carriers were flying off Fulmars and Sea Hurricanes as air cover. The first air attack by 19 Ju88s was met by AA fire and these fighters. Four bombers were claimed for the loss of a fighter and two were shot down by the escorting ships.

The submarine Brin was driven off by destroyers.

A Short Sunderland flying boat attacked the Giada which was waiting for the convoy off Algiers, damaging it. The Giada was attacked again later by another flying boat which caused more damage, the Brin was able to bring down the flying boat with its own defences.

At noon, another air attack came in of Italian and German bombers and Italian fighters. The attacks deviated from their planned timetable and the convoy got brief respites rather than enduring a continuous wave of attacks. A freighter the Deucalion was the only victim.

From 1400 to 1900 the destroyers dropped depth charges to the port and starboard every 10 minutes to deter the submarines.

5pm: the Italian submarine Cobalto having already been damaged by depth charges from the destroyer screen surfaced and was promplty rammed and sunk by HMS Ithuriel which then picked up 3 officers and 38 crew.

Z Force less Wilton prepared to turn back to Gibraltar. Another Axis air attack arrived. A high level attack was cancelled due to lack of escorts, but dive bombers sank a merchant ship. HMS Indomitable was struck several times killing some 50 crew and damaging the flight deck and hangar and causing flooding. As a result, Indomitable's aircraft had to land on Victorious. The aircraft already on her deck were pushed into the sea to make room. Unable to take any more part in the operation, Indomitable turns back to Gibraltar with an escort formed up of Charybdis, Lookout, Lightning and Solami within a couple of hours she was back up to 28 knots. In the same air attack the destroyer HMS Foresight was sunk.

Victorious was able to put a patrol up in the air again by 18:20

8pm: Italian submarine Axum launched four torpedoes, sinking the cruiser HMS Cairo and damaging the oil tanker SS Ohio and the cruiser HMS Nigeria. A combined Italian-German air attack sank two merchant ships.

9pm: Italian submarine Alagi sank a merchant ship and damaged the cruiser HMS Kenya; another submarine, the Bronzo, sank another merchant ship, Deucalion. Nigeria and the other damaged ships turned back to Gibraltar with Wilton and Bicester as escorts.

Other submarines, the Emo, Avorio and Dandolo among them were driven off by depth charges.

[edit] 13th August

Passing Tunisia, the convoy is subjected to attack by Italian and German torpedo boats and submarines. The cruiser HMS Manchester is hit at 1 am by torpedoes from the Italian MTBs Ms-22 and Ms-16, leaving her dead in the water and listing. She restored power and some of her crew (156 men) were transferred to HMS Pathfinder but she was later scuttled off Cape Bon. Several hundreds of her complement landed in Vichy-loyal Tunisia, where they were interned. According to most sources, 16 of her crew died by the torpedo explosion, while at least another 150 were missing at sea during her evacuation. Six merchant ships were sunk by torpedoes during the attacks, four of them by Italian Ms (large motor torpedo crafts) and MAS (standard Italian MTBs). They accounted that night for some 38000 tons of Allied shipping, more than fifty percent of all the cargo vessels sunk, scuttled or captured at sea by Italian surface forces in World War II.

This painting by Rolf Claudus shows HMS Manchester torpedoed off Cape Bon, August 13 1942
Enlarge
This painting by Rolf Claudus shows HMS Manchester torpedoed off Cape Bon, August 13 1942

Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, commander of the German Air Command based in Sicily, denied air coverage to the Italian cruiser division, having little regard for the fighting capability of the Regia Marina, and preferred to use his aircraft for direct attacks on the British convoy. Without air cover and given the closeness of the air base at Malta, the Supermarina (Regia Marina High Command) withdrew their cruisers to Messina. They passed through the area patrolled by the British submarines HMS Safari and Unbroken and were attacked. The Unbroken torpedoed the Bolzano, which was hit in her oil tank and she ran aground; the Attendolo lost 60 feet of bow. Neither ship returned to action during the war.

6.46pm: A Junker 88 attack hits SS Ohio, which is severely damaged and reduced to 4 knots.

The convoy is now within protective range of Spitfires and Beaufighters from Malta.

[edit] Aftermath

Operation Pedestal, SS Ohio entering the Grand Harbour of Malta
Enlarge
Operation Pedestal, SS Ohio entering the Grand Harbour of Malta

Axis air and sea attacks sank nine cargo ships, an aircraft carrier (Eagle), two cruisers (Manchester and Cairo), and a destroyer (Foresight).

The British claimed an Italian submarine and thirty-nine aircraft. Ohio under Capt. Dudley Mason GC, then the world's largest oil tanker and capable of over 16 knots, suffered seven direct hits and twenty near misses and lost all power, but was taken under tow by three destroyers (HMS Penn, HMS Ledbury and HMS Bramham) and one minesweeper (HMS Rye) and arrived in port on 15 August.

The arrival of the oil and supplies lifted the siege of Malta. By transferring fighters from the carriers to Malta, the British re-established a credible air garrison on the island. Malta exerted a block of Axis supplies to North Africa immediately before the Second Battle of El Alamein.

[edit] The Forces

[edit] Allied

British ships taking part in this operation included:

  • Merchant Ships
    • SS Almeria Lykes (sunk)
    • MV Brisbane Star (damaged, arrived 14 August)
    • MV Clan Ferguson
    • MV Deucalion
    • MV Dorset
    • MV Empire Hope
    • MV Glenorchy (sunk)
    • MV Melbourne Star (arrived 13 August)
    • SS Ohio (fuel tanker, damaged beyond repair, arrived 15 August)
    • MV Port Chalmers (arrived 13 August)
    • MV Rochester Castle (damaged, arrived 13 August)
    • SS Santa Elisa (freighter, drums of fuel, sunk)
    • SS Waimarana (freighter, drums of fuel, sunk)
    • MV Wairangi (freighter, ammo and drums of fuel,sunk)

[edit] Axis

  • Submarines
    • Alagi'
    • Avorio
    • Axum
    • Brin
    • Bronzo
    • Cobalto (sunk)
    • Dagabur (sunk)
    • Dandolo
    • Emo
    • Giada (damaged)
    • U-73

[edit] Notes

  1. ↑ The arrival of the last of the convoy on August 15, 1942 coincided with the Feast of the Assumption (Santa Marija) and to this day the convoy is known in Malta as the Santa Marija Convoy or Sta Marija Convoy. The public holiday and celebrations which occur on that day are in part carried out in celebration of the arrival of the convoy. For the fortitude and courage of the Maltese during the siege, the island and people of Malta were awarded the George Cross.

[edit] External links

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