Operation Pedestal (Italian: Battaglia di Mezzo Agosto, Battle of mid-August), known in Malta as Il-Konvoj ta' Santa Marija (Santa Maria Convoy), was a British operation to carry supplies to the island of Malta in August 1942, during the Second World War. British ships, submarines and aircraft from Malta attacked Axis convoys to Libya, during the North African Campaign (1940–1943). From 1940 to 1942, the Axis conducted the Siege of Malta, with air and naval forces.
Despite many losses, enough supplies were delivered by the British for the population and military forces on Malta to resist, although it ceased to be an offensive base for much of 1942. The crucial supply in Operation Pedestal was fuel, carried by Ohio, an American-owned tanker with a British crew. The convoy sailed from Britain on 3 August 1942 and passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean on the night of 9/10 August 1942.
The Axis attempt to prevent the fifty ships of the convoy reaching Malta, using bombers, German E-boats, Italian MAS and MS boats, minefields and submarine ambushes, was the last sizeable Axis success in the Mediterranean. More than 500 Merchant and Royal Navy sailors and airmen were killed and only five of the fourteen merchant ships reached Grand Harbour. It was a costly but strategic victory; the arrival of Ohio justified the risks taken; its cargo of aviation fuel revitalised the Maltese air offensive against Axis shipping.
Submarines returned to Malta and Spitfire fighters flown from the aircraft carrier HMS Furious enabled a maximum effort to be made against Axis ships. Italian convoys had to detour farther away from the island, lengthening the journey and increasing the time during which air and naval attacks could be mounted. The Siege of Malta was broken by the Allied re-conquest of Egypt and Libya after the Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November) and by Operation Torch (8–16 November) in the western Mediterranean, which enabled land-based aircraft to escort merchant ships to the island.
Background
Allied operations
The Allies waged the Western Desert Campaign (1940–43) in North Africa, against the Axis forces of Italy aided by Germany, which sent the Deutsches Afrika Korps and substantial Luftwaffe detachments to the Mediterranean in late 1940. Up to the end of the year, 21 ships with 160,000 long tons (160,000 t) of cargo had reached Malta without loss and a reserve of seven months' supplies had been accumulated. Three convoys to Malta in 1941 suffered the loss of only one merchant ship. From January 1941 to August 1942, 46 ships had delivered 320,000 long tons (330,000 t) but 25 ships had been sunk and modern, efficient, merchant ships, naval and air forces had been diverted from other routes for long periods; 31 supply runs by submarines had been conducted. Reinforcements for Malta included 19 costly aircraft carrier ferry operations (Club Runs) to deliver fighters.
From August 1940 to the end of August 1942, 670 Hurricane and Spitfire fighters had been flown off carriers in the western Mediterranean. Many other aircraft used Malta as a staging post for North Africa and the Desert Air Force. Malta was a base for air, sea and submarine operations against Axis supply convoys and from 1 June to 31 October 1941, British forces sank about 220,000 long tons (220,000 t) of Axis shipping on the African convoy routes, 94,000 long tons (96,000 t) by the navy and 115,000 long tons (117,000 t) by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Loaded ships sailing to Africa accounted for 90 per cent of the ships sunk and Malta-based squadrons were responsible for about 75 per cent of the ships that were sunk by aircraft. Military operations from Malta and use of the island as a staging post, led to Axis air campaigns against the island in 1941 and 1942. By late July, the 80 fighters on the island averaged wastage of 17 per week and the remaining aviation fuel was only sufficient for the fighters, making it impractical to send more bombers and torpedo-bombers for offensive operations.
Malta, 1942
Operation Julius, a plan to supply Malta by simultaneous convoys from Gibraltar in Operation Harpoon and from Alexandria by Operation Vigorous (12–15/16 June) was a costly failure. Only two merchant ships from Harpoon reached the island; the Vigorous convoy was forced to turn back and several convoy escorts and many merchantmen, including the only tanker in Harpoon, were sunk. By August, the fortnightly (two-weekly) ration on Malta for one person was 14 oz (400 g) sugar, 7 oz (200 g) fats, 10.5 oz (300 g) bread and 14 oz (400 g) of corned beef. An adult male worker had a daily intake of 1,690 calories and women and children received 1,500 calories. In August, livestock was slaughtered to economise on fodder imports and to grow crops on grazing land; the meat being supplied through Victory Kitchens. Malta would be forced to surrender if fuel, food and ammunition were not delivered before September and Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, warned that there remained only a few weeks' supply of aviation fuel.
The fast [40 kn (74 km/h; 46 mph)] minelaying cruiser, HMS Welshman, had been converted to carry fuel; submarines were pressed into service to run supplies of aviation fuel, anti-aircraft ammunition and torpedoes through the blockade, to keep the remaining aircraft operational. The First Lord of the Admiralty Albert Alexander and Admiral of the Fleet Dudley Pound, the First Sea Lord (professional head of the Royal Navy), concurred with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, that the loss of Malta would be "... a disaster of [the] first magnitude to the British Empire, and probably [would be] fatal in the long run to the defence of the Nile Valley" and prepared a new convoy operation from Gibraltar, with an unprecedented number of escorts using ships taken from the Far East and from the Home Fleet, which had vessels to spare, since the suspension of Arctic convoys, following the Convoy PQ 17 disaster.
Axis command
The Axis command structure in the Mediterranean was centralised at the top and fragmented at the lower levels. Benito Mussolini had monopolised authority over the Italian armed forces since 1933 by taking the offices of Minister of War, Minister of the Navy and Minister of the Air Force. Feldmarschall Albert Kesselring of the Luftwaffe commanded German ground forces in the theatre as Commander-in-Chief South (Oberbefehlshaber Süd, OB Süd) but had no authority over Axis operations in North Africa or the organisation of convoys to Libya. Fliegerkorps II and Fliegerkorps X were subordinate to the usual Luftwaffe chain of command. Since November 1941, Kesselring had exercised some influence over the conduct of German naval operations in the Mediterranean as the nominal head of Naval Command Italy (Marinekommando Italien) but this was subordinate to the Kriegsmarine chain of command. German inter-service rivalries obstructed co-operation and there was little unity of effort between German and the Italian forces in the Mediterranean. Kesselring had authority only to co-ordinate plans for combined operations by German and Italian forces and some influence on the use of the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) for the protection of convoys to North Africa. The Italian Navy resisted all German attempts to integrate its operations; ships in different squadrons never trained together and Supermarina (Italian Naval High Command) constantly over-ruled subordinate commanders.
Prelude
Allied plans
Operation Pedestal
Admiralty planning for Operation Pedestal began in late July 1942, under the direction of Vice-Admiral Neville Syfret, rear-admirals Lumley Lyster and Harold Burrough and the Naval Staff. Syfret transferred to HMS Nelson on 27 July when Nelson and HMS Rodney returned to Scapa Flow from Freetown, West Africa. Syfret convened a conference on 29 July for Flag and Commanding Officers of the naval forces for Pedestal at Scapa, to consider the orders for the operation. Several smaller operations were also planned, to be carried out concurrently with Pedestal.
The convoy comprised 14 merchant vessels, the most important being Ohio, the only large, fast tanker available, a US ship loaned to the British, with a British crew. As insurance against the loss of Ohio and its 12,000 long tons (12,000 t) of oil, the other ships were to carry fuel in drums. The convoy was to be protected by two battleships, three aircraft carriers, seven cruisers, thirty-two destroyers and seven submarines, the largest escort force yet.
The combined group was named Force F; the convoy and escorts from Britain as far as the rendezvous, became Force P; the aircraft carriers Victorious, Argus and escorts were named Force M on the voyage to the meeting point. The aircraft carrier Eagle and its escort from Gibraltar to the rendezvous became Force J and the carrier Indomitable and its escorts from Freetown were called Force K. During Operation Berserk, all the carriers and escorts became Force G; Force R was made up of the fleet refuelling vessels RFA Brown Ranger and Dingledale, escorted by four corvettes and an ocean-going tug, RFA Abbeydale a Dale-class oiler; escorts were named Force W also for Operation Berserk, Force X formed the close escort to Malta, Force Z was made up of the heavy ships of Force F, that were to turn back to Gibraltar and Force Y was to conduct Operation Ascendant, a run from Malta to Gibraltar by the two ships that had reached the island during Operation Harpoon and escorts, when Pedestal entered the Mediterranean.
Embarked on Victorious were 809 Naval Air Squadron (809 NAS) and 884 NAS FAA with sixteen Fulmars and 885 NAS with six Sea Hurricanes; on Indomitable, 806 NAS had ten Martlets, 800 NAS and 880 NAS had twenty-four Sea Hurricanes, 827 NAS and 831 NAS had fourteen Albacores. On Eagle were 801 NAS and 813 NAS with sixteen Sea Hurricanes. Based on Malta were five Baltimores, six Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) Spitfires and five Wellington Mk VIII reconnaissance aircraft. Reinforcements were sent temporarily from Egypt, raising the maximum number of operational aircraft to a hundred Spitfire fighters, thirty-six Beaufighter strike aircraft, thirty Beaufort torpedo bombers, three Wellingtons, two Liberators, two Baltimores and three FAA Albacores and Swordfish torpedo bombers. The convoy was named WS.21S ("Winston's Specials" were troop convoys from Britain to Suez via the Cape of Good Hope). After the usual convoy conference just before sailing, Burrough met with the Convoy Commodore, A. G. Venables, along with the masters of the merchant ships on board his flagship, HMS Nigeria to brief them. A similar meeting was held with radio operators of the merchantmen to explain fleet communications and procedures. Envelopes marked "Not to be opened until 08:00 hours August 10" were handed to the ships' masters, containing personal messages signed by the First Lord of the Admiralty wishing the masters "God Speed". The convoy sailed from the River Clyde on the night of 2/3 August, escorted by Nigeria, HMS Kenya and destroyers, to rendezvous with the other escorts the following morning.
Operation Bellows
Shortly before the departure from Scapa, the Admiralty decided that Furious should carry out Operation Bellows, to reinforce Malta (known informally as a 'Club Run') with Spitfires at the same time as Operation Pedestal. The departure of Furious was delayed by technical difficulties caused by the flight deck, which sloped upwards to a point amidships. A Spitfire made a practice take-off, with wooden wedges in the flaps to ensure a 25° angle and Furious steaming at 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph), into a 10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph) wind. The Spitfire was thrown into the air by the rise on the flight deck, bounced onto the forward slope, fell off the front near stalling speed and narrowly avoided ditching. An immediate request was made to the Air Ministry for constant-speed propellers and two days later, a Spitfire with the new propeller took off easily, leaving 38 aircraft still on board to be flown to Malta. In company with HMS Manchester, she joined Nelson and the convoy three days before the start of Operation Pedestal.
Operation Berserk
On 31 July, Nelson, Rodney, HMS Victorious, HMS Argus, HMS Sirius and destroyers sailed from Scapa to rendezvous with HMS Eagle and HMS Charybdis from Gibraltar and HMS Indomitable and HMS Phoebe, from Freetown, for Operation Berserk. The operation took place between the Azores and Gibraltar from 6 to 9 August and included exercises with the merchant ships in anti-aircraft gunnery, emergency turns and in changing cruising formations, communicating with signal flags and short range wireless telegraphy (W/T). The risk to security in breaking W/T silence during the exercises, was accepted by Allied planners and according to Cunningham, the convoy attained efficiency in manoeuvring "comparable to that of a fleet unit". The aircraft of the force performed dummy air attacks in the afternoon of 8 August, to exercise radar reporting, the fighter direction organisation and to give anti-aircraft gun crews aircraft recognition practice, followed by a fly past.