The first air attacks
The Regia Aeronautica opened its air campaign against Malta one day after Italy entered the war. Bombers and fighters crossed from Sicily to attack Hal Far and the seaplane base at Kalafrana, beginning a pattern in which the island's airfields and harbour installations were treated as operational targets tied to control of the central Mediterranean. Malta's fighter defence was still small, centred on Sea Gladiators and newly arriving Hurricanes. Italian commanders expected repeated bombing to constrain the base while Axis shipping continued toward Libya. The raids established the geographic problem…
Continue in Malta: Air Siege and Convoy War →