Malta besieged — defending the Mediterranean island

Governor-General William Dobbie, 61, an engineer officer and devout Baptist, has commanded the British colony of Malta since the spring. The archipelago, midway between Sicily and Libya, locks down the central Mediterranean: whoever holds it can cut the Italian convoys to North Africa. Dobbie knows his position is as vital as it is exposed.

Since Italy entered the war in early June, the island has been besieged. The Regia Aeronautica, the Italian air force, is a few minutes' flight from the Sicilian airfields and regularly bombs the harbours and runways. For air defence, Malta long fielded only a handful of Gloster Sea Gladiator fighters, obsolete biplanes drawn from Royal Navy reserve crates. Anti-aircraft batteries are scarce, shelters inadequate for a dense population.

At the end of July 1940, the Admiralty is studying a risky operation: bringing the old aircraft carrier Argus from Gibraltar to catapult a dozen modern Hurricane fighters to the island. The manoeuvre would oblige Force H to venture into waters dominated by Italian aviation and submarines. Dobbie must tell London what his island needs.