The R.A.F's fighter defence aircraft saving Malta

[helmitsmit]

I was wondering how did the RAF's aircraft compare as fighters to their opponents over Malta?

How did the Sea Gladiators do so well? How come they weren't shot out of the sky?

How did the Hurricane mk 1 do against the Macchi 200 and 202 and Me 109 E/F? What was it's strengths and weaknesses and how did it servive? Did the cannon mk 2 change things?

When the Spitfire mk V came along did they kick arse like everyone on Malta expected? How did they compare?

Basically, I am reading "A band of Eagles" and it is set in Malta with those RAF Pilots. That got me interested!

[Jerry W. Loper]

Originally Posted by helmitsmit

I was wondering how did the RAF's aircraft compare as fighters to their opponents over Malta?

How did the Sea Gladiators do so well? How come they weren't shot out of the sky?

How did the Hurricane mk 1 do against the Macchi 200 and 202 and Me 109 E/F? What was it's strengths and weaknesses and how did it servive? Did the cannon mk 2 change things?

When the Spitfire mk V came along did they kick arse like everyone on Malta expected? How did they compare?

Basically, I am reading "A band of Eagles" and it is set in Malta with those RAF Pilots. That got me interested!

...based on what I know of the aircraft:

(1) the Gladiators did well against Italian bombers and maybe Italian biplane fighters but would have been outclassed by modern monoplane fighters; (2) the Hurricane Mk. I would have been superior to the Macchi MC-200, and with a competent pilot would have been able to handle the Me-109E, but would have been outclassed by the MC-202 and the Me-109F, and (3) the Spitfire Mk. V would have been roughly equal to the Me-109F and MC-202 and would have outclassed all the other Axis fighters mentioned.

[helmitsmit]

yet thegladiators shot down lots of fighters too. And I thought the hurricanes were equal to the Machi 200 because of the volkes filter certainly no better.

[Njaco]

One equation that I believe made the difference - very dedicated RAF pilots!

[helmitsmit]

Yeah true. I think this was a greater achievement the BoB! Because short supplies much more out numbered and bigger apparent disadvantage of aircraft performance fighter-fighter.

[merlin]

You mustn't forget the Commanders too!

With his success in Malta it made the score:

Park Two - Kesselring Nil

[Célérité]

It's not very famous but Malta was an important air battle.I invite you to read George Beurling if you don't know him. He was an hero of the battle of Malta.

[Watanbe]

Originally Posted by Célérité

It's not very famous but Malta was an important air battle.I invite you to read George Beurling if you don't know him. He was an hero of the battle of Malta.

I have always found Beurling to be an interesting and strange character! He was certaintly a brilliant ace with nerves of steel, but was despised by his fellow comrades. His disregard for his own safety and that of his formation made him an unpopular figure.

[pbfoot]

Originally Posted by Watanbe

I have always found Beurling to be an interesting and strange character! He was certaintly a brilliant ace with nerves of steel, but was despised by his fellow comrades. His disregard for his own safety and that of his formation made him an unpopular figure.

popular myth Buerling was more comfortable in the company of the guys who maintained the aircraft he maintained his own weapons this irked the the RAF types as it wasn't done. He did not drink nor smoke these things alone made him different then 99.9% of other aircrew . He was well respected by his fellow pilots and was eager to teach them the art of deflection shooting . He did not respect authority
http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/sto...tml#post267704 (George "Buzz" Beurling, leading Canadian Ace)

[peter benn]

Regarding Hurricanes and Spitfires at Malta, three very good scholarly hardcovers are "Malta: the Hurricane Years" (Shores/Cull), "Malta: the Spitfire Year" (Shores/Cull), and "249 At War" (Cull).

Most economically bought used on sites like abebooks, etc., these resources enable you to pinpoint the scrambles on a certain day and often by the clock (the two "Malta" volumes deal with all squadrons on the island), and see all the combat claims for 249 chronologically, with aircraft i.d.'s (249 At War).

A bonus is that the bibliographies in these volumes list just about every other important book on Malta.

[kool kitty89]

Also performance of the Gladiators would be improved as many had been refitted with 3-blade variable-pitch props and with 100 octane gasoline the Mercury could make nearly 1000 hp up to ~9,000 ft.

[Guns'n'Props]

I'm reading "Band of Eagles ..." at the moment. I've got to the last chapter. Essentially it's a good read / primer to 41-42 in Malta. The author obviously does take his license but there are some incidents that can be readily identified with the real history.

As stated by Peter Benn "Malta: the Hurricane Years" (Shores/Cull), "Malta: the Spitfire Year" (Shores/Cull), and "249 At War" (Cull)" are probably as good as they get. More recently Cull et al have issued "hurricanes over Malta", "Spitfires over Malta" and "Spitfires over Sicily". These are essentially updated / improved versions of the Hurricane Years / Spitfire Year. It seems that over the years research has uncovered little incidents that may require some stories to be re-told.

There are lots of other books typically memoirs like "One man's window" - Denis Barnham, "Onward to Malta" - T.F Neil and "Thorn in Rommel's side" by P.B. "Laddie" Lucas.

Overall life as a pilot in Malta was not easy. Initially the Gladiators could mount a spirited if token defence against the Italians until Hurricanes were flown in. When the Germans moved into Sicily in late '40 early '41 Munchenberg (hope I got the spelling right) of JG26 made life hell for the Hurris with a hefty number of kills to NO losses (except flying accidents). Luckily Barbarossa kicked off and the RAF could regroup and hold the Italians at bay. Hurri vs Macchi 200 were quite even. The 202 was obviously better but things really fouled up when the Luftwaffe returned in Winter'41. Unlike Band of Eagles the RAF in Malta were still flying vee/vic formations in early '42 until the arrival of Stan Turner RCAF - one of Bader's men. He brought with him "finger 4 " or as they called it later "the Malta form". In March'42 the first Spitfires were flown in. Being very secret no one was prepared and within 24hrs most were non-operational. Further fly ins were more successful until eventually a decent strength of Spits was built up.The Spit was well matched with the 109F but the Germans usually had the advantage of numbers. Life in the air remained fraught with danger until around Oct'42 when the Luftwaffe wound down their attacks.

[lesofprimus]

Here is a IL2 music video I put together featuring Malta and Beurling...

Video is all about George "Buzz" Beurling, whose Canadian ass was flyin Spifires over Malta with Squadron 249 on October 14th, 1942...

In this Historical Mission Portrayal, Beurling snared one Ju-88 and two Bf-109s... But he forgot about his own tail, while going after his next victim... His Spit got peppered with cannon shells, being wounded in the chest, leg and heel.... Semiconscious, he managed to bail out of his holed Spitfire MkVc before a hoard of 109's....

http://www.ww2aircraft.net/forum/att...ans-escape.wmv

[Guns'n'Props]

Hi Les I'm impressed!!

I'm a local - where/how did you get the Maltese islands back ground for IL2 ?

I actually met his boss Sqdr Ldr P. B."Laddie" Lucas a number of times before he passed away.
It seems when Buzz arrived in Malta with other replacement pilots his reputation preceded him. When the local SqrLeaders went to choose their new "team" members none were too keen to get Buzz's but Laddie(being the typical English gentleman) decided to give him a chance.

In those days of May / June 42 pairs and fours were key to survival in the air. If you've ever sat in a Spitfire (or most other single engined WW2 plane) backward visibility is next to zero. On the other hand Beurling had great situational awareness, apart from flying skill,superb eyesight and aim - essentially he didn't need a wingman - at least not as much as the others. The fact that the enemy would come over regularly in clear skies and in great numbers made Malta his ideal hunting ground. Like Marseille of JG27 he was master of deflection shooting.

Couple of points if I may:
1.) the 4 cannon Spit V was used in Malta but not very popular due to its slower rate of roll.Most had 2 cannon taken out. Laddie told me this himself.
2.) As the sun in Malta rises in the South East moving gradually towards the SW the RAF would usually gain height in that direction and try to attack out of the sun.

[NZTyphoon]

Originally Posted by kool kitty89

Also performance of the Gladiators would be improved as many had been refitted with 3-blade variable-pitch props and with 100 octane gasoline the Mercury could make nearly 1000 hp up to ~9,000 ft.

Some comments by Wing Commander A.E Louks (Command Engineering Officer on Malta 1940-41)

The Gladiator story began with their inability to intercept the Italian bombers, which came and went unescorted, so I suggested to the AOC (Air Commodore 'Sammy' Maynard') that I should modify them to improve matters. We had a variety of Blenheims...and he gave me a free hand.
The Blenheims had two-pitch propellers and I calculated a revised pitch angle which would suffice to 12,000-14,000 feet for climb, and using a blend of 87 and 100 octane (the latter in very short supply) raised the boost by 2 lb/in and I tested the first one - Sea Gladiator N5529 - to 10,000 feet in a shade under five minutes, so I left the calculated pitch setting as a norm for the next ones. I had also taken a template to the Dockyard for an armour plating shield behind the pilot, which they made from their lightest gauge material....That flight was at 1500 hrs. on 21.9.40....Also I was testing Hurricanes to improve their performance because as delivered they could not keep up with the revised Gladiators! Eventually, by utilising the same principle with their two-pitch propellers, brewing 92-94 octane fuel and raising the boost by 4lb/in., they became very lively. (Shores, Cull, Malizia. Malta: The Hurricane Years 1940-41 pages 416-417.)

How did the Sea Gladiators do so well? How come they weren't shot out of the sky?

How did the Hurricane mk 1 do against the Macchi 200...?

Flt Lt Pickering (Sergeant Pilot with 261 Squadron, August 1940 - April 41)

The quality of the Italian pilots was very good. The CR 42s came between the Gladiators and Hurricane in performance, but their pilots were aggresive and skilled. A stern attack by a Hurricane on a CR 42 could result in the CR 42 pulling upwards sharply and at the top of a loop, opening head-on at the Hurricane whilst he was inverted. It was necessary for the Hurricanes to use air tactics for attacking CR 42s similar to those used by BF 109s against Hurricanes.
The original Macchis were faster than the CR 42s but less manoeuverable. Their tactical handling was not good and one suspects that they were brought into service with insufficient practice combat experience. (Shores, Cull, Malizia. page 406)

The first Hurricanes were flown to Malta via France and Tunisia. They were the first Hurricanes to be fitted with long-range fuel tanks - a single 49 gallon fuel tank under each wing; these were not drop tanks because they could not be jettisoned, except in dire emergency - and the Vokes tropical filter. Eight Hurricanes had reached Malta by June 22 1940, the Gladiators achieved their first successful combat.