Operation Pedestal: The Fleet That Battled to Malta, 1942

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Bristow William Ernest (42) dra 7 Sept 42 Leading Seaman RNR P/X 6696C(Buried in Dely Ibrahim War Cemetery, Algeria, Grave ref. 2 J 21) Smith, Peter C. (1974). The Battles of the Malta Striking Forces. London: Allan Lane. ISBN 978-0-7110-0528-0.

Michael Hankey (801 NAS) was airborne at the time of the sinking of Eagle on 11 August 1942. He was flying Hurricane V7229 and landed on Victorious. On 12 August he flew off Victorious, but failed to return, being shot down by an enemy aircraft, causing him to crash into the sea. Llewellyn-Jones, M. (2007). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys: A Naval Staff History. Naval Staff Histories. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-39095-8. Sadkovich, James (1994). The Italian Navy in World War II. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-28797-8. Later, many of the survivors reach Tunisia and are taken prisoner by the Vichy French, who intern them in Bon Fichu, with the survivors from MV Glenorchy and MV Clan Ferguson.At 1.15pm on August 11, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle (Captain: L.D. Macintosh) was torpedoed by three or four torpedoes by the German U-boat U-73, captained by Kapitän Leutenant Helmut Rosembaum, and sank within eight minutes. Out of a crew of 1,100, there were 160 fatal casualties plus the loss of all the aircraft bar four. It involved one of the largest naval escorts of the Second World War, splitting essential goods between 13 fast cargo ships to increase the chances of them reaching their destination [with a percentage of the cargo].

The overall operational commander was Vice-Admiral E.N. Syfret. The convoy was codenamed WS.5.21.S. Just prior to sailing, Rear-Admiral Burrough met with the Convoy Commodore A.G. Venables, and the masters of the individual merchant ships on board his flagship. a.m.: With HMS Penn and HMS Bramham edging Ohio along the shore, HMS Ledbury lends its power to shove the tanker’s bow to make the turns off Delimara and Żonqor Points. Operation Pedestal and SS Ohio Save Malta". American Merchant Marine at War. Archived from the original on 13 June 2007 . Retrieved 24 June 2007.There can be no disputing the fact that if you have to go to war at sea then the Mediterranean is the ideal place. The water is almost invariably calm and of civilised temperature and the sky, when not obscured by shell bursts and enemy aircraft, is invariably clear and blue. In Operation Tiger, convoy WS 8 sailed from Gibraltar to Alexandria, combined with a supply run to Malta by six destroyers of Force H. Five 15kn (17mph; 28km/h) merchant ships passed Gibraltar on 6 May accompanied by Force H, along with a battleship and two cruisers en route to Alexandria; Clan Campbell, Clan Chattam, Clan Lamont, Empire Song and New Zealand Star. The merchants tried to reach Alexandria with air cover of Fairey Fulmars onboard Ark Royal and the anti aircraft fire of 9 destroyers. Bad weather helped, but Regia Aeronautica engaged the convoy during the day, and at dusk Empire Song was lost after hitting two mines. It sank with tanks and planes (10 Hurricanes and 57 tanks); [38] crew was saved by destroyers Fortune and Foresight till La Valletta. The destroyers from Force H participated in the convoy operation as far as Malta then returned. Force H bombarded Benghazi and rendezvoused with the convoy 50nmi (58mi; 93km) south of Malta late on 9 May. [39] The minefied had been laid by the same Italian cruiser force whose mines had sunk the freighter Parracombe in early May. [37]

as the survivors of Convoy WS21S limped towards Malta's Grand Harbour. It was, he said, the happiest day of his life. He had helped bring succour to the beleaguered little island. Supported by battleship Nelson and battle cruiser Renown, it was one of the most powerful units yet deployed to “the Med.” Furious embarked Spitfires for Malta, but the other two carriers had protective Sea Hurricanes and Fulmars. Given control of the merchant vessel, which had been loaned to the British Merchant Navy, Mason probably knew that he was heading the most prized target in the convoy - the Ohio was the largest merchant ship out of the 14 which made up Operation Pedestal.The sentiments on the Axis side were similar; the arrival of the four merchant ships and the tanker was deemed "unsatisfactory" and a Kriegsmarine report saw the convoy as something which may be the "decisive phase of the struggle for North Africa".