Operational Halberd Pictorial
I have so many ideas and thoughts jotted down in my notebook for stroies and articles I want to wirte and share with you guys but time and the book kind of gets in the way for some of the larger ones.
One such larger article is on the Malta convoy, Operation Halberd, a Royal Navy attempt to relieve Malta in September 1941 and saw reactions from the Italian Navy and Airforce in a running battle. I have enough material to write it but not the time as of yet - beause I want to get it right!
I’ve got a stack of pictures from the IWM collections and thought I would share those now as a kind of a “stick around please” and because they look cool!
If I’ve used the original IWM caption I’ve used it in speech marks and each image has its catalogue number in the caption.
The Nelson and Ark Royal taken from the Hermoine.
An Italian torpedo bomber (probably a SM. 79( attacking with AA barrage ongoing
“An Axis plane flies in low to deliver a torpedo attack on a merchantman in the convoy. A curtain of bursting shells, put up by the guns of escorting warships, can be seen in the sky. This plane was later shot down.”
“The Italian torpedo bomber (seen in A 5632) on fire and crashing.”
“Star shells bursting and illuminating the harbour and warves of Pantellaria during the bombardment by HMS Hermione.
“Star shells bursting and illuminating the harbour and wharves of Pantellaria during the bombardment by HMS HERMIONE.”
A view of the convoy in the wake of the Hermoine.
The Chatham built Dido class Euryalus off to starboard of her sister Hermoine.
A view from HMS Sheffield of the Euryalus, Hermoine and Edingburgh.
The Air Defence officer at action stations.
“The 4" guns of HMS SHEFFIELD firing during an enemy attack. On one of the
bridges, some of the officers and ratings are seen at action stations. They wear anti-splinter curtains with their steel helmets, and one man carries a screen of darkened glass for observation purposes.”
One of the vessels in the convoy arriving in Grand Harbour, Malta taken from HMS Sheffield.
One of the Dido class cruisers unloading troops at Grand Harbour, Malta. I want to say it is the Euraylus rather than the Hermoine but it could be either.
If you want to see the rest of the IWM’s collection of pictures you can find the thre pages here.