Over the past few years I have been researching anything and everything connected with Malta’s amazing collection of shipwrecks - which, incidentally, contain what I consider to be the greatest shipwreck available to scuba divers found anywhere in the world. That, however, is a subject for another day - except to say that Malta’s history and the role the country played during two world wars are central to my studies. Although some might see the connection with shipwrecks as tenuous, this is not the first book about the vital contribution made by aircraft and pilots I have studied. Instead of finding the occasional snippet of information not previously known to me, I soon came to respect Ken Delve as an accomplished historian and equally able writer. As he says at the end of the explanatory notes found inside the front cover; “This is the story of how Malta rose to meet the challenges facing its defences during the Second World War; how it struck back and survived” and the book is exactly that.
For most of WW2, Axis forces occupied the northern Mediterranean coastline. Consequently, Allied convoys to Alexandria in support of the North African campaign were routed via South Africa and the Red Sea. Being centrally placed in the Mediterranean, Malta became isolated, desperate for food and supplies and, at one point, was within days of surrender. On the other side of this coin of war, however, Rommel had to be supplied along with other German troops in Greece and elsewhere and the only serious interruption they faced were pilots based in Malta.
"Malta Strikes Back" is a hard-back book measuring approx. 250 mm x 180 mm and containing 263 pages of well written and extremely well researched material. Numerous black and white photographs are placed throughout the work. The content is laid out in quite simplistic form making everything so easy to follow. Chapters are: One - Introduction, Two - The Italian Campaign Jun-Dec 1940, Three - Luftwaffe Round One Jan-May 1941, Four - Back on the Offensive Jun-Nov 1941, Five - Luftwaffe Round Two Dec 1941 - May 1942 and Five - Dominating the Sea Lanes May-Nov 1942. These are followed by 6 extensive Appendices as follows: A - Greece and Crete, B - Chronology 1940-42, D - Battle Honours and Awards, D - Order of Battle, E - Anti Shipping Scores, E - Convoys and Reinforcement Flights.
As I have said before, a close scrutiny of photographs will always reveal the depth of research undertaken by any author. In this case, the selection is as near perfect as anyone might hope to find with each image being as important a part of the overall jigsaw as the next. I spend my waking hours immersed in research and must say that this particular tome instantly became one of the most important additions to my own library of knowledge. In short, this is a great story well told and I congratulate both author and publisher for a job well done.
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