The Siege of Malta

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Axis Battles Bomber Bombing British Convoy History Malta Navy Airplanes Spitfire Wars Ww11. World War II
jbmilitarycollector
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  • Added: 28-Jan-08

The siege of Malta was between 1940 and 1943 it was one of the most heavily bombed areas during war with a total of 3,000 air raids occurring during the two years of the siege. Killing 1,493 civilians and wounding 3,674. The cost to the military of men aircraft and ships defending and trying to resupply the island were horrendous. One of the Maine reasons for the siege was it was ideally positioned as a base to attack the German and Italian supply lines to north Africa. At one point only one in four supply ships were getting through to Rommel's army significantly contributing to their eventual defeat. On the 15 April 1942 Malta was awarded the George cross by King George V1 the highest civilian award for gallantry in the Commonwealth to honour the brave people of Malta. President Franklin Roosevelt, describing the wartime period, called Malta "one tiny bright flame in the darkness". I have tried to cram as much as I can into this short video but I realise I can't really show all that happened during the siege or really show how badly the civilians and military suffered during this time so I have portrayed the events that stick in my mind such as the air raids, bombing, air battles, the supplying of spitfires by aircraft carriers to the island and the convoys of ships battling their way through to the staving population, and of course the George cross. I was inspired to make this video by talking to ww11 Malta siege veteran leading aircraft man Wilfred Wilson to hear some of his memories go to my web site at http://server.microlite16.com/josephs-militaria-and-homefront-collection.co.uk/

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The Siege of Malta

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  • My grandad is on ...

    My grandad is on one of those guns too!
    He took a direct hit once and went missing for 6 months, returning to action weighing 6.5 stone in weight.
    I'm so proud of him and all our boys for their defense of Malta.
    Luckily he survived the war and stayed in service with the army for 25 years.
    Sgt. A J Fox 884909

    By redjeans1979 [Affiliate User] 1220947269 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Malta goes down in ...

    Malta goes down in history as a real fighter for freedom, their island was the most bombed place on earth at that time, yet they didnt complain, they did their bit and then some.

    Proud to be your allies guys!

    By Xiolablu3 [Affiliate User] 1219162717 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • my grandads on one ...

    my grandads on one of them anti-aircraft guns

    By planker000 [Affiliate User] 1219058843 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Malta Was A Strong ...

    Malta Was A Strong Country And A Good Country We Cant Destroy Malta Our Army's Are Really Brave! Thank You Malta!!

    By mager145 [Affiliate User] 1216229962 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • seeing these video ...

    seeing these video clips sure it makes me proud to be freakin Maltese.
    Thanks jbmilitarycollector for shearing this

    By amigarule673 [Affiliate User] 1214831035 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Malta Rules so much ...

    Malta Rules so much for Germany to bomb us we never gave up.

    By evanabela [Affiliate User] 1213968815 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • ARE THOSE WOUNDED ...

    ARE THOSE WOUNDED PEOPLE/DEAD omg ...oooh...mSieken ahna....cool vid wher u from jbmilitarycollector? malta ?

    By malteseknights [Affiliate User] 1210241968 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • im maltese kif ...

    im maltese kif intom hehe ....man that really is terryfying seeing planes.>>DROPPING BOMBS OMG!!! ahhh SCArey...death

    By malteseknights [Affiliate User] 1210241825 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • "Regardless, I have ...

    "Regardless, I have great respect for the chivalry and comradery of the pilots of all nations."

    By ColaWhiski [Affiliate User] 1208831389 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thanks for your ...

    Thanks for your comments.You do briefly see an Italian bomber attacking ships during the video. At the time that's all the footage of the Italian air force that I had although I have found a few bits since.

    By jbmilitarycollector [Affiliate User] 1208778666 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Wonderfull songs ...

    Wonderfull songs and images...but...no images of the Regia a/c? you didn´t have it?

    Greetings from Chile,

    Navarrini

    By navarrini [Affiliate User] 1208707592 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thanks for your ...

    Thanks for your comments

    By jbmilitarycollector [Affiliate User] 1201756970 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thanks for your ...

    Thanks for your comments. Yes its same old story politicians cutting the military to the bone between wars and soldiers paying with their lives. I think if politician were made to go in the front line when they start a war the troops would get the very best of everything.

    By jbmilitarycollector [Affiliate User] 1201756969 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thanks for your ...

    Thanks for your comments.

    By jbmilitarycollector [Affiliate User] 1201756601 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thanks for sharing ...

    Thanks for sharing thi video !

    By Aviazione [Affiliate User] 1201700083 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
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