From 1940 to 1942, supremacy of the skies above Malta was bitterly fought over by aircraft of the RAF, Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica. The RAF eventaully gained the upper hand, but not before the loss of hundreds of aircraft on all sides. The desperate air battles have since passed into legend - not only on the island itself, but further afield. Although the exploits of three RAF Gloster Gladiator biplane fighters named "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity" came to epitomize this epic struggle, the reality is that many more aircraft fought - and were lost - in the battle over Malta. The author of this book has research the background to every one of the crashes on the island: over 100 aircraft were shot down onto Malta. he pinpoints their exact locations, interviewing witnesses and aircrew who survived the experience, to provide a detailed record of British, German and Italian aircraft losses and crash sites on Malta between 1940 and 1942. Apart from this record of who, what, where and when, the author's detailed descriptions are intended to offer a series of narrative "snapeshots" revealing just how bitter the battle for Malta actually was.
- ISBN10 075092392X
- ISBN13 9780750923927
- Publish Date 24 March 2000
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 11 May 2011
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher The History Press Ltd
- Imprint Sutton Publishing Ltd
- Format Paperback
- Pages 224
- Language English