Chapter 898 Air Raid on Malta

When the British, French and Australian troops jointly attacked the Libyan colonies, the Italian army also focused on the island of Malta.

Malta is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea and is not a large island. But because it is located in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, the strategic role of Malta has become very important.

Especially for Italy, if it wants to protect its Libyan colonies, it is very important to occupy Malta.

As mentioned before, the Italian mainland and the Libyan colonies are across the sea, and the Mediterranean Sea is in the middle.

The geographical location of Malta is right in the middle of Italy and the Libyan colonies, which can be said to be a strategic location.

At present, Malta is under the control of the British, which is why the Italian fleet has failed to support Libya many times.

The Italian fleet cannot break through the defense line of Malta at all. Even if it breaks through by chance, it will face the encirclement of the British fleet.

So the question is, how to effectively occupy this already crucial strategic location?

The Italians thought again and again and decided to learn from the way of Australasia in the Ryukyu Islands, that is, to use a large number of paratroopers to bomb Malta.

Since it is an air raid, sufficient aircraft must be prepared to protect the transport planes carrying soldiers.

In order to achieve their strategic goals, the Italians mobilized thousands of aircraft, including hundreds of bombers, and the purpose is self-evident.

On September 1, 1936, hundreds of aircraft took off from Sicily, Italy, and their target was directly aimed at Malta, dozens of kilometers away in the south.

We have to admit that the British are powerful. In the Mediterranean, where the powers are densely populated, the British left three vital areas vacant, namely Gibraltar, the western outlet of the Mediterranean, Malta, the main traffic route of the Mediterranean, and the Suez Canal, the eastern outlet of the Mediterranean.

It is precisely because of the strength of the British that the Mediterranean has become an inland lake. Without the permission of the British, no country's fleet can enter the Mediterranean, nor can it go to the ocean from the Mediterranean.

The reason why the British Empire can firmly control the Mediterranean is that the importance of the three regions of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal and Malta is naturally needless to say.

For such an important area, the British defense is naturally quite strict.

Although the island of Malta is not large, the British still stationed a division of troops in Malta and had hundreds of aircraft as air force.

More importantly, Malta is also the base camp of the British patrol fleet in the Mediterranean, where a large number of British warships are stationed at any time, including battleships and aircraft carriers.

Italy's plan to launch an air raid on Malta is quite crazy, because it means that Italy will face the threat of the British fleet.

In order to prevent encountering the main force of the British fleet, the Italians have waited for a long time and finally found a good opportunity for the main force of the British fleet to go out for patrol.

Because Sicily and Malta are very close in Italy, the Italian aircraft formation was quickly detected by the British radar after flying for a distance.

There is no doubt that the war has brought progress in human technology. The improvement of radar technology alone can be said to have made great strides in recent years.

Countries have not only mastered radar technology, but also applied radar technology to aircraft, warships and various equipment.

The British responded quickly. After detecting a large number of UFOs, hundreds of British fighters on Malta have begun to take off.

Regardless of whether this is a bombing or an air raid on Malta, it is very necessary to remain vigilant.

In addition to letting the planes on Malta take off, the garrison on Malta also began to assemble urgently and headed towards the air-raid shelter that had been prepared long ago.

Malta Commander, Major General Matthews, the commander of the garrison division, quickly entered the command room in the air-raid shelter and issued his own orders one after another.

"How is the aircraft taking off?" Major General Matthews asked.

"At present, all aircraft on the island have entered the runway in turn, and it is expected that all aircraft will be able to take off within ten minutes." Adjutant Carl replied.

Matthews nodded, and was quite satisfied with the response of the Air Force. From radar detecting the target to transmitting the information to the Air Force, and then the Air Force responding, ten minutes is already a short time.

Fortunately, there are not many aircraft on Malta, otherwise, it may take at least half an hour to take off hundreds of aircraft.

"All units immediately enter air defense offensive, and radars continue to be alert to possible enemies on the sea. Before we can determine the enemy's specific action plan, we must prepare for the worst." Major General Matthews continued to order.

"Yes, General!" The adjutant nodded and immediately conveyed Major General Matthews' order to the various armies.

"Send a telegram to General John, saying that we were attacked by the Italian Air Force and the enemy is likely to land on Malta.

In addition, send another telegram to the French to request their support." Major General Matthews then ordered: "It is best for the Italians not to provoke us, otherwise, let them go to see God today."

Although Malta's geographical location is very easy to be attacked by Italy, its location in the center of the Mediterranean also means that it is close to French and British colonies.

Especially for France's North African colonies, the nearest Tunisia is less than 300 kilometers away from Malta, and planes can come to support in more than an hour.

Because of this, Matthews was not at all panicked about the possible attack by the Italians, and even wanted to laugh.

He originally thought that there was no credit to be gained by being stationed in Malta, but now the Italians have come to the door.

Although the air defense force on Malta Island has only more than 100 aircraft, because of the attack on Libya, Britain and France have deployed hundreds of aircraft on both the east and west sides of Libya, adding up to thousands.

What's more, there is also a patrolling Royal Fleet in the Mediterranean, and the number of aircraft carried on the aircraft carriers is also several hundred.

Unless the Italian Air Force is fully deployed, otherwise, if they want to do something to Malta, they must pay a heavier price.

General Matthews is not worried about whether the French will support it. Needless to say, the importance of Malta Island to the British is also very important to the French.

Once Malta falls, France's offensive on the Libyan people's land will also be hit. Even if it is just for the attack on the Libyan colony, the French must ensure the safety of Malta.

Ten minutes passed quickly, and hundreds of British fighters took off smoothly, forming a formation and heading towards the direction of the UFO.

The speed of the plane was very fast. After about a few minutes, the British and Italian sides could actually see each other's planes.

"Damn, what do the Italians want to do?" The air force commander in charge of the British aircraft formation looked a little heavy.

He didn't expect that the Italians would dispatch so many planes. This was obviously not a simple air raid.

"First, the second squadron will intercept, the third squadron will cover the flank, and count the specific number of enemy planes. I want to see what the purpose of these Italians is." The British Air Force commander immediately issued an order.

With one order after another, hundreds of planes instantly became three squadrons, two of which quickly moved towards the direction of the Italian planes.

Da Da Da!

Bang Bang Bang!

The fighters of both sides had a tacit understanding. After approaching their own firepower coverage, they immediately started to exchange fire without any hesitation.

The firing and explosion of various machine guns and cannons, like jumping notes, played an aerial chorus in the blue sky.

Of course, a normal chorus costs money at most, but this aerial chorus is deadly.

Italy's fighters are mainly Fiat CR.32 Arrow fighters, and there are various modified other models.

The fighters on the British side are more diverse, including the Hurricane fighters produced by the UK and the fifth-generation military aircraft supported by Australasia.

In terms of aircraft performance, the British are definitely superior. Whether it is British or Australasia aircraft, the performance is comparable to or even exceeds that of Italy's Fiat aircraft.

But the problem is that Italy has hundreds of aircraft, several times the number of British aircraft.

Although the British Air Force also has the help of anti-aircraft weapons from Malta, it is still at a disadvantage after the first round of exchange of fire.

Especially the first and second squadrons responsible for interception, in the first round of firefights, four Hurricane fighters were hit by Italian planes, two of which crashed.

The remaining two planes obviously had problems, one of which had a wing that was half rotten, and the plane began to sway and fall.

Such losses made the commanders of the British Air Force frown. The first round of exploratory attacks caused Britain to lose four planes, while Italy lost only one.

Although it was more of a test, such a loss ratio was not good news for Britain.

"If we can't intercept, retreat to the west temporarily." The British commander decisively ordered: "The ground forces have entered the air-raid shelter. We can wait for the support of French aircraft and then re-launch an attack on these Italian air forces."

After several rounds of exploratory attacks, the British Air Force decisively chose to retreat westward to the French colonies in North Africa.

The Italian Air Force did not pursue the victory, because they also knew that France had deployed hundreds of aircraft in Africa, and rash pursuit would only make them fall into the enemy's encirclement.

However, the British Air Force's active retreat allowed the Italians to concentrate on attacking Malta.

After first destroying the anti-aircraft weapons on Malta, the Italian Air Force began to attack important targets on Malta.

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