Operation Halberd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Operation Halberd |
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| Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II | |||||||
 An Italian torpedo bomber on fire and crashing during Operation Halberd, just beyond is HMS Ark Royal |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United Kingdom Netherlands Poland |
 Italy |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 James Somerville |
Angelo Iachino |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 aircraft carrier 3 battleships 5 light cruisers 18 destroyers 8 submarines 9 merchantmen 66 aircraft |
2 battleships 3 heavy cruisers 2 light cruisers 14 destroyers 11 submarines 8 torpedo boats 130 aircraft |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 8 killed 1 battleship damaged 1 merchantman scuttled 4 aircraft destroyed |
83-90 killed 1 submarine sunk 21 aircraft destroyed |
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Operation Halberd was an important British naval mission during World War II. It happened on September 27, 1941. The main goal was to get a group of supply ships, called a convoy, safely from Gibraltar to Malta.
Malta was a key island for the British in the Mediterranean Sea. It needed constant supplies to keep fighting. The convoy had strong protection from battleships and an aircraft carrier. This was to scare away the Italian navy. Smaller ships like cruisers and destroyers also guarded against air attacks. The Italian fleet tried to stop the convoy but turned back when they saw how strong the British escort was. Italian planes still attacked, damaging some ships. One supply ship had to be sunk to keep the convoy moving. The rest of the ships made it to Malta and delivered their important cargo.
Contents
The Supply Ships: What Was in the Convoy?
Operation Halberd was the biggest effort yet to resupply Malta during the war. Nine merchant ships carried 81,000 tons of military gear and supplies. They sailed from Liverpool and the Clyde in mid-September 1941. They passed Gibraltar on September 24. Rear-Admiral Harold Burrough led their close escort.
The nine ships were:
- MV Breconshire (9,776 GRT) - The main supply ship
- Ajax (7,549 GRT)
- City of Calcutta (8,063 GRT)
- City of Lincoln (8,039 GRT)
- Clan Ferguson (7,347 GRT)
- Clan MacDonald (9,653 GRT)
- Dunedin Star (12,891 GRT)
- Imperial Star (12,427 GRT)
- Rowallan Castle (7,798 GRT)
Force H, led by Admiral James Somerville, protected the convoy from Italian warships. Force H was a very powerful group of ships.
It included:
- Three huge battleships: HMS Nelson, Rodney, and Prince of Wales.
- The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal. This ship carried 12 Fairey Swordfish and 27 Fairey Fulmar planes. These planes belonged to 807 and 808 Naval Air Squadrons.
- Five cruisers: HMS Kenya, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Euryalus, and Hermione.
- Many destroyers, including HNLMS Isaac Sweers (Dutch), ORP Garland (Polish), and ORP Piorun (Polish). There were also many British destroyers like HMS Duncan, Farndale, and Cossack.
- Eight submarines, including HMS Ursula and Unbeaten. The Polish submarine ORP Sokół and the Dutch submarine HNLMS O 21 also helped.
Malta itself had recently received 27 long-range fighter planes. These were 22 Bristol Beaufighters and 5 Bristol Blenheims. They had been bombing Italian airfields nearby. These planes would provide air cover for the convoy once Force H left.
The Italian forces also had many ships and planes ready. Italian submarines were placed to ambush the British battleships.
Italian submarines included:
- Dandolo, Adua, and Turchese south of Ibiza.
- Axum, Serpente, Aradam, and Diaspro east of the Balearic Islands.
- Squalo, Bandiera, and Delfino southwest of Sardinia.
- Narvalo off the African coast near Sicily.
The main Italian fleet included:
- Two battleships: Vittorio Veneto and Littorio.
- Five cruisers: Muzio Attendolo, Duca degli Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi, Trieste, Trento, and Gorizia.
- Many destroyers, such as Maestrale, Grecale, Scirocco, and Granatiere.
- Eight torpedo boats.
The Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) also had many planes. From Sardinia, they had 30 Macchi C.200 fighters, 20 Fiat CR.42 Falco fighters, and 26 Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 and SM.84 torpedo bombers. From Sicily, they had 15 C.200s, 3 Reggiane Re.2000s, 9 Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers, and 24 high-level bombers. More Italian planes were available but were on other missions, like bombing Malta.
Getting Ready for Battle: The Prelude
The British tried to trick the Germans and Italians. Ships from the Mediterranean Fleet in Alexandria sent out lots of radio messages. This made it seem like a big operation was planned in the eastern Mediterranean.
On September 24, Admiral Somerville moved his flag from Nelson to Rodney. The battleship Nelson then sailed west into the Atlantic with some destroyers. This was to make the enemy think Force H was getting weaker. But after dark, Nelson secretly turned back to join the supply ships. These ships were now called convoy GM 2 (Gibraltar to Malta).
In the early hours of September 25, Force H separated from the supply ships. This was another trick. The Axis (Germany and Italy) might think only Force H was at sea. Planes from Ark Royal provided air cover for the convoy.
Italian planes found Force H on the afternoon of September 25. They thought the battleships were going to bomb the Italian coast. On September 26, an Italian seaplane saw Force H. It wrongly identified the aircraft carrier as HMS Furious. The Italians thought Furious might be sending planes to Malta, while Ark Royal attacked Genoa.
The Italian fleet sailed from Naples to defend their coast. They were told not to attack the British fleet unless they had a clear advantage.
The Battle on September 27
Force H rejoined the convoy at 7:10 AM on September 27. Sixteen destroyers formed a protective screen in front of the two lines of supply ships. The cruisers Kenya and Edinburgh led these lines. The battleships Rodney, Prince of Wales, and Nelson were positioned behind the screen. Ark Royal was with Nelson, protected by anti-aircraft cruisers Euryalus and Hermione. The cruiser Sheffield stayed behind the supply ships.
Italian planes correctly identified Ark Royal at 8:10 AM. At 10:45 AM, they reported the convoy's speed, which showed that supply ships were definitely with the fleet. The Italian battleships and cruisers met up around 10:40 AM. The Italian fleet was faster than the British battleships, but the British had more powerful guns.
The Italian Air Force focused on protecting their bombers. Only six fighters could cover the Italian fleet, and they couldn't go far from their base. Since Italian planes had only reported one British battleship, the Italian fleet was allowed to attack at noon. They asked for more air cover by 2:00 PM.
The Italian Air Force launched 28 torpedo planes and 20 fighter planes. The convoy was attacked by air at 1:00 PM. British Fulmar fighters and heavy anti-aircraft guns fought back. Three Italian bombers got through and launched torpedoes at Nelson. Nelson turned to avoid them, but accidentally moved into the path of one torpedo. It hit the front left side of the ship. Nelson slowed down but stayed with the convoy. The Italian plane that hit Nelson was shot down by a Fulmar. Six more torpedo planes and one fighter were lost in the attack. Sadly, Rodney and Prince of Wales accidentally shot down two British Fulmar planes. One British Swordfish plane was also shot down by Italian fighters. The air attack ended at 1:30 PM.
British planes from Malta started watching the Italian fleet at 1:07 PM. By 2:30 PM, the Italian fleet was about 40 miles from the convoy. But when they learned the British had two battleships, an aircraft carrier, and six cruisers, they decided to turn back.
Planes from Ark Royal continued to watch the Italian fleet until 5:50 PM. Italian fighters arrived at 3:30 PM to provide air cover. However, the leader of the first group of fighters was shot down by friendly fire from an Italian destroyer. Two more Italian pilots were lost when their planes ran out of fuel and crashed into the sea.
At 2:46 PM, Prince of Wales, Rodney, Sheffield, Edinburgh, and six destroyers steamed towards the Italian fleet. But they were called back at 5:00 PM before they could make contact. They rejoined the convoy at 6:30 PM.
Nelson, Rodney, Prince of Wales, and Ark Royal then turned west to return to Gibraltar. They were escorted by several destroyers. The remaining ships formed a night steaming formation. This formation was attacked by a few torpedo bombers. The supply ship Imperial Star was hit by a torpedo. The destroyer Oribi tried to tow the damaged freighter. Italian torpedo boats (MAS boats) also tried to find the convoy but failed.
The Outcome: Aftermath of the Operation
The cruiser Hermione left the convoy to bomb Pantelleria. This was to make sure the airfield there couldn't be used when the convoy reached Malta. The damaged Imperial Star was sunk to keep the convoy moving at full speed. No lives were lost from that ship. The rest of the convoy arrived safely in Malta on September 28.
As Force H returned to Gibraltar, three Italian submarines attacked them. The submarine Adua was sunk by the British destroyers Gurkha and Legion. Another British Fulmar plane was accidentally shot down by Prince of Wales. This meant the British lost three Fulmars to friendly fire and one Swordfish to enemy action. The Italians lost 21 aircraft in total. This included seven bombers and one fighter to enemy action, one fighter to friendly fire, and ten fighters that ran out of fuel.
Admiral Somerville was honored for successfully leading Force H during Operation Halberd. He was knighted for the second time. Admiral Cunningham sent him a funny message: "Fancy, twice a knight at your age."
See also
