| A captured Italian Breda Model 55 millimeter (0.78 caliber) anti-aircraft cannon overlooking the Grand harbor. Due to the ongoing Axis bombing, virtually any light machine gun was pressed into service to defend Malta from low-level attacks. Bren guns, Lewis guns, and 40 millimeter Bofors were concentrated around Valetta and other areas. The Breda Cannone-Mitragliera da Venti Sessantacinque (“Cannon-Machinegun Twenty/Sixty-Five”) Model 35, was the most common Italian anti-aircraft gun of World War II. For 2 months during Malta’s long air siege, it was anti-aircraft guns alone which bore the brunt of the attack. British gunners together with some 4,000 Maltese were ceaselessly engaged at heavy, light, and machine-gun posts all over the island, from the airfields and main defenses around Valletta and Grand Harbor to outposts on the coast and Corradino Heights overlooking the Marsa. In February the heavy guns had to be rationed to only 3 rounds per raid (firing pointer shots to indicate to the other gunners the direction of the approaching aircraft), and even the invaluable all-purpose Bofors guns had to be restricted so that no more than 50 percent could be in action at any 1 time always excluding those protecting any ships in harbor or specially sited for airfield defense. By mid-April, when no convoy could be expected, the situation was so bad that both light and heavy anti-aircraft guns were limited to 15 rounds per gun per day. The choice of target out of the dozens presented during a typical raid had to be made with the greatest care before a single round was fired. For the fighter planes that got aloft and were either damaged or had run out of ammunition, a special “safe area” was established over Ta Qali airfield below Mdina: As soon as a Hurricane or Spitfire came into sight low over this area, it was given full coverage by the guns massed around. As it became apparent that the airfields were almost neutralized, the brunt of the attack was borne by Manoel Island and Grand Harbor. Until the submarines themselves were withdrawn, their base naturally became the main target for attack. “…it was the Battle of the Guns. There was no gun position more bombed or in a more exposed position than a Manoel Island. I remember once seeing an intensive attack put in against this gun position which protected the submarine base. The bombs were dropped with great accuracy, and a 1,000-pounder scored a direct hit on 1 of the guns. But even as it burst, and the whole area seemed to be covered with black smoke I saw 4 red flashes burst through the haze. It was the last flash of the gun that was hit, but the other 3 carried on without cessation or hesitation until “the attack was over.”’ During April, 102 enemy aircraft were certified destroyed by the guns, and about half this number by fighter aircraft. On April 10, Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (November 30, 1885 – July 16, 1960) wrote: “The serial attack on Malta has, I feel, eliminated Malta as a naval base…I intend to carry on with the attack until April 20.” Only 1 thing, it was felt, could enable the island to carry on any longer – the delivery of more Spitfires. Air Vice Marshal Hugh P. Lloyd (December 12, 1894 – July 14, 1981) wrote: “Malta’s need is for Spitfires, Spitfires, and yet more Spitfires.” He sent a distinguished pilot, Wing Commander Edward Gracie (September 21, 1911 – February 15, 1944), back to Britain to tell the authorities at firsthand what the situation was like. Emphasis has earlier been laid on the difficulty of people understanding the conditions of the siege nearly half a century later, but the fact that it needed a fighter pilot straight from the battle to explain to the authorities in London – even though they were in the heart of the war themselves – shows the almost unimaginable conditions in Malta. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0695.jpg |
| Image Size | 75.19 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 900 x 978 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Royal Air Force Official Photographer |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | January 1, 1942 |
| Location | Grand Harbor |
| City | Valletta |
| State or Province | |
| Country | Malta |
| Archive | Royal Air Force |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
Author of the World War II Multimedia Database