TY  - BOOK
AU  - Hastings,Max
TI  - Operation Pedestal: the fleet that battled to Malta 1942 
SN  - 9780008364946 (hbk.) :
AV  - D775 
U1  - 940.5459 HAS 23
PY  - 2021///
CY  - London
PB  - William Collins
KW  - Operation Pedestal, 1942
KW  - World War, 1939-1945
KW  - Naval operations, British
KW  - Malta
KW  - Warfare and Defence
KW  - eflch
KW  - ukslc
N1  - Map on lining papers; Includes bibliographical references and index
N2  - This is an epic, intimate account of one of the greatest naval dramas of World War II. Operation Pedestal was a crucial relief mission that became an epic, bloody naval battle and a pivotal moment in the Second World War. In 1942, the Luftwaffe had a stranglehold on Malta. In the months of April and May, they dropped more bombs on the island than on London in the entire Blitz. British attempts to bring in supplies and reinforcements were failing with heavy losses, and the people on Malta were closing in on starvation as the Axis attempted to force their surrender. Operation Pedestal saw an armada of fifty British ships, painstakingly loaded with food and medical supplies, ammunition and fuel, attempt to fight its way in convoy to the island. The ensuing battle was brutal on both sides, Italian submarines and German planes dealing serious damage alongside the naval skirmishing
ER  -