SPITFIRES FOR MALTA

The aerial bombardment of Malta, a key strategic position in the Mediterranean and home to some 250,000 people, escalated in the spring of 1942 as the Luftwaffe continued to add its weight to the repeated Italian bombing. Initially the fighter squadrons defending Malta were only equipped with outdated machines such as famous Gloster Gladiator biplanes nicknamed Faith, Hope and Charity. On 7 March the first delivery of Spitfires arrived on the island, bolstering the air defences.