In June, we had seen two events of importance in the European War. It marked the downfall of France and the evacuation of British land forces from the mainland of Europe. It was the entry of Italy into the War and the extension of hostile operations at sea. So it is now necessary to leave the ravages of Northern Europe and devote our attention to the Mediterranean. Although our submarines were still active in the North Sea, in the Skagerrak, Kattegat and the Bay of Biscay, and their activities will be included throughout the Mediterranean Campaign.

THE MEDITERRANEAN CAMPAIGN
JUNE 1940 TO JULY 1941

BATTLE FOR MALTA, ATTACK ON TARANTO, BATTLE OF MATAPAN AND THE FALL OF GREECE, CRETE AND YUGOSLAVIA

By October, 1939 the British submarine Flotilla which had been based at Malta, consisting of four "S" CLASS submarines, two "O" CLASS, three large minelayers and the OTWAY, which had a bad electro-mechanical record here, were ordered to Britain, Gibraltar or Alexandria, leaving Malta without any submarines except those being repaired.

The four "S" CLASS submarines; SHARK, SEALION, SALMON and SNAPPER played an important role in the North Sea during the early days of the War when there was an invasion scare and all available submarines were deployed in a line up and down the North Sea, known as the 'THIN RED LINE'.

HMS STARFISH

Two other "S" CLASS submarines, the STARFISH and SWORDFISH, who had been operating in the Mediterranean had already returned to Britain.

In April 1940, with Hitler triumphant in the west and Mussolini making increasingly belligerent noises, and the British Mediterranean Fleet disbursed over the period of the 'PHONY WAR', was reformed at Alexandria under Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, a brilliant and aggressive naval officer.

HMS WARSPITE steamed in, and two other battleships HMS MALAYA and HMS ROYAL SOVEREIGN joined her from the Atlantic. Then HMS RAMILLIES and the aircraft carrier HMS EAGLE from the Far East. Five cruisers were added, and the Australian HMAS SYDNEY, the "AA" ship HMAS CARLISLE, HMS ORION from the West Indies, HMS GLOUCESTER from the East Indies & HMS LIVERPOOL from the China Station. Also drafted from eastern waters were seventeen submarines of the"O" "P" "R" & PORPOISE Classes. They were joined by sixteen destroyers.

This force on paper was barely a match for the Italian SUPERMARINA with its six battleships, twenty cruisers, forty-four destroyers & one hundred eleven subs.

Winston Churchill, who was now the Prime Minister, realized the importance of the Mediterranean area, especially after his experience of Galipoli and the Dardanelles during the First World War, stated:

"Those that have command of the Mediterranean behind them can be reinforced to any extent and supplied to any extent, but those that have no such command will be like cut flowers in a vase. We have to control the ITALIAN LAKE no matter what the cost."

So by the end of May 1940, the British had amassed at Alexandria, the submarine depot ship HMS MEDWAY and the submarines OLYMPUS, ODIN, ORPHEUS, OTUS, OSWALD, OSIRIS, PHOENIX, PROTEUS, PANDORA, PARTHIAN, GRAMUS and RORQUAL.

Also on their way from the Far East to join them were the submarines REGULUS, REGENT, RAINBOW and PERSEUS, to be followed later by ROVER, OTUS and OLYMPUS which both had serious mechanical troubles and required extensive refit, were sent to Malta, as Alexandria did not have the necessary facilities to do a major refit.

With Italy at war on the side of Germany, the Mediterranean presented an old strategic picture. The two outlets, at Gibraltar and the Suez Canal, were firmly in British hands but the main fleet base at Malta was rendered untenable by its proximity to the Italian airfields in Sicily and Southern Italy with their large fleet of bombers. But the Italian situation was just as unstable.

The new empire created by Mussolini depended for its existence on the maintenance of secure lines of communication across the Mediterranean. With Malta out of action, these communications might not have been impossible to secure except for the fact that Malta, despite of bombing, could yet serve as a base for submarines and it was the presence of these submarines that finally sealed the fate of Mussolini's empire.

The submarine warfare in the Mediterranean first took the form of a blockade of the Italian colonies. There was no other way to maintain them than by sea, and the sea routes were vulnerable to submarine attack.

Mussolini, like Napoleon, never had any doubts about the importance of Malta in the Mediterranean. Napoleon, during the Battle of the Nile was quoted as saying:

"Peace or war depends on Malta. I would put you in possession of the FAUBOURGE SAINT ANTOINE rather than of Malta."

Mussolini knew that to control the Mediterranean and keep his lines of communication open, he must first conquer Malta or destroy it, although he preferred to conquer Malta and have the use of its harbours and airfields.

Mussolini's first order was to his proud REGIA AERONAUTICA to bomb Malta. In 1565, Queen Elizabeth I of England said:

"If the Turks should prevail against the Isle of Malta, it is uncertain what further peril might fall to the rest of Christendom"

More Royal Navy

Submarines Sunk and the HMS Sealion
Mediterranean Campaign June 1940-July 1941
"T"- and "Porpoise"-Class Submarines
Malta
Italy Bombs Malta 1940
British Strategy Mediterranean 1940
British Parthian