When Italy declared war on Great Britain and France, one of its first targets was the British stronghold of Malta, barely a 100 km distance from Sicily. Britain couldn't spare much to improve the strength of this small Mediterranean island so the defenders had to cope with only a handful of Gladiator biplanes initially. Although numerically superior, the Italian Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) found the Malta campaign quite challenging. This video will describe the early phase of Italian efforts to neutralize Malta through a series of encounters that took place over it.

Main sources:
Ryan K. Noppen Malta 1940–42: The Axis' air battle for Mediterranean supremacy
https://amzn.to/3MB7JTQ
Brian Cull HURRICANES OVER MALTA: June 1940 April 1942
https://amzn.to/41SyS94
Marco Mattioli SavoiaMarchetti S.79 Sparviero Bomber Units
https://amzn.to/41Q2YtZ


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