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View this post on Instagram On January 18 1941, German Stuka bombers return to Malta for the third day in a row. Germany had first attacked Malta back on the 16th, when Luftwaffe bombers tried – and failed – to destroy the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious who engineers is currently repairing at Malta’s Grand Harbour. Yesterday, they returned and failed once again. . Now they change their strategy targeting the RAF airfields of Hal Far and Luqa instead of the Illustrious itself. 85 Stuka bombers attack in Malta’s worst air raid so far and they do have more success than the previous two days. The RAF manages to scramble some fighters, but seven are shot down from the sky, and many more destroyed on the ground. At Luqa airfield, six RAF bombers are destroyed, and the airfield itself is bombed to smithereens, leaving it unusable for the near future. At Hal Far, all but one of the airstrips are ruined in the attack. . The Germans lose five bombers and return after their 90-minute attack. They leave behind them an island in chaos. In Valletta, people have been buried alive in the debris of the falling buildings and rescue teams are working around the clock to complete salvage rescue operations and save as many lives as possible. The Maltese governor orders the general evacuation of everyone living in the Three Cities (the historic city centre of Valletta). With the RAF now seriously damaged, the prospect of sinking the Illustrious suddenly got a lot more realistic for Germany. . Photo: A British Short Sunderland Mark I bomber shot down over the Mediterranean by a German Messerschmitt Bf 109. Malta is seen in the background, March 1941. Source: IWM, MH8043 . #Malta #Valletta #ThreeCities #UK #UnitedKingdom #England #GB #RAF #Bomber #Plane #Germany #1941 #January #January1941 #TGW #WW2history #WorldWar2 #WW2 #WWII #History #OTD #OnThisDay #TimeGhost #Indy A post shared by World War Two - Online Series (@ww2_day_by_day) on Jan 18, 2020 at 9:04am PST
On January 18 1941, German Stuka bombers return to Malta for the third day in a row. Germany had first attacked Malta back on the 16th, when Luftwaffe bombers tried – and failed – to destroy the British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious who engineers is currently repairing at Malta’s Grand Harbour. Yesterday, they returned and failed once again. . Now they change their strategy targeting the RAF airfields of Hal Far and Luqa instead of the Illustrious itself. 85 Stuka bombers attack in Malta’s worst air raid so far and they do have more success than the previous two days. The RAF manages to scramble some fighters, but seven are shot down from the sky, and many more destroyed on the ground. At Luqa airfield, six RAF bombers are destroyed, and the airfield itself is bombed to smithereens, leaving it unusable for the near future. At Hal Far, all but one of the airstrips are ruined in the attack. . The Germans lose five bombers and return after their 90-minute attack. They leave behind them an island in chaos. In Valletta, people have been buried alive in the debris of the falling buildings and rescue teams are working around the clock to complete salvage rescue operations and save as many lives as possible. The Maltese governor orders the general evacuation of everyone living in the Three Cities (the historic city centre of Valletta). With the RAF now seriously damaged, the prospect of sinking the Illustrious suddenly got a lot more realistic for Germany. . Photo: A British Short Sunderland Mark I bomber shot down over the Mediterranean by a German Messerschmitt Bf 109. Malta is seen in the background, March 1941. Source: IWM, MH8043 . #Malta #Valletta #ThreeCities #UK #UnitedKingdom #England #GB #RAF #Bomber #Plane #Germany #1941 #January #January1941 #TGW #WW2history #WorldWar2 #WW2 #WWII #History #OTD #OnThisDay #TimeGhost #Indy
A post shared by World War Two - Online Series (@ww2_day_by_day) on Jan 18, 2020 at 9:04am PST
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