Operation Hurry
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Operation Hurry (31 July – 4 August 1940) was the first British operation in a series that have come to be known as
Club Run Club Run was an informal name for aircraft ferry operations from Gibraltar to Malta during the Siege of Malta from 1940 to 1942 during the Second World War. Malta was half-way between Gibraltar to Alexandria and had the only harbour controlled ...
s. The goal of the operation was to fly twelve
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
Mk I fighters from to
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, guided by two
Blackburn Skua The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as th ...
s.
Force H Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in late-June 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place ...
, based in
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
, took the opportunity to raid Elmas airfield in Sardinia and conduct a deception operation with . The
Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...
conducted diversions in the eastern Mediterranean and the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...
. A squadron of Hurricanes had reinforced Malta, Elmas airfield had been bombed and Italian bombers had been deterred by anti-aircraft fire and the Skuas of Ark Royal. Attacks on the Italian mainland had been shown to be possible and the had been found to be less formidable than had been feared; both fleets had been attacked but only one bomb hit by a dud and some near-misses on the British ships had been achieved; the battle fleet of the remained in port.


Background


Malta, 1940

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, is a Mediterranean island of . The island group had been a British colony since 1814. By the 1940s, the island had a population of 275,000 but local farmers could feed only one-third of the population, the deficit being made up by imports. Malta was a staging post on the British
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sea route to
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, East Africa, the oilfields of
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and
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, India and the Far East. The island was also close to the
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between
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and
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
. After the Italia entry into the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(10 June 1940), Malta was used as a base of operations by the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
(RAF) and
Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...
(FAA), sea and submarine operations by the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
against Axis supply convoys from Italy to Italian Libya. On 11 June 1940, Italy began the Siege of Malta, the first step in an Italian plan to gain control of the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
. The Italians intended to bomb or starve Malta into submission, by attacking its ports, towns, cities and Allied shipping supplying the island. After over a month of bombardment, the troops on Malta were beginning to run low on supplies and equipment, including aircraft, to help fight off the attackers. Doubt was expressed whether Malta was worth the supplies it required and some even planned on letting Malta work on the few supplies that were left. The decision was made to reinforce substantially the island air defences.


Prelude


HMS ''Argus''

Flying Hurricane reinforcements across France to North Africa in June, thence to Malta had been a partial success but after the French surrender in June 1940 this practice became impossible. Aircraft could be carried in merchant ships to West Africa, assembled and flown to Egypt on the Takoradi route or sailed round the Cape to Egypt. On 12 July the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
reported that twelve Hurricanes bound for Malta and another twelve for Egypt were due to be sent by merchant ship from Britain to Gibraltar and wondered if the ship could sail direct to Malta. Somerville suggested using an aircraft carrier, if ferried to about from Malta, avoiding the and bases in
Italian Libya Libya (; ) was a colony of Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italy located in North Africa, in what is now modern Libya, between 1934 and 1943. It was formed from the unification of the colonies of Italian Cyrenaica, Cyrenaica and Italian Tripolitan ...
,
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
,
Pantellaria Pantelleria (; ), known in ancient times as Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisian coast. On clear days Tunisia is visible from the i ...
and Sicily, for the Hurricanes to fly the rest of the way; submarines could be used to shift personnel and equipment. The FAA had no pilots trained on modern fighters; during July, nine fighter sergeant-pilots from
RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
were sent to
RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years b ...
and called 418 Flight. The pilots had served secondments to the FAA and had received training in flying from aircraft carriers. The pilots collected Hurricanes and travelled to Glasgow where they were briefed on the first
Club Run Club Run was an informal name for aircraft ferry operations from Gibraltar to Malta during the Siege of Malta from 1940 to 1942 during the Second World War. Malta was half-way between Gibraltar to Alexandria and had the only harbour controlled ...
and joined by five RAF officers. The aircraft and pilots were embarked on the aircraft carrier ''Argus'' (Captain Henry Bovell) which sailed on 23 July with twelve Hurricane Mk1s, escorted by the destroyers , , and . A suggestion that two Blenheim bombers be embarked on ''Argus'' to act as guides was dismissed as impractical, leading to two Skuas being substituted, along with a couple of spare pilots, who were to travel in the Skuas. The voyage to
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
was uneventful and the Hurricanes were reassembled and put on the fight deck. A Sunderland flying boat, one of two which were to fly with the Hurricanes to rescue pilots who came down in the sea, was loaded with spare parts. The second Sunderland embarked 23 RAF ground crew to maintain the Hurricanes on Malta.


Plan

The plan for Hurry was for Group II, the aircraft carrier , with twelve
Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...
Mk Is on board, to sail within flying distance of Malta and dispatch the Hurricanes, with two two-seater
Blackburn Skua The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single-radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as th ...
s to assist with navigation. They would be met by two
Short Sunderland The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of ...
flying boats from Malta to guide them in. ''Argus'' was to sail with the battleships and , the cruisers , and and the destroyers , , , , , , and of Force H. Group I, the aircraft carrier protected by battlecruiser and the destroyers ''Faulknor'', ''Foresight'', ''Forester'' and ''Foxhound'' was to conduct Operation Crush, an attack by
Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a retired biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was a ...
bombers and minelayers on Elmas airfield at
Cagliari Cagliari (, , ; ; ; Latin: ''Caralis'') is an Comune, Italian municipality and the capital and largest city of the island of Sardinia, an Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Italy. It has about 146,62 ...
in Sardinia. Operation Spark, a wireless deception carried out by the cruiser ''Enterprise'', was to distract the Italians by reporting a suspicious boat off the coast of
Menorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the isl ...
. The operations required all the ships of Force H (
Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...
James Somerville Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Fownes Somerville (17 July 1882 – 19 March 1949) was a Royal Navy admiral of the fleet. He served in the First World War as fleet wireless officer for the Mediterranean Fleet where he was involved in providing ...
, in ''Hood'').


Club Run, 31 July

On 31 July, after a reconnaissance by aircraft from 200 Squadron, ''Argus'' sailed at with its four destroyers and Force H, ''Ark Royal'', the battleships ''Hood'', ''Valiant'' and ''Resolution'', two cruisers and the six destroyers at , ''Ark Royal'' flying anti-submarine patrols. The wind increased which reduced the effectiveness of
Asdic Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...
as destroyers pitched up and down. On 1 August at three Skuas took off from ''Ark Royal'' to attack a shadowing aircraft and shot it down. Radar contacts from the set on ''Valiant'' caused numerous false alarms because the British aircraft did not carry
Identification friend or foe Identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a combat identification system designed for command and control. It uses a transponder that listens for an ''interrogation'' signal and then sends a ''response'' that identifies the broadcaster. IFF syst ...
(IFF) At , with six Skuas overhead, the fleet sailed in open order and at more Skuas took off. Eight Italian SM.79bis approached at and were turned back by the Skuas. Soon afterwards, another nine SM.79bis bombers closed on the fleet from the north-west. The ships turned 40° to port and the anti-aircraft fire by the ships damaged an SM.79bis which turned away, the other aircraft dropped about eighty bombs, which fell short. Skuas of
803 Naval Air Squadron 803 Naval Air Squadron (803 NAS), sometimes called 803 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Blackburn Buccaneer, between July 1967 until December 1969. Init ...
from ''Ark Royal'' shot down an SM.79bis, which had the general commanding the Sardinia-based bombers on board, with no survivors. The attack was not pressed with as much vigour as an earlier attack in July which Somerville ascribed to the two weeks' training he had arranged for the ships' anti-aircraft gunners. had sent the submarines ''Argo'', ''Axum'', ''Diaspro'', ''Manara'', ''Medusa'', ''Neghelli'', ''Scirè'', ''Turchese'' in two patrol lines off
Cap Bougaroûn Cap Bougaroûn (Arabic: رأس بوقارون Ras Bougaroun "Cap the Horns" or "Horned Cap") or the Seven Caps (Arabic Seba Rous) is a cape in Algeria in Skikda Province. The Cape constitutes the western end of the Gulf of Skikda, opposite the ...
in eastern Algeria, which remained until 9 August.


Operations


Operation Hurry

On 1 August, the pilots received a briefing from Bovell, Captain of ''Argus'', revealing that they were bound for Malta. The pilots were aghast when they were told where they were to take off from, which was far outside the range of a Hurricane. Flight-Lieutenant Duncan Balden, the commander of 418 Flight, refused to take off so far west of Malta and eventually the captain broke radio silence to consult the authorities in Britain who supported the Hurricane pilots. The take of point was moved to 37° 40', N 007° 20' E instead of , about south-west of Cagliari. Now that the position of Force H was known, Bovell decided that the Hurricanes must fly as soon as possible after dawn the next day, 2 August. Two flights of six Hurricanes each led by a Skua, which carried a navigator, were to make the journey but it was found that the two FAA pilots lacked experience on Skuas and two of the Hurricane pilots, Flying Officer Bradbury and Sergeant Harry Ayre volunteered, with Sub Lieutenant W. R. Nowell and Captain K. L. Ford (Royal Marines) as navigators. The fourteen aircraft ranged on deck made the take-off run look exceedingly small to the pilots and at the first Skua took a long time to start, delaying take-off for thirty minutes. The Skua began its take-off run, bounced on the ramp at the end of the flight deck and sank below the bows, skimming the sea, building up flying speed. The six Hurricanes took off easily, having more powerful engines and this made room for the second flight. The Skuas and Hurricanes avoided Pantelleria and arrived at Malta after a flight of two hours and twenty minutes, having flown . As the Hurricanes began to land at Luqa, Sergeant Jock Robinson crashed on landing, due to a "faulty petrol gauge" but really because his
vic Vic, vic or VIC may refer to: People and fictional characters * Vic (name), a list of people, fictional characters and mascots with the given name * V.I.C. (rapper) (born 1987), stage name of an American rapper Places * Vic, Spain, a town and ...
of three aircraft beat up the airfield, Rose rolling his Hurricane as the other two climbed steeply. Rose came in to land with a low steep turn and as he lined up with the runway, the engine cut, the Hurricane flipped on its back and ran through three stone walls, Rose being lucky to suffer only mild concussion. The Hurricane pilots had been under the impression that their carrier experience was being used to ferry the Hurricanes to Malta and there was uproar when they were told that they were to stay on the island, rather than fly back to Gibraltar in the Sunderlands. The Hurricane pilots had to wait for the rest of the spares to arrive in the submarines and . The pilots took turns to be the readiness flight, sitting in their cockpits waiting for the Italian bombers but there were no attacks, only reconnaissance flights for the next three days.


Mediterranean Fleet

The Mediterranean Fleet sailed early on 27 July to cover Convoy AS 2 (Aegean South, Alexandria to Piraeus) from the north which was escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers. On 23 July the cruiser and the destroyers and practised a ruse, off
Kastellorizo Kastellorizo or Castellorizo ( ; ), officially Megisti (), is a Greek island and municipality of the Dodecanese in the Eastern Mediterranean.Bertarelli, 131 It lies roughly off the south coast of Turkey, about southeast of Athens and east of R ...
near the Turkish coast, pretending to make landing preparations. The deception was repeated on 26 July before Convoy AS 2 sailed, when the armed boarding vessels ''Chakla'' and ''Fiona'' also made spurious preparations for a landing on Kastellorizo. A delay to the departure of ''Argus'' from Gibraltar to 31 July required Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the commander of the
Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between ...
, to alter his plans to divert Italian attention from the western Mediterranean. The battleships , and and the aircraft carrier with the cruisers and and ten destroyers, were to sail between Crete and Libya during 1 August. Cruisers and destroyers conducted a sweep in the Aegean with a demonstration westwards, via the Kithera Channel, during the evening of 1 August. The intention was to give the impression of operations in the central Mediterranean, deterring the Italian navy based in Sicily and southern Italy from voyaging westwards. The attacked the ships from 27 to 29 July but achieved only a hit on which was a dud and several near-misses. A Greek ship, ''Ermione'', transporting aviation fuel to the
Dodecanese Islands The Dodecanese (, ; , ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. This island group generally defines ...
for the Italians, was sunk when ''Neptune'' and ''Sydney'' sailed into the Gulf of Athens. The battleship and aircraft carrier sortie had to be cut short when ''Malaya'' had engine trouble, returning with ''Eagle'' to Alexandria on 30 July. The activity in the eastern Mediterranean was thought to have created indecision in the minds of , the Italian naval staff, who kept most of its ships in harbour.


Operation Crush

Group I, ''Ark Royal'', ''Hood'', the cruiser ''Enterprise'' and the destroyers ''Faulknor'', ''Foxhound'', ''Foresight'' and ''Forester'' detached from the main force to conduct Operation Crush, an attack on Elmas airfield at Cagliari in Sardinia as Group II, ''Argus'', Valiant'', ''Hotspur'', ''Greyhound'', ''Gallant''. Escapade'', ''Encounter'' and ''Velox'' continued towards the Malta flying-off point. On 2 August, at nine Swordfish bombers and three minelayers began to take off from ''Ark Royal''. Somerville wrote later that he watched, A Swordfish crashed on take-off but a search by the destroyers for its crew could not find them. The rest waited until daylight then flew the towards the target. The wind veered from south to west which ruined the flight plan, blowing the Swordfish to the south, delaying the aircraft so that they attacked in daylight, rather than at dawn. The Italian anti-aircraft fire was intense and damaged one Swordfish which made an emergency landing on the airfield. The two
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s were hit and set on fire, four aircraft and several buildings were destroyed. The Swordfish mine-layers dropped their mines in Cagliari harbour without loss. After the Swordfish had taken off the ships turned south to rendezvous with Group II and at swordfish were sent eastwqards to search for the Italian ships reported to have sailed north through the Straits of Messina and south-south-east to find Group II; Nine Skuas flew overhead to protect the fleet and the Swordfish returning from Cagliari.


Operation Spark

At ''Enterprise'' departed from Group I to carry out Operation Spark, a wireless deception to the north of
Minorca Menorca or Minorca (from , later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Mallorca. Its capital is Maó, situated on the is ...
. Two aircraft were reported overhead and the ruse was considered a success. Somerville ordered ''Enterprise'' to search for a French steamer ''Gouverneur-Général de Gueydon'' bound for Marseilles from Algiers, carrying
Édouard Daladier Édouard Daladier (; 18 June 1884 – 10 October 1970) was a French Radical Party (France), Radical-Socialist (centre-left) politician, who was the Prime Minister of France in 1933, 1934 and again from 1938 to 1940. he signed the Munich Agreeme ...
, the French prime minister, 1938 – 20 May 1940. Daladier had tried to rally French resistance in North Africa, only to have been taken prisoner. After failing to find the French ship Somerville ordered ''Enterprise'' to return direct to Gibraltar rather than risk being caught isolated.


1–4 August

On 1 August, the British submarine , on patrol south of the
Straits of Messina The Strait of Messina (; ) is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily ( Punta del Faro) and the western tip of Calabria ( Punta Pezzo) in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, wi ...
, reported cruisers and destroyers sailing north through the strait but Somerville had chosen to keep to the plan. After the take-off, Group I had changed course to rendezvous with Group II, joining soon after ''Argus'' had flown-off the Hurricanes and Skuas. A westerly wind increased, a headwind which slowed the Swordfish returning from Cagliari. Visibility deteriorated and the cloud base dropped to but the Swordfish landed between An Italian submarine was spotted near the fleet. At ''Arethusa'' was sent to intercept the French ship ''Gouveneur-Général de Gueydon'' but found nothing, despite reconnaissance flights by four Swordfish from ''Ark Royal''. The Swordfish and Skuas flew all day, forming an anti-submarine screen and providing fighter cover. At noon, a
CANT Z.506 Airone The CANT Z.506 ''Airone'' (Italian language, Italian: Heron) was a trimotor floatplane designed and produced by the Italian aircraft manufacturer Cantieri Aeronautici e Navali Triestini, CANT. By some metrics, it was the largest floatplane to se ...
(Heron) reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Skua of
800 NAS 800 Naval Air Squadron (800 NAS) also referred to as 800 Squadron, was a Fleet Air Arm (FAA) naval air squadron of the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy (RN). It most recently operated the Harrier as part of Joint Force Harrier (JFH), from March ...
. Late in the morning the radar apparatus on ''Valiant'' detected bombers to the north, which turned away, short of Force H. By the afternoon of 4 August the ships were back in Gibraltar.


Aftermath


Analysis

A squadron of Hurricane aircraft had reinforced Malta, Elmas airfield had been bombed and Italian bombers had been deterred by anti-aircraft fire and the Skuas of ''Ark Royal''. Attacks on the Italian mainland had been shown to be possible and the had been found to be less formidable than had been feared. The training of Force H instituted by Somerville had been a success and Force H had begun to establish itself in the Mediterranean. Operation Hurry, the first Club Run to reinforce the RAF on Malta, had succeeded..


Casualties

The British suffered the loss of two Swordfish aircraft, one crew being killed and the other taken prisoner. Four Italian aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Elmas airfield near Cagliari in Sardinia and two bombers were shot down by the Skuas of ''Ark Royal'', with no survivors.


Orders of battle


Britain to Gibraltar


Force H


Group I


Group I (det.)


Group II



Notes


Footnotes


References

* * * * * * * * * * * * ** Published anonymously in 1952 as a restricted document "Selected Convoys (Mediterranean), 1941–1942 Battle Summaries Nos. 18 and 32" by the Admiralty Historical Section. *


Further reading

*


External links


Operation Hurry




{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurry, Operation Aerial operations and battles of World War II Battle of the Mediterranean Malta Convoys Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom July 1940 in Europe August 1940 in Europe