Category: The Battle for the Mediterranean

Focuses on the experience of the US Forces.

An attempt to distil all available information on the conflict as a perfect example of the lessons to be learned about littoral warfare.

Caique borne Army special operations at the end of the war and in the civil war which followed.

Lind served with SOE at the time. Comprehensive on facts but with little real analysis.

The author was a Royal Marine subaltern during the campaign. He writes knowledgably and elegantly about the campaign in the islands in particular.

The autobiography of a British adventurer in the John Buchan mould. During the war he was heavily involved in secret operations and derring-do in the Balkans and Middle East, notably with Tito in Yugoslavia. Of background value. US title: Escape to Adventure.

An account of a largely unremembered campaign in which the British army fought Greek communist guerrillas. Naval support is sparsely mentioned.

The autobiography of an army officer of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry. After the fall of Crete - which is fully described - he became involved in the cloak and dagger war in the Aegean and captured Samos and Leros almost single-handedly. He was captured and badly wounded and spent some time in German prison camps. Something of a polemic.

A balanced account of the attempt to rush troops into the vacuum created by the Italian surrender. Uses German and Italian as well as British sources and although mainly an army history gives a judicious account of RN involvement.

Skulduggery in the Aegean in late 1941 as the author helped smuggle Russian merchantmen through the Axis blockade. He himself returned on the m.v. Olinda and that trip is fully described. Reprinted by Sutton in 1997.

Memories and anecdotes based largely on taped interviews. Events are recalled after 50 years which by turns amuse and terrify.

The Dodecanese Campaign of 1943. A bitter little war of regular and irregular forces with substantial naval involvement.

For most of 1944 the 40th and 43rd Royal Marine Commandos harried the German held Dalmatian Islands and later took part in the Montenegrin Campaign. The author served throughout this period until wounded.

Mainly concerned with the Torch landings and the events of the rest of 1942, but does stray a little beyond this. Written in 1943 and not amended with hindsight.

A short general account, which tries to give a strategic overview.

A political, not military, study, with a particular emphasis on the French viewpoint.

A wide-ranging American popular account of the operation.

The US Army view of TORCH and the support given by the RN.

Clearly told, with some naval information.

A full account of the planning and execution of the operation.

Four war correspondents report on the conquest of North Africa, from Torch onward, including the invasion of Sicily. One was on board Walney for the coup de main which failed.

Another in this series designed to show the reasons for decisions of policy in the running of the war.

LANGMAID, Rowland. The Med: The Royal Navy in the Mediterranean 1939-1945. 130p., illus. London: Batchworth, 1948.

The author was Official Admiralty Artist to the Mediterranean Fleet and many of his pictures are reproduced in a personal review of the naval war in this theatre.

PORCH, Douglas. Hitler's Mediterranean Gamble: The North African and the Mediterranean Campaigns in World War II. xiv, 799p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004. ISBN: 0297846329.

Argues that The Mediterranean was the key theatre of the war and central to the defeat of Hitler. A comprehensive account.

ATKINSON, Rick. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa 1942-1943 (The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1). 704p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Little Brown, 2003; New York: Holt, 2002. ISBN: 0316725099.

An American view which won the Pulitzer Prize. Has some naval coverage.

SHORES, Christopher, CULL, Brian, & MALIZIA, Nicola. Malta: The Spitfire Year 1942. 704p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Grub Street, 1991. ISBN: 094881716X.

A daily diary which takes account of FAA and RN activity and takes up where its predecessor leaves off. It continues until victory was assured.

DOUGLAS-HAMILTON, James. The Air Battle for Malta: The Diaries of a Spitfire Pilot. 208p., bibliog., illus., index. Edinburgh: Mainstream, 1981. ISBN: 0906391202.

Although an air force book it includes interesting material on the air cover for approaching convoys. A second edition was published by Airlife in 1990.

A detailed and clear account of an important battle. A second edition was published in 1987.

"How a crippled ship and two American Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II". An original view of the Pedestal convoy and the story of the Ohio.

Includes excellent accounts of the transfer of 249 Squadron to the Middle East, on Furious to Gibraltar and Ark Royal for the fly-off to Malta. Also concludes with an attack on the convoy taking him to Cairo. A good read.

The author had served as a volunteer nurse throughout the siege when this was written in 1943. A graphic picture of the difficulties of life on the island in those years.

A contemporary record of events.

A proficient retelling of a well known story.

An attempt to view the war from the Maltese viewpoint and how the siege affected the island.

A collection of one hundred tales told during a veterans' reunion held in Malta in 2005. Half are naval. Reluctant

830 Squadron saw over two years of non-stop action in Malta while its Swordfish fought to cut the supply routes from Italy to North Africa. A well-illustrated account, full of personal recollections.

A transcription of the unofficial squadron diary from its formation in April 1941 to its disbanding in August 1945. Fullest for the period of the siege. Although there is little naval material it is very atmospheric.

A comprehensive history with a good account of the WW2 coastal defences.

A popular account of the Pedestal convoy, stressing its crucial importance to the survival of the island.

A daily diary which takes account of FAA and RN activity. A substantially revised second edition was published in 2001 as Hurricanes Over Malta (ISBN: 1902304918).

COSH, Robert. Inside and Out: My Experiences in the Royal Navy (1939-46) and HM Prison Service (1948-81). Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2005. ISBN: 190395391X.

His wartime experiences included surviving PEDESTAL, in the course of which his ship Eagle was torpedoed and sunk. He served with both 801 and 809 Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm and had a lively war in the UK, Egypt and the Mediterranean before his eventual demobilisation in 1946.

Another account of the air defence of the island describes it at the height of the siege. Inevitably has some naval material.

"The heart-pounding highlights of this underwater war," in which for 16 months in 1941-42 the Malta submarines devastated the enemy supply routes.

A detailed factual history and roll of honour.

A straightforward chronological account of the events of the siege.

An excellent account by a historian of growing stature. A detailed operational account.

A rather pedestrian retelling of the story enlivened by some well chosen reminiscences from the oral history archives of the Imperial War Museum.

A participant's account of the exploits of the Levant Schooner Flotilla in the Aegean from mid-summer 1943 to October 1944.

A war correspondent’s notes of the liberation of Greece and the islands and the civil war of that winter. As usual, the RN was involved.

Dudley Perkins was a New Zealander captured in Crete. He escaped and was evacuated by submarine but returned as Kapetan Vasili of the SOE to work with the Greek resistance in Crete. RN and RHN support forms a backdrop to his daring exploits. A second edition was published in 1992.

When standing as President of Austria in 1986, Waldheim was accused of war crimes. This is a review of British evidence on the cases of some SBS and naval personnel. The case is found not proven.

The adventures of MTB 651 in the Adriatic.

A biographical account by a member of the Royal Irish Fusiliers.

HOBBS, David. Taranto and Naval Air Warfare in the Mediterranean, 1940-1945. 456p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2020. ISBN: 9781526793836.

A comprehensive account of the Mediterranean sea war as seen from a Fleet Air Arm perspective. An excellent account from this expert in the subject.

CLARK, Alan. The Fall of Crete. 206p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Blond; New York: Morrow, 1962.

The military story with a brief section on the evacuation. A further edition was published in 2000, ISBN: 030452268

UPTON, Bernard. On the Road to Normandy and a Little Beyond: A Sailor’s Life Story. xiv, 142p., illus., index. [n.p.], author, 2017. ISBN: 9781527213081.

An autobiography. Born in 1919, he volunteered in 1939 and trained as a signalman. After brief convoy service he trained at King Alfred and was commissioned in 1941. In February 1942 he joined the minesweeper Cromarty and slowly sailed via the Cape, convoy duty and the Madagascar assault to join the fleet at Alexandria that October. After a year of active duty Cromarty was sunk by a mine in October 1943 near Sardinia. He saw out the war in a succession of minesweepers, including action off the Normandy invasion coast, slowly rising in rank. He continued sailing until the age of 94 and died in 2016. The book can almost be described as a scrapbook, full of photographs, documents and recollections. The first half of the book is autobiographical, with the second half assembled from information supplied by family and friends.

HARRISON, Frank. Tobruk: The Great Siege Reassessed. 352p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Arms & Armour, 1996. ISBN: 1854093614.

Tobruk was the longest siege in British military history and this offers an analytical reassessment by a veteran of the campaign. The volume has three parts: the siege, in which the Australian 9th Division held out against Rommel's Afrika Korps: the breakout, where the British 70th Division created a corridor towards the Eighth Army; and an appraisal of "the Desert Fox," Erwin Rommel. The naval contribution is made clear.A new edition was published by Brockhampton Press in 1999, ISBN: 1860199860.

HOLLAND, James. Italy’s Sorrow: A Year of War, 1944-1945. Xlv, 606p., bibliog., illus., index. London: HarperPress, 2008. ISBN: 9780007176458.

A further volume of Holland’s excellent series. Has some marginal naval interest.

GREAT BRITAIN. Ministry of Information. East of Malta, West of Suez: The Admiralty Account of the Naval War in the Eastern Mediterranean, September 1939 to March 1941. 63p., illus. London: HMSO, 1943; Boston: Little Brown, 1944.

An official account of the great days of the sea war against Italy, most notably the attack on Taranto and the Battle of Matapan. The US edition is credited to Bartimeus. The US edition is credited to Bartimeus. A new edition was published in 2001 by Uncovered Editions: The War Facsimiles (ISBN:  0117025380).             

BALL, Simon. The Bitter Sea: The Struggle for Mastery in the Mediterranean, 1935-1949. xxxv,380p., bibliog., illus., index. London: HarperPress, 2009. ISBN: 9780007203048.

A masterly sweeping overview of the importance of the Mediterranean from Mussolini’s attempts at mastery in the 1930’s to the creation of the state of Israel. The role of the Royal Navy is well covered.

O’HARA, Vincent P. Six Victories: North Africa, Malta, and the Mediterranean Convoy War, November 1941-March 1942. 336p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781682474600.

A reappraisal of the shifting fortunes in the central Mediterranean, from Allied control to Axis control. Covers, Malta convoys, Italian convoys to Libya, both battles of Sirte and air and submarine activity. An excellent study.

HORE, Peter. Henry Harwood: Hero of the River Plate. xi, 244p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2018. ISBN: 9781526725295.

Harwood is best known for his defeat of the Graf Spee at the Battle of the River Plate. His later career, particularly as C-in-C of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1942-43 has been much denigrated as a failure. This biography sets the record straight with a much more balanced and nuanced account of his career.

EDWARDS, Bernard. U-Boats Beyond Biscay: Dönitz Looks to New Horizons. 204p., illus., Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2017. ISBN: 973919848.

Tells the story of the U-boat war on the American Eastern seaboard, West Africa and the Mediterranean.

PEARCE, M. J.  Confronting Italy: Mediterranean Surface Actions in 1940. Exploding the Myth of Mussolini’s ‘Mare Nostrum (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 192p., illus. Plymouth: University of Plymouth Press, 2019. ISBN: 1841024392.

This volume contains three previously classified Naval Staff Histories describing major naval surface actions of 1940, supported by a modern introduction setting them in context and also illustrates warships involved, using WW2 US Navy Intelligence Department documents. Two Official Despatches are also included. The Staff Histories are: No. 2, The Battle of Calabria; No. 8. The Battle of Spartivento; No. 9, The Battle of Cape Spada. The Despatches are no. 38273, The Battle off Calabria and no. 38281, The Battle of Cape Spartivento.

HOGAN, George. Malta: The Triumphant Years, 1940-43. 208p., illus., index. London: Hale, 1978. ISBN: 0709171153.

A history and personal set of reminiscences written as a tribute to the spirit of the people. A paperback edition was published in 1988 and reprinted in 1994 (ISBN: 9990930295).

SPOONER, Tony. Faith, Hope and Malta GC: Ground and Air Heroes of the George Cross Island. xi, 166p., bibliog., illus., index. Swindon: Newton, 1992. ISBN: 0907579582.

Vignettes describing the defence of Malta. Reprinted by Crecy Publishing in 2008, ISBN: 0907579582

ST CLAIR, Adrian. Mediterranean Minefield: Disaster of HMS Neptune, The Sinking of HM Ships Neptune and Kandahar. The Fifth Worst Loss of Life in a Royal Navy Ship in WWII. The Mediterranean Force K, Inclusive of HM Ships Aurora, Penelope, Lance, Lively, Havock. December 19th and 20th 1941. A Pictorial Tribute. 96p., bibliog., illus. [n.p.]: Neptune Association, 2005.

Largely consists of pictures and one or two sentence accounts of the eight hundred and thirty-six officers and men lost in the sinkings. An enlarged second edition was published in 2010 (ISBN: 0955038715). This includes a separate photographic supplement.

HALPERN, Paul G. (ed.) The Mediterranean Fleet 1930-1939 (Publications of the Navy Records Society, 163). xxv, 589p., maps. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. ISBN: 9781472475978.

 The usual collection of relevant documents, with a commentary by a major expert in the field.

CULL, Brian & GALEA, Frederick. 806 Naval Air Squadron: The FAA’s Top-Scoring Fighter Squadron of the Second World War. 216p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Fonthill Media, 2019. ISBN: 9781781557501.

Formed in early 1940 and equipped with Skuas and Rocs it say service in Norway and at Dunkirk. Re-equipped with Fulmars the squadron then served in the Mediterranean on Illustrious with great success.

GOODEY, David & OSBORNE, Richard. Destroyer at War: The Fighting Life and Loss of HMS Havock from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean 1939-1942. Barnsley: Frontline, 2017. ISBN: 1526709007.

An excellent account of the war service of this hard worked destroyer with a dozen battle honours. She saw relentless and unremitting service and action from the Spanish Civil War until her sinking off Tunisia in 1942.

MACE, Martin & GREHAN, John. The War at Sea in the Mediterranean 1940-1944. xvi, 256p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2014. ISBN: 1783462221.

         Reprints nine despatches from the London Gazette with a brief introduction, namely 38273, the Action off Calabria; 38023, the attack on Taranto; 38281, the Battle of Cape Spartivento; 38031, the Battle of Matapan; 38287, action against an Italian convoy in April 1941; 38377, the major Malta convoys of 1941-42; 38073, the Battle of Sirte; 38432, Coastal Force Actions in the Levant in 1942-3; 38426, Actions in the Aegean in late 1943.

MACE, Martin & GREHAN, John. The War at Sea in the Mediterranean 1940-1944. xvi, 256p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2014. ISBN: 1783462221.

Reprints nine despatches from the London Gazette with a brief introduction, namely 38273, the Action off Calabria; 38023, the attack on Taranto; 38281, the Battle of Cape Spartivento; 38031, the Battle of Matapan; 38287, action against an Italian convoy in April 1941; 38377, the major Malta convoys of 1941-42; 38073, the Battle of Sirte; 38432, Coastal Force Actions in the Levant in 1942-3; 38426, Actions in the Aegean in late 1943.

WELDON, H. E. C. Drama in Malta (A Personal Flash-back). 133p., illus. [n.p.: British Army of the Rhine, c.1946].

The siege as seen by an officer of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Another edition may have been published by Gale & Polden in 1947, but no copy has been traced. Republished in 2004 by Naval & Military Press (ISBN: 1845740246).

KEMP, Ross. Warriors: British Fighting Heroes. viii, 328p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 2010. ISBN: 9781846057991.

A personal tribute which provides eleven brief biographies of men of courage and their sacrifices. It covers all of the armed services. This includes “Blondie” Haslar from the Royal Marines who led the Cockleshell Heroes, Captain Edward Fegen of the completely outgunned Jervis Bay who saved his convoy when it was attacked by the Admiral Scheer, and Malcolm Wanklyn, the submariner captain of Upholder who was lost in action in the Mediterranean.

BUCKLEY, Christopher. Greece and Crete 1941 (The Second World War, 1939-1945. A Popular Military History by Various Authors, in Eight Volumes). viii, 311p., illus., index. London: HMSO, 1952.

The evacuations by the Royal Navy are briefly covered. Reprinted in 1993 by the Efstathiadis Group in Greece.  

COPEMAN, Harold. At War at Sea in the Med 1941-44: The Naval Diary of Harold Copeman transcribed and edited by Caroline and Chris Pond. 64p., illus. Loughton: The Alderton Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781905269310.

Published by the family to mark the centenary of his birth. Has some background contextual detail but basically transcribes the diary he kept on the coding sheets he used as a leading coder. Entries are short and sparse, typically a sentence for each day, but give a good picture of daily life on the lower deck. He served principally on the cruiser Cleopatra and Aurora  

BEEVOR, Antony. Crete: The Battle and the Resistance. xii, 383p., bibliog., illus., index. London: John Murray, 1991; Boulder; Westview, 1994. ISBN: 0140167870.

A military history which covers the aftermath as well as the battle and reviews the use of ULTRA intelligence at some length. Reprinted by John Murray in 2005, ISBN:  9780719568312.

CARNE, W.P. The Making of a Royal Naval Officer. 350p., illus., index. London: Uniform, 2021. ISBN: 9781913491598.

The story of a distinguished career, compiled by his grandson, from letters, diaries, memoirs and official documents, many of which are reproduced. Born in 1898, he joined the Navy in 1914 and served for over fifty years. He had an active First World War including the battle of Jutland and rose steadily in rank. By 1940 he was Fleet Torpedo Officer of the Mediterranean Fleet and it is on his service in the Mediterranean that the book largely then focusses. There are full accounts of the Battle of Calabria, the bombardment of Bardia, the battle of Matapan and the attack on Taranto and the capture of Tobruk. In May 1941 he was appointed Captain of the cruiser Coventry. Within ten days he saw dramatic action in the evacuation of Crete, including the rescue of many of the crew from Calcutta. The rest of his career is then briefly summarised. He left Coventry a few months later, served on the Admiralty Delegation in Washington for a year, then in mid-1943 took command of the escort carrier Striker serving in the Arctic then moving on to the Pacific.

HAMMOND, Richard. Strangling the Axis: The Fight for Control of the Mediterranean during the Second World War (Cambridge Military Histories). 290p., bibliog., illus., index. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. ISBN: 9781108478212.

A well researched and well written account which focuses on the importance of the control of the sea lanes.

SHORES, Christopher & MASSIMELLO, Giovanni with GUEST, Russell. A History of the Mediterranean Air War 1940-1945. 4 vols., bibliog., illus., index. London: Grub Street, 2012-16. ISBN: 9781908117076 (V.1); 190916612X (V.2); ISBN: 1910690007 (V.3); ISBN: 9781911621102 (V.4).

A monumental reference working describing activity in the theatre day-by-day. Vol. 1 covers June 1940 –January 1942; Vol. 2 covers February 1942 – March 1943; Vol. 3 covers Tunisia and the end in Africa November 1942-May 1943; Vol. 4 covers Sicily and Italy to the Fall of Rome 1943-44; Vol 5. covers the period from the Fall of Rome to the end of the war in 1945. Includes material on maritime support and reconnaissance.

GREGORY-SMITH, FRANK. Red Tobruk: Memoirs of a World War II Destroyer Commander. viii, 200p., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2008. ISBN: 1844158624.

An autobiography. He went to Dartmouth in 1922 and by 1939 was First Lieutenant of Jaguar. After Norway and Dunkirk he stood by Eridge as her new captain. On completion she moved to the Mediterranean and a hectic war with eighteen months of convoys to Tobruk and Malta. In August 1942 she was torpedoed by an Italian MTB. Under constant air attack, she was towed to Alexandria, but was irreparable. This Mediterranean period forms the heart of the book. A brief coda describes his role as a D-Day Beachmaster.

DANNREUTHER, Raymond. Somerville's Force H: The Royal Navy's Gibraltar-Based Fleet, June 1940 To March 1942. xv, 174 p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Aurum, 2005. ISBN: 1845130200.

Force H began its history with the task of disabling the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir. It had two vital missions: to maintain supplies to Malta and carry the war to the Italian fleet, and to protect British shipping in the Atlantic.

HODGKINSON, Hugh. Before the Tide Turned: The Mediterranean Experiences of a British Destroyer Officer in 1941. 242p., illus. London: Harrap,1944.

Memoir of a first lieutenant and later captain of destroyers in the Mediterranean. Gives a vivid picture of the strain of combat. The author served in Hotspur in convoys, battles, and evacuations in one of the most hard-fought campaigns of the war at sea.

CARUANA, Joseph. The Battle of Grand Harbour: July 26, 1941. 63p., illus. Rabat: Wise Owl, 2004. ISBN: 999323253X.

A brief account of the Italian attempted raid by MTBs of the 10th Flotilla.

CARUANA, Joseph. Destination Malta: The Surrender of the Italian Fleet, September 1943. 80p., illus. Rabat: Wise Owl, 2010.

A good account of this important event.

MIZZI, Laurence. When War Broke Out. vi, 233p., illus., index. Valletta: Progress Press, 2000. ISBN: 9990930600.

A collection of fifty reminiscences of the events of 10th and 11th June 1940. Of marginal naval relevance, but useful background.

OLIVER, R. Leslie. Malta Besieged. 176p., illus. London: Hutchinson, 1944.   

Takes up the story from where his earlier work ended and continues the story up to the defeat of Italy.                              

SMITH, Peter C., & WALKER, Edwin. The Battles of the Malta Striking Forces (Sea Battles in Close-Up, 11). 120p., illus., index. London: Ian Allan: Annapolis: NIP, 1974. ISBN: 0711005281.

Recounts the very successful operations of Force K from April to December 1941. Another of this excellent small series.  

SPOONER, Tony. Supreme Gallantry: Malta’s Role in the Allied Victory 1939–1945. xxvi, 358p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Murray, 1996. ISBN: 0719557062.

Malta is renowned for its courage under attack. This is the first account of Malta as a base for attacks on Axis Forces. The offensive roles of the Navy and FAA are well covered.                     

THOMAS, David A. Malta Convoys 1940–1942: The Struggle at Sea. 234p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Cooper, 1999. ISBN: 0850526639.

An up-to-date assessment of well-worn ground.

GUARD, J. S. Improvise and Dare: War in the Aegean 1943–1945. xxiii, 257p., bibliog., illus., index. Lewes: Book Guild, 1997. ISBN: 1857761707.

An attempt at a full history of this little war, by a former Naval Attaché at Ankara.

HOLLAND, Jeffrey. The Aegean Mission: Allied Operations in the Dodecanese 1943. xx, 194p., illus. New York: Greenwood, 1988. ISBN: 0313262837.

An interesting background account with little naval material.  Good on the battles for Kos and Leros.      

GREAT BRITAIN. Admiralty. The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean (Whitehall Histories: Naval Staff Histories). 2 vols., illus., index. London: Frank Cass, 2002. ISBN: 0714651796 (V.1); 0714652059 (V.2).

These confidential volumes were prepared by the Naval Historical Branch for internal use in 1952 and are published in facsimile for the first time. Volume 1 covers September 1939 to October 1940 and volume 2 covers November 1940 to December 1941. There is a new introduction by David Brown.

Originally published as a part work, this is a huge miscellany of facts, tales, photographs, documents, newspaper accounts and reminiscences.

HARRIS, Richard & WILLIAMS, Barrie. Goodhart: The Life of Rear Admiral Nicholas Goodhart, CB, Legion of Merit, FRAeS, RN (1919 - 2011). 180p., illus. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2012. ISBN: 1846831466.

Goodhart entered the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in the Hawke Term in 1933. He then attended the Royal Naval Engineering College at Keyham, He served as an engineering lieutenant, and saw action in the evacuation of Crete in 1941 on Formidable He then served on Dido escorting convoys to Malta and the assaults on Italy over the next two years. He undertook pilot training in Canada in 1944 and joined the Fleet Air Arm and served in the Pacific Fleet. He had a distinguished career as a Test Pilot after the war and retired as a Rear Admiral.

IRELAND, Bernard. The War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943. 224p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Arms & Armour, 1993. ISBN: 1854090704.

Examines the course of World War II in the Mediterranean until the allied victory in 1943. The author emphasizes how air and sea battles over the Mediterranean had a direct impact on the outcome of land offensives. Reprinted by Leo Cooper in 2004 (ISBN: 184415047X).

JEFFERSON, David. Tobruk: A Raid Too Far. 304p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Robert Hale, 2013. ISBN: 0709092989.

Based on eyewitness accounts and previously unpublished interviews with veterans, the book explores the operation in-depth, highlighting appalling errors of judgement and their tragic consequences, as well as the trek of survivors across the desert to reach their front lines.

LLEWELLYN-JONES, Malcolm.  The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys: a Naval Staff  History. xvii, 154p., illus. London: Routledge, 2007. ISBN: 0415390958.

A facsimile reproduction of the Naval Staff History, originally issued by the Admiralty in 1957 as a confidential book. Describes the convoy operations in the Mediterranean to relieve Malta, covering the period from the beginning of 1941 until the end of 1942. Has a good new introduction.

PEARCE, M. J. Between Hostile Shores: Mediterranean Convoy Battles 1941-1942 (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 360p., bibliog., illus., index. Plymouth: University of Plymouth, 2013. ISBN: 1841023531.

Contains two Naval Staff History Battle Summaries, Nos. 18 and 32. These describe the major Mediterranean and Malta convoy operations, along with extracts from an unusual official document containing technical descriptions and plans of battle damage suffered by four Royal Navy warships escorting Mediterranean convoys - Nelson, Queen Elizabeth, Liverpool and Indomitable. Extracts from orders and despatches also give contemporary accounts of planning and the views of senior officers in command.

SOARS, Thomas. I Married a Princess: the True Love Story of How an English Naval Sub-lieutenant Came to Marry a Persian Princess During World War II. x, 202p., illus. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2009. ISBN: 1846830648.

He was an administrative officer based at HMS Sphinx - a temporary wartime Royal Navy shore base and accommodation camp at Sidi Bishr, just outside Alexandria, where he met and married a grand-daughter of the former Shah of Persia. Describes his day to day life and its tribulations.

Report of an Action with the Italian Fleet off Calabria, 9th July 1940. Supplement to the London Gazette of 27 April 1948, Number 38273, pp.2643–2649.

A despatch submitted by Admiral A. B. Cunningham, C-in-C Mediterranean Station. Includes three track charts.

Reprinted in 2014 in a collection of nine despatches edited by John Grehan as  The War at Sea in the Mediterranean 1940-1944  and published by Pen & Sword Maritime (ISBN: 1783462221).

SHEEDY, Brian. The War at Sea. 371p., bibliog., illus., index.  Dromana, Vic.: B. Sheedy, [1998].   ISBN: 0646357239.

Life as a regular rating on the lower deck of the RAN in war and peace. The author was a signalman on Perth during operations in the Mediterranean in 1940-1941. The book consists very largely of his wartime diary.

WELCH, Ken. A Sailor at War 1939-1945. 174p., illus. Kindle e-book, 2014

The personal memories of Albert Edward Welch, the author’s father, who served on  Mauritius, Capetown, Widnes and Centurion mainly in the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, as well as D-Day. A fairly bland if accurate account enlivened with a handful of personal anecdotes.

CAMERON, Ian. Red Duster, White Ensign: The Story of Malta and the Malta Convoys. xii, 218p., bibliog., illus. London: Muller, 1959; Garden City: Doubleday, 1960.

A good account of the struggles to keep Malta supplied and the first full account of the Malta convoys. Published in paperback as Five Days to Hell; reprinted in 1974 by White Lion.  

WINSER, John de S. British Invasion Fleets: The Mediterranean and Beyond 1942-1945. 152p., illus., index. Gravesend: World Ship Society, 2002. ISBN: 0954331001.

Another of the author’s excellent reference works. It describes the ships both naval and merchant that took part in the invasion of North Africa in November 1942. However, it does not only cover 'Operation Torch' it also describes Diego Suarez, Majunga, and Tamatave in Madagascar in 1942 ; Sicily, Salerno and Anzio in 1943 ; South of France 1944 ; and Rangoon and Malaya 1945. Part one provides a brief description of each of these invasions. Part two provides details of all the ships involved. Profusely illustrated with photographs and maps,

LANDSBOROUGH, Gordon. Tobruk Commando. [viii], 216p., illus. London: Cassell, 1956.

Describes the attempt to destroy Rommel's oil storage tanks at Tobruk in 1942. Operation Agreement proved a disaster for the Mediterranean Fleet, which lost the A/A cruiser Coventry and the two Tribal class destroyers Sikh and Zulu. Reprinted by Greenhill in 1989 and by Frontline in 2015.

The autobiography of one of the last of the adventurers, renowned for his exploits with the Inshore Squadron in the Mediterranean. His career and interests ranged much wider as evidenced by such memorable index entries as "Daughter, ruining of." Substantially the same text was published in 1994 by the Naval Institute Press as The Pirate of Tobruk (ISBN: 1557506671).

Explores the battles of Taranto and Matapan, as seen through the eyes of the men who manned the ships and flew the aircraft of the Mediterranean Fleet.

A dramatised account of Fleet Air Arm operations in the Mediterranean in 1940 and the spring of 1941.

A useful American view which is very supportive of the RN and its role in developing carrier borne warfare. A new edition was published in 2001.

The first full account of the raid by planes from Illustrious in 1940. Gives a detailed if dramatised account of this crippling attack on the Italian fleet, with most of the book concentrating on the experiences of the individual Swordfish used in the attack.

In the usual excellent format of this series, an account of the Fleet Air Arm attack on the Italian Fleet. Republished in 2011 by Pen & Sword with Schofield's account of the attack on Bismarck as Stringbags in Action. ISBN: 9781848843882.

A military historian gives a brief account for the general reader. American edition subtitled Prelude to Pearl Harbor.

A good account which focuses on the personalities and looks at the implications for Pearl Harbor.

Admiral Ansel makes extensive use of German primary sources to describe German activity in the Mediterranean up to the end of 1941. The capture of Crete is examined in detail.

The Royal Navy was more or less involved in all of these small campaigns.

Glenton served on the Dutch flagged fuel carrier Odysseus and after the war became a well-known journalist. His autobiographical story is used as a metaphor for the tribulations of the Merchant Marine.

A sequel to East of Malta, West of Suez, recording the virtual regaining of control of the Mediterranean.

A workmanlike account of the role of Tobruk in the Desert War. The naval contribution to the successful defence is fully described.

Presents the campaign as seen through the eyes of an accomplished sailor-author-artist, recording events in watercolours.

Matapan, largely from the Italian point of view.

The author's autobiography from February 1942 to April 1944. For 19 months he served in the Mediterranean on Euryalus, one of Vian’s "Fighting Fifteenth" Cruiser Squadron. He was then drafted to Laforey in which he was later sunk. Based on his wartime diary it is a full but strangely characterless account.

A daring raid which turned into a catastrophic failure.

An excellent and full early account of operations in the area.

The tale of the famous defence, with a fair coverage of the naval contribution.

Outlines the basic facts.

The author served with the 3rd Royal Tank Regiment in North Africa and Greece. The book gives a good account of their hurried departure to Greece, the fighting, and their second hurried evacuation.

A brief official description and justification of the campaign. A little detail of the naval evacuations is given.

A forthright account of the evacuation of Greece, which led to a libel action. Heckstall-Smith was a junior officer in command of a landing craft, while Baillie-Grohmann was the Admiral in charge of the naval side of the shore arrangements. This gives them a personal knowledge, which is used to good advantage.

Gives details of the evacuations, as they affected the Australians.

Although relating events on land concerning the 2nd New Zealand Division, the evacuation is fully covered.

The usual excellent detailed study with much of naval relevance.

Originally written as a PhD thesis. This is a good workmanlike account, especially of the Greek campaign. It is however irritatingly poorly edited.

A one-sided review of the naval war in the Mediterranean, concentrating on the major operations but noting many smaller actions. The account of events after mid-1941 is extremely perfunctory.

Originally published in 1952-57 and written by Commander G. A. Titterton, these were the only two volumes published of a planned four volume work and cover the period from September 1939 to December 1941. It was a confidential summary for Admiralty use while papers were classified and is a detailed account of the Royal Navy's engagement with the enemy. This has an introduction by David Brown.

A French Admiral's professional view. Really a naval history, although military events are briefly recorded to give the overall context. A good if dated general account.

A diary of 1942 with much anecdotal material, concentrating on the Western Desert, but with some material on the Pedestal convoy.

An excellent modern operational history with a useful understanding of the logistical background and good historiographical analysis. A second edition was published by Frontline in 2012.

Rich in personal testimony this full account takes due note of naval matters.

A good general history.

The second volume of the memoirs of a politician who later became Prime Minister. He was involved in the higher direction of the war and especially with events in the Mediterranean in 1943-45.

Gives details of the navy’s role in the support of Tobruk, both on the "Spud Run" and the relief of the Australian Garrison.

A fresh account which focuses on surface actions and challenges traditional myths.

Another excellent full official history, although this section only slowly moved to completion. Later volumes were the work of Sir William G. F. Jackson and T. P. Gleave.

A good operational history.

The memoirs of a Canadian RCNVR officer who served with the 3rd Flotilla of Motor Launches, based on Malta. An engaging tale.

A first semi-official account of the role of the 2NZEF in the battle for the island. The support from the Navy is mentioned with gratitude.

From Torch, the November 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa, to the end of 1943 in the Mediterranean and Aegean. A critical general account.

An excellent reappraisal, illuminated with personal accounts, which focuses on the planning and execution of the five major assault landings from TORCH to DRAGOON.

Mediterranean, 1939 to May 1943. iv, 136, [30]p., illus. Washington: Navy Dept., 1951. The US Navy commissioned this work from Admiral Weichold, the senior German naval officer in the Mediterranean. Based on German official records.

Essentially a series of photo essays on the Mediterranean sea war 1940-43, with a linking narrative.

A personal view of the war in the Mediterranean in 1941 by a member of the Fleet Air Arm.

Really the story of the naval war in the Mediterranean from June 1940 until January 1941, as seen by and from Sydney. Published in the UK by Gollancz as Lioness of the Seas and in the US in 1942 by Houghton Mifflin as Action at Sea: The Saga of the Sydney. Reprinted in Australia by Pacific Books in 1971.

The war of the Australian sloop Parramatta and of her captain, Commander J. H. Walker, much of it poignantly told through letters to his wife. The ship’s career lasted little over a year, full of unremitting and unglamorous work in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, before she was sunk off Bardia.

A description of both battles of Sirte, but mainly the second, where Vian skilfully drove off the stronger Italian Fleet.

A detailed review of three actions in the Mediterranean in 1940 and of Churchill’s intervention in each case; the Battle of Calabria; the passage through the Straits by a French cruiser squadron and the Battle of Spartivento. Republished by Seaforth in 2011 as Critical Conflict (ISBN: 9781848845138.)

The first year of the Mediterranean sea war.

The author was present at the battle and gives an excellent and clear account of this famous victory.

One of the first in this excellent series, it has full technical details of the British victory.

An attempt to create a day by day record from the invitation available at the time.

Anecdotal reminiscences covering wartime and post-war entertainment in Malta.

A trained surgeon, he enlisted in the RAF in 1942 and was sent to Malta as a medical officer. He was based at Hal Far and was particularly close to the FAA Albacore crews. His tales of the siege.

A good account of the exploits of the epic trio.

The usual excellent Grub Street day by day account, with some limited naval information.

Life in besieged Malta; by the governor's daughter.

An eyewitness account by a local Maltese.

Published under a pseudonym by Bryan Perrett, this is the story of the Pedestal convoy as seen by a DEMS Gunner on Ohio.

A well illustrated history of this key island. WWII is covered in some 75 pages.

A heavily illustrated account which quotes extensively from primary sources.

A charming, autobiographical account of the convoy. Fowler was PO Tel on Spiraea in the refuelling group.

His anti-aircraft battery served mainly in Malta.

A detailed and comprehensive daily diary of the work of the rescue launches with much incidental naval detail.

Woolley was Senior Electrical Officer Minesweepers with what he called a sideline in mine recovery. This is based on his papers, some of which are published as appendices.

A well-informed and critical account giving full prominence to the role of the RN.

An officer of the General Staff describes how it felt to live in Malta under siege, sustained by infrequent convoys, submarines, and fast minelayers.

The author joined up in 1939 and this autobiography is largely concerned with an eight-week tour based in Malta with 107 Squadron and flying Blenheim's on anti-shipping strikes.

Translated from the Maltese original first published in 1979, this is a vibrant account of teenage wartime life during the siege.

A factional account of the defence of Malta, seen through the eyes of an anti-aircraft battery. Reprinted by Windrow & Greene in 1994 (ISBN: 1859150012).

A history of Malta's various sieges, concentrating on that of WWII and taking the tale of bravery, in a patriotic manner, up to May 1943. US title: Malta Epic.

A good fresh account of the siege by a much admired young historian.

A social history from the Maltese viewpoint.

A good photo collection mainly from the archives of the Imperial War Museum.

Air-Marshall Lloyd is mainly concerned with the role of the RAF, whether as air defence or on anti-shipping strikes, but this is inextricably linked with the role of the Navy.

The fighter ace describes the core period of the battle for Malta.

Reminiscences, poems, and pictures, many on naval matters.

A civilian account of the siege, based on much oral memory.

A dramatised account of the naval role.

The New Zealanders were heavily involved in the battle for Crete. Evacuation by the Royal Navy is covered in some detail. Reprinted by the Imperial War Museum in 1997.

An anthology of extracts from previously published works with some newly recorded reminiscences. Patchy but useful.

According to the historian John Keegan this "is that rare thing, a genuinely bad book - badly conceived, badly researched, badly organised and badly written."

The war memoir of a distinguished Australian naval historian. As a 19 year-old artilleryman he saw the battle at first hand. Republished in 1991 by Kangaroo Press as Flowers of Rethymnon with substantial additions and notes of material removed by the censor in the original edition. ISBN: 0864173946.

Lays an emphasis on personal recollections but also makes some play of the role of ULTRA. Has a good section on the evacuation.

A model account by an expert.

Concentrates on the military actions from the first paratroop landing to the final evacuation.

316p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1981. ISBN: 0340231181. A New Zealand author’s view of the battle in which his country’s forces were heavily involved. Gives a good view of the land battle with some detail of the evacuation.

A patchy and episodic account of the battle for the island. Republished by White Lion in 1976 and by Pen & Sword in 2008.

The author was a Greek doctor attached to the RAMC and this book recreates his diary for the period from his evacuation from Greece in a steamer to his evacuation from Crete in the cruiser Perth, in both cases under air attack.

A detailed and extensive history by a participant in the battle, which covers the Navy's role in the defence and evacuation. Excellent.

A good full account of the Navy's fight to maintain its tradition of supporting the army at all times. US title: Nazi Victory (ISBN: 0812815599).

A brief pamphlet history of a long struggle. Biased coverage.

Republished in 2003 as Battle for Crete: New Zealand's near-run affair, 1941. Argues that the New Zealanders did not fail, but were placed in an unwinnable battle.

A largely photographic record of the island's defence. One section is devoted to the convoys fought through by the RN.

A memorial list, arranged by Squadron, with some background material. A second expanded edition was published in 2005.

He served with the Royal Malta Artillery throughout the siege.

A Maltese author gives his view of Malta at war from 1940 to 1943.

A set of anecdotes with some limited naval interest.

A novel strategic view of the siege and Churchill's interest in the island, as seen from his ministerial papers.

Published to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the award of the George Cross to the Island. Various rolls of honours and lists are used to exemplify the sufferings of the island and its defenders. A mine of information.

A journalistic impression of the island at war.

The small airfield at Gozo was built to provide air support for the HUSKY landings on Sicily.

A mix of reminiscence, family history and archive material assembled by a local historian.

Taken from the battalion war diary and rich in contemporary drawings, this gives a good account of the supporting role of infantry during the siege.