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In Passage Perilous
Malta and the Convoy Battles of June 1942
Vincent P. O'Hara (Author), Ted Zuber (Illustrated by)
9780253006035
Hardback, published 5 November 2012
288 pages, 24 b&w illus., 8 maps
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.522 kg
In Passage Perilous is an important and highly recommended addition to the literature on World War II in the Mediterranean. To someone well versed in naval history and the Second World War, In Passage Perilous is a valuable account of a relatively neglected portion of the war at sea. . . . Readers unfamiliar with the equipment or tactics of the Second World War will have a very difficult time following O'Hara's narrative. Readers with the requisite knowledge, though, will find In Passage Perilous a very rewarding read. [O'Hara] is to be congratulated for bringing new insights into this critical phase of the Mediterranean conflict, and his work is to be recommended.
By mid-1942 the Allies were losing the Mediterranean war: Malta was isolated and its civilian population faced starvation. In June 1942 the British Royal Navy made a stupendous effort to break the Axis stranglehold. The British dispatched armed convoys from Gibraltar and Egypt toward Malta. In a complex battle lasting more than a week, Italian and German forces defeated Operation Vigorous, the larger eastern effort, and ravaged the western convoy, Operation Harpoon, in a series of air, submarine, and surface attacks culminating in the Battle of Pantelleria. Just two of seventeen merchant ships that set out for Malta reached their destination. In Passage Perilous presents a detailed description of the operations and assesses the actual impact Malta had on the fight to deny supplies to Rommel's army in North Africa. The book's discussion of the battle's operational aspects highlights the complex relationships between air and naval power and the influence of geography on littoral operations.
List of Tables
List of Maps
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Vital Sea
2. Malta and the Mediterranean War to 1942
3. The Mediterranean War January to May 1942
4. Global Snapshot—June 1942
5. Operation Vigorous
6. Operation Harpoon
7. The Battle of Pantelleria
8. The August Convoy
9. Torch to the End of the War
Conclusion
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index