In 1942, Malta's future hung by a thread. This vital British stronghold faced ceaseless Axis bombings, its people teetering on the brink of starvation.
While rumors of surrender floated among the Allies, memories of the Royal Navy's disastrous PQ17 convoy mission that was annihilated in the Arctic still lingered, a bruise on their honor.
Britain, more than ever, needed a victory.
And so, British war planners formulated one of their boldest naval moves yet: Operation Pedestal.
Tasked with this critical rescue mission, fourteen merchant ships, including the vital oil tanker Ohio, embarked, with their path shielded by two battleships, three fleet aircraft carriers, and over 40 other destroyers, corvettes, and submarines.
Their objective was clear yet perilous, and to accomplish it, they would need to navigate a Mediterranean teeming with Axis submarines, warplanes, and warships. It would be one of the most dire escort missions of the war. The survival of the Allies’ most important base in the surrounding theaters of war depended on it…
6 сен 2024