Interesting fact: the top Canadian fighter pilot of WW2, Buzz Beurling, obtained 27 of his official 31 kills in the defense of Malta where earned the nickname "The Falcon of Malta"

My parents lived on Malta andwere children when war broke out. My dad would watch the dogfights with binoculars. My mother had an older brother who was a mechanic for RAF and worked on Spitfires hurricanes and Lancasters. Sadly they are all gone but I remember the stories they told

My dad was there for almost the whole war, he was an electronics engineer and maintained the radar. He never threw any food away for the rest of his life.

Proud to be Maltese, My great grandpa was a soldier in the King's Own Malta Regiment. His role was on a AA Gun. Fortunately he survived the siege of Malta. Keep up the great work 🔝

Fun Fact: Malta is the only place that has received the George Cross, the second highest award for bravery, for their service during WW2.

As a Maltese citizen i appreciate this video. My grandfather used to tell me the bombing by the Italian's were usually ineffective due to flying too high for accurate bombings, the Germans pilots on the other hand were relentless and would dive down for precise attacks.

I am Maltese, my grandfather served as a Major on the navy vessels. I remember him telling me when I was a child that the horror he saw in our seas, pieces of humans and animals floating on the surface put him off from eating meat for years. Those who survived all were effected and traumatized by the war some way or another. The experience of hunger that most of us do not know effected our family mentality not to waste anything and to eat everything while there is still food on the plate. It is a carried on trauma. On the other hand my grandmother from my mother's side had a townhouse in Rudolph street Sliema, she witnessed dogfights and bombings falling on Valetta harbor from her roof. She also bombing on the streets of Sliema and the nearby English church. I always remember her mentioning that she witnessed a lady running for the shelter during bombing , while running she was struck by a shard, decapitated her head but her body kept on running on its own for a distance. Dead bodies were seen everywhere, pieces of humans, people who were known and loved. That is war ! But every Maltese gave their part and joined as a community. My grandmother was of the Mifsud family who back then owned a family business importing goods such as Milk, nappies etc also assisted families who lost literally everything. So at least that is the only good part of it, people joining together in disastrous situations.

I visited Malta a few years ago on Holiday. I found all kinds of shrapnel damage in buildings still visible, and loved the museums and forts. My hotel overlooked the British sub pens that were heavily bombed.

Voice speed is PERFECT! With short pauses in between sentences...like a proper documentary you would see on TV. Been a longtime fan of the channel, and the works you put into your videos is recognised. Again, thanks for listening.. keep up the awesome work!

My mom and uncle were kids during the war. They often spoke of the air raids and running to the bomb shelters in the middle of the night. What was worse was the extreme hunger. Food was rationed and ships were unable to come to port to bring supplies. My dad was a young soldier during the war. He was nearly shot when he stole figs off of a farmers tree. I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for my parents and all who suffered in Malta during this time. What amazing, resiliant and brave people.

About 20 years ago I went on holiday to Malta, I found it very nice and interesting, when I got back from holiday I read many books about the island, found it’s history amazing, for the next few years I returned each year, love the place, the history, going back over 1000years , is unbelievable, the historic architecture is also amazing,

Thank you for that . My Father was there , Malta made the greatest impression of his 1939 -45 army service . This helped me see why .

Proud to be Maltese ... The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Royal Air Force) flew a total of 3,000 bombing raids, dropping 6,700 tons of bombs on the Grand Harbour area alone, over a period of two years and neither of the two couldn't even touch or take down Malta

My grandfather was 1st battalion 22nd Cheshire regiment, sent there from North Africa... So many great stories as a child from him. Visited valleta Harbour with him which he defended with his buddies..

Respect to the people of Malta, a George Cross well deserved.

You know a place is utterly chad when you have to give the whole island a medal

Greetings from Glasgow Scotland, The brave people of Malta suffered so much during ww2, being such a small Island and having been the most bombed place in ww2 must have been hellish for the population, it was very sad when the Maltese were refused to be allowed to become part of the UK which I thought that was a kick in the teeth to all the brave Maltese who sacrificed so much during wartime. Visit Malta every year, it is a beautiful Island and the nicest people.

I also know how important Malta was for the Allies, all the soldiers and pilots that died defending it. Rest in peace to all those people that died for Malta during world war 2. P.S. If anyone wants also a good documentary about Malta during world war 2 search up Battlefield Mysteries Siege of Malta. Its a very interesting documentary and tells accounts of pilots and citizen's of the island during the bombing raids.

Finally, a video on Malta.

My grandpa was one of the only survivors of his school in Malta when it was bombed in ww2

My grandfather was born in Malta under there family's kitchen table during one of the bombing raids. Still alive and well in the United States

Interrupted 7 times by ads. YT is becoming unwatchable.

My grandmother who has recently passed away, lived on the island through all of this. And her family were bombed out of their home on three separate occasions. As mentioned in one of the previous comments she also never throw away any food.

The role played by the Maltese during the Second World War cannot be overstated. The awarded of the George Cross to Malta and the heroic Maltese people was wholly justified. Here are some titles you might find interesting. Attard, J (1988) The Battle of Malta Valletta Progress Press Attard, J (1995) Britain and Malta San Gwan Malta Publishers Enterprises Group Brennan, P Hesselyn, R and Bateson, H (nd) Spitfires Over Malta London Jarrold Publshers Douglas-Hamilton, J (2000) The Air Battle for Malta Shrewsbury Airlife Publishing Galea, M (1992) Malta Diary of a War San Gwan Malta Publishers Enterprises Group Gibbs, P (2002) Torpedo Leader On Malta London Grub Street Hogan, G (1978) Malta The Triumphant Years 1940 - 43 London Robert Hale Holland, J (2003) Fortress Malta London Phoenix/Orion Books Nolan, B (1982) Hero The Falcon of Malta Edinburgh William Blackwood Dixon, F (2005) ed. Malta GC Remembered Bognor Regis Woodfield Spooner, T (1996) Supreme Gallantry London John Murray Vella, P (1985) Malta: Blitzed But Not Beaten Valletta Progress Press / National War Museum

I wish there were more Italian ww2 aircraft still air worthy today. Truly beautiful designs

My grandfather,Sydney Rayfield RN,DCM,he was on HMS Nigeria a colony class cruiser ,in the med they hit a mine and he saved some of his mates,he always cried about it when I enquired.RIP Grandad.

Malta has been fought over by the Greeks, Roman's ( possibly the Egyptian Pharaoh's) all through the Crusades, Napoleon and the British for 24 centuries. It has several Castles and fortifications that have thick walls and basements carved into the stone and over caves. Even the houses and apartments had thick walls and deep basements. Caves criss cross the Island with many sea passageways. An island used to sieges and wars. Malta has a fascinating history and the people a blend of different cultures that developed into a very unique country.

2:40 I was unaware that the United States bombed Malta. You learn something new everyday.

*Knights of St.John* :"That´s the spirit."

My great-grandfather used to operate search lights in the grand harbour. He lived on the smaller island of Gozo and whenever he was on recess he would return to his family in Gozo. He had gotten so used to the air raids that whenever an air raid siren went off, his wife and children would seek a shelter but he would stay at home. What a man.

The Germans didn’t use B17s, especially ones marked as American.

All you need is Faith, Hope and Charity.

Sure, this channel is successful but it’s still criminally underrated. There should be millions of subscribers for this content. Fortunate to have been a subscriber since nearly the start of things here. Keep it up!!

There's plenty of mistakes in the narrated material and it's quite hard to list them all. What I will say is that the information you mentioned is certainly not archival material. Indeed it's very easily obtained from tertiary sources, including websites and a number of basic secondary sources that do not specifically concern the invasion of Malta. The most notable mistakes: - The British defensive complement of 26,000+ men was not in effect from November 1940 but only finalised by the first months of 1942. In 1940 Malta was notoriously poorly defended. The same can be said of its coastal, field and AA artillery inventory. - There were 112 Heavy AA and 144+ Light AA guns by 1942, but certainly not 130 "coastal" guns. Indeed, Outer Fire Command consisted merely of seven 9.2-inch Mk. X guns, whilst Inner Fire Command consisted of ten 6-inch Mk. VII guns and nine twin QF 6-pounder 10 cwt turrets. - The field guns were both interwar 18-pounders (on hydro-pneumatic carriages with rubber tyres) and wartime 25-pounders. The latter, though close to 88mm in calibre (the cartridge is measured as such), were technically 87.6mm in calibre and were never referred-to as 88mm's. The latter were typically deployed as field artillery batteries - the former were in places confined individually first in camouflaged fieldworks then in underground or heavily camouflaged gun bunkers for direct fire against amphibious forces. - The invasion, contrary to a recurring general consensus, was never entirely entrusted to the German Obelbefehlshaber Sud (Kesselring in 1942) but always the brainchild of the Italian Comando Supremo (Marshal Ugo Cavallero). Herkules was the German codename - the real name of the invasion plans was predominantly "Operazione C3" and the issue of the occupation of Malta had indeed been named "Esigenza C3". - Marsaxlokk Bay is indeed Zona Larnaca, not Zona Famagosta, whilst Zona Famagosta, the intended primary amphibious landing zone, was neither Marsaxlokk nor Gozo and Comino (Gozo was codenamed Zona Cipro). Famagosta was a stretch of coastline south of the villages of Siġġiewi, Qrendi and Zurrieq. - Unternehmen Herkules literally translates into 'Operation Hercules'. It does not refer to the head of the operation, who in any case, certainly wasn't Kesselring, although Kesselring was heavily involved and was a major supporter of an invasion of Malta. - Contrary to the general consensus, Kesselring was not 'content' with the bombing of Malta on 10 May 1942. The Axis, Italians included, had in hand explicit data showing that i) Malta had been effectively reinforced with a substantial force of updated fighter aircraft and that these had put up a very efficient defence; and ii) That Malta's AA defence and fieldworks (hinting towards invasion objectives) were still in effective order. Kesselring's claim of a supposed 'neutralisation' of Malta was misconstrued - this claim came a few weeks earlier when he remarked to Hitler that Malta had ceased to exist as a NAVAL base, which was almost correct. With regards to its fighting spirit and preparation for invasion, however, OBS (Kesselring) never said that he felt satisfied with the performance of the concerned Fliegerkorps, and following after-action reports on 10 May he issued updated directives for a renewed blitz against Malta. All in all a valid effort, but evidently insufficiently well-researched, certainly not at an archival level.

I loved going to Malta, I went when I was 23. To see how proud they still are of their war efforts and the involvement with Britain. They've got some gems worth seeing for sure. Next stop, Sicily.

My great grandfather was commander of the air defence of Malta during 1940. Rest In Peace.

Im a proud Maltese man ❤️ We are strong 💪💪💪

So well done, thank you.

I loved my visit to Malta, not only for the sets from Game of Thrones season 1 & 2, but mostly because I'm a huge history nerd, specifically Ww2. My partner at the time didn't get it lol My favourite was the Cathedral that still has a hole in the roof (filled in but visible) where a bomb fell through whilst many people seeked shelter there. Yet, the bomb was a dud, and was considered a miracle. It landed among the people and didn't go off.

My uncle is from Malta and had told me about this. Very interesting

Love the channel , thanks for the work.. only thing that got bombed more than Malta is the video itself with all the interruptions by 6 commercials .

I was puzzled to see some random shots of USAAF B-17s in the video! And why is the ME-321 is described as a "gigantic glider" when its 6 engines are in plain view?

I'm not even British and would love to here Churchill explain to me the workings of a Spitfire in detail. I would sit down and listen for hours.

My dad is maltese. He'd always tell me about his family and the siege of Malta, how they were hungry and had nothing to eat, how they all ran to the docks to welcome the British, my great grandfather was a brave man.

If anyone is doing a double take at the part where he's saying the British artillery arming the island were 88mm, he's not referring to the German gun but to the 25pdr artillery howitzers that are 87.6mm or 88mm when rounded. Not sure why he used the caliber instead of the normal British name, given the confusion that this could pose unless you really know about British arms. Side note, it's ironic that both sides had to press their "88s" into antitank use. 25pdrs were used against German armor, quite successfully, usually over open sites when their 2pdr dedicated AT failed.

I am from Malta and very proud to study its History when I'm just a teenager.

A “Tankette", sounds cute and looks adorable!

You should do a video about the Hungarian POW who wass taken prisoner in 1944, and not released until 56 years later in 2000. I believe his name was Andras Toma. Also you could do a video on the Laconia incident. Both subjects are dark.

@ 6:43 The scene where IL Duce meets Hitler gave me goosebumps.... Good video, I'm glad i found these channels.

If you guys are interested about massive air battle with stalemate, check out the air war over Kuban bridgehead. Both sides lost so many planes (German, Soviet) but they learnt new tactics. "However, the air battles over the Kuban sector were pivotal to the growth of the VVS as the offensive long-arm of the Red Army, sending a clear message to the Luftwaffe: the VVS was about to return what it had received. In fact, Soviet historians hold this two-month air campaign in early 1943 to be as important to the war effort as the Americans do the battle of Midway."

14:05 "Unternehmen Herkules" just means "Operation Hercules". It's no position or command.

Great job bro with this video 👍😎

why does 4:40 time point show a supermarine attacker fly from a carrier? these flew first in 1946. its very nice to give credit to this small island, its well known fortunatly. they are awesome!

5:14 "On that day, the Luftwaffe began a bombing campaign...". Shows an USAAF B-17 bomber. C'mon guys...geez.

Alan Moorhead was an Australian. I suppose 'British' in U.S. eyes but I wouldn't try that in a bar in Oz ...

If I’m not mistaken the area around Khe Sahn fire base is the most bombed place on earth

The heroic people of Malta well deserve the George cross

The resilience of the Maltese population really stands out during this phase of WW2. Proud to be Maltese.

I've heard some horrendous stories about this island during the war .

9:40 "Semovente 75/18" thats a CV.33... The Semovente was like a StuG. you need to fix this.

Wow this is very interesting, thank you Dark Docs.

There is a ,whole, video in the tale of "Faith", "Hope" and "Charity'. Six ,Gloster, Sea Gladiators that fought off the air offensive (on their own) until relieved.

What Malta had to endure from the Axis was more than enough.

Great vid, I'm glad you slowed down a bit for a breather 😊. The pace is perfect !

Love your content make more please cant get enough

Fun story on the Malta radar. The Germans installed jamming devices in Sicily , which were immediately effective. When asked what could be done,chief of scientific air intelligence, R.V. Jones, said nothing could be done, but to keep operating the radar as usual as he knew the Germans listened in to judge the success of the jamming. After a few days, the Germans turned the jammers off , assuming they had no effect.

Rest in peace, defenders of Malta.

The narration delivery is on point

Being a great admirer of the population of Malta - I visited the island two times - I feel an immense respect of what the island endured during WWll. However, this, in certain aspects, very good video begs the answer: How did American B17's fit into this? There are a few clips which, in my optics. don't quite make sense...

At 5:15; you’re showing a B-17; an talking about the Luftwaffe bombing the island, nice clip

This channel would be more valuable if the producers hadn't included misleading footage. *Narrator is talking about Axis forces bombing Malta. 2:40 shows footage of B-17's dropping bombs.... *At 5:14 "The Luftwaffe began a series of bombing raids" - with footage of a B-17 clearly showing the US Star.... *At 5:28 the footage clearly shows a Mitsubishi G4M 'Betty'.... *9:30 C-47's dropping paratroops.... *9:58 Allied LCA's landing....

The Axis were foolish not to go for this. They had learned the lessons of Crete and had compensated for its mistakes. Malta was key in the Allied interference with Axis supply lines to North Africa, that constantly put Rommel in a crisis of inadequate fuel, ammunition, water, and food. With Malta in Axis hands the Mediterranean would have been split in two, with the British eventually forced out of Egypt and the road open to the Mideast's oil, Turkey, the Caucasus, and India

I wish I could have seen Malta pre-WWII. I bet it was beautiful.

Not nitpicking as what is said is factual, but while talking about German bombers we see an American B-17 dropping bombs and around 5:28 a Japanese Betty bomber flies by.

Fade into archives??? The siege of Malta, its reasons, planning and execution (and, of course, the defence), is one of the more widely known episodes of WW2.

really outstanding work, love your work as always DDocs....but must say that twice in first 5 mins., over dialog about Axis bombing of the island, there's vid cuts of B-17s unloading.

Dear Dark Docs, you clearly put in much time and effort into creating excellent content, and I always enjoy your videos, so please consider this as nit-picking. However, I'm sure that the last surviving Luftwaffe veterans that may watch your videos (and casual history buffs like myself) will wince at the suggestion that the Luftwaffe fielded B-17s (5:14) and Betty Bombers (5:27) during the Siege of Malta. I'm sure it wouldn't have been that difficult to source somewhat more appropriate footage for that sequence. Might I also recommend watching the excellent 2013 BBC documentary 'The Battle for Malta' narrated by James Holland. The sequence describing the SS Ohio entry into the Grand Harbour (during Operation Pedestal) is particularly moving.

Well researched!

"Secret War in Laos. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions-equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24-hours a day, for 9 years - making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history."

8:10 those big gliders you show have 6 engines haha

Great video overall, love the footage playing in the back over the voice over

I'm impressed with your research, and above all, your correct pronunciation of Maltese. The only things I wonder about are the distance between the Sicilian airfields and Malta (90 miles or 90 kilometres?) and that invading Marsaxlokk doesn't seem to make a lot of sense if you want to capture Gozo and Comino, since they lie literally on the other side of the main island. I don't know if there should have been more of a storyline to this. You describe the preparations for an invasion that never took place - and that's it. Most documentaries about this period in history tend to focus on the plight of the population, the heroics of the RAF, Operation Pedestal, the George Cross, and all that. Perhaps it's just as well that you steered away from those subjects that tend to become sentimental rather quickly. Still, some sort of conclusion, such as "opinions vary as to how important Malta's role was during the war, and what would have happened had it actually been successfully invaded and occupied" wouldn't have gone amiss. My Maltese father-in-law lived as a young boy in Valletta during the war, and with a harbour on either side of the little city, there was a lot of bombing. Once, after yet another raid, he stepped outside on a balcony, which promptly collapsed and had him fall down several floors. It probably partly explains why, at age 87, he can barely walk. He NEVER talks about the war, and this is a man who likes to talk and recount stories. His own father was the valet of Lord Mountbatten of India, and was thought dead after their ship got torpedoed, until he was discovered recuperating in a hospital in Alexandria. He would receive a Christmas card from the Queen until his death. Today, Malta is a peaceful country that is officially neutral, and therefore totally reliant on its own for defence. But with a very large natural harbour, and a runway where you can land literally anything (we've had C-5, B-52, A380, An-124, and Concorde once), no doubt the Italians, French, British and Americans would be here in an instant should that neutrality ever be threatened.

I thought that Laos was the most bombed place on earth?

At 8:10, narrator says German Gen. Student's 24 German Me321 multi-engined transports were "gigantic gliders carrying 200 paratroopers, each..." ------------------- Something in the Dark Docs editorial process needs work. I have read comments he is sight-impaired... In any case, he deserves credit for a good effort at pronouncing German and Italian names within the same sentence. Narration is hard work, with many "takes" of some passages required. Overall, a good narrative.

And the tiny country (micro nation) still stands

Some say Malta had more strategic importance than Crete. Malta should have taken by German paratroopers. Hitler banned any more airborne troops assault after the cruciating loss at Crete. But, Malta was worth to pay some price. As Malta was in the hand of the British, Churchill could keep biting soft underbelly of German southern flank.

Great to see part of the story retold. A pity about the erroneous footage - US soldiers manning AA stations, the jet fighter taking off from HMS Eagle, and DC3 aircraft instead of German planes (I suspect also at one point a Mitsubishi Betty being shot down when dubbed as Italian aircraft). Malta was among the most heroic defences by British subjects during WW2, and strategically a great victory for the Allies enabling them to defeat the Axis in North Africa.

Much respect for the people of Malta. Everytime I watch a video like this it makes me want to go play HOI4

Loved this one. Very interesting

5:37 American C47 cargo plane, famous footage from D-Day... 4:41, jet...

Home to the biggest guns in the world and a bizarre underground air traffic control tower which is well worth a visit.

Such a shame. I bet so many archeological sites were obliterated during this terrible war.

You have to give it to the Maltese. Especially with the invasion force described and the massive bombing campaign, they rationally should have surrendered. Instead, they held out and survived.

Uhhh, again, a great story told. But footage of a jet fighter launching from a carrier?

That was an amazing documentary

I understand that these videos are for "illustrative" purposes only. This explains why German troops were seen defending Malta, as well as British troops. AND, it also explains why there's video footage of American bombers bombing Malta. The best one of all? The Japanese Betty bomber see in the Mediterranean attacking allied shipping. I knew they had a good range, but, sheesh? That's pushing it a bit far? I don't mind these docs, but some editorial oversight by people who know what's what would increase your reputation.

Malta's strategic significance was always clear. It interrupted Axis communications and logistics to North Africa. The Afrika Corps was defeated more by Malta than by Montgomery & Operation Torch.

Very interesting documentary...thanks keep up the good work

4:45 Pronounced just HMS Welshman not THE HMS Welshman. HMS = His Majesties Ship during WW2.

Sounds like you missed out a lot of the story there mate. Nothing about the three Sea Gladiators Faith,Hope and Charity, and they had Hurricanes long time before the Spitfires slowly arrived.