Malta's Gladiators

[johnny]

Does anyone know if there is any truth to story about 3 gladiator biplanes defending Malta in 1941.Think they were called faith , hope and charity.Or was it just a british propaganda idea.Im sure that there was a Gladiator sqn on Malta but cannot believe that only 3 biplanes could withstand hordes of Bf109f and others.

 

[MichaelHenley]

It is true. THere was an article a few FlyPasts back about them (British aviation magazine)

 

[johnny]

How did they survive? did they survive for very long?

 

[MichaelHenley]

One of them has had its wings removed and is in some museum, faith, i think

 

[johnny]

probably had its wings removed with cannon shells! Must have been damn good pilots ( or stupid suicidal kamikaze) to have done what they did.

 

[johnny]

Quick question .I'm new to this site.How do you guys get your plane pics on the bottom of your messages.Have been in my profile and cannot seem to get it right.Maybe I'm not looking right.(cannot see out of the turret)

 

[MichaelHenley]

BTW: The Wings were carefully removed and were somwhere else.
The Pics are called signiatures. you can fiddle around with them in one of the threads in the Off topic/misc section.

 

[johnny]

Still cant get that signature thing right.Tried copy/paste to no avail.Will keep trying though.

 

[lesofprimus]

go read the signature/avatar thread in the MISC section... It tells how there....

 

[johnny]

Hopw to have got it ?!

 

[Lightning Guy]

I don't think Faith, Hope, and Charity had to face too many 109s. I believe the campaign against Malta was pretty much an RA affair at the time.

 

[lesofprimus]

I agree... I dont know if they even faced -109's while stationed there...

 

[johnny]

True . I dont think they had the range.

 

[johnny]

Even if they werent facing 109s I would hate to face 1 kampfgruppe in a gladiator.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

no- they didn't face 109's when they were there, only a couple of italain fighters, there were originally 4 but one got shot down on the first sortie, and while it is true, allot of it is the invention of propergander, they only had the glad's for a couple of weeks when 4 hurricanes were found........

 

[Lightning Guy]

But it is still true that they fought with such ferocity that the Italians estimated their numbers to be 50.

 

[lesofprimus]

Ferocity from a Biplane.... Now thats funny..... Them damn Eyetalianos....

 

[johnny]

I'm surpised they could even catch those Eyties , and attack them .Didnt the Itallian planes have 4 tailgunners , to defend themselves while racing back home.

 

[Gemhorse]

Well Johnny, it's a very true story about 'Faith, Hope and Charity'. - They were a rude awakening for the Italian Air Force, the 'Regia Aeronautica', and did a terrific job holding Malta until better reinforcements arrived...It's a great read, written by Kenneth Poolman, and I thoroughly recommend it....

 

[Gemhorse]

I notice that the Amazon-server hasn't got it...the copy I have is a 'New English Library' paper-back, 1974. - It was first published in 1954 by William Kimber Co. Ltd.
- For all those 'Gladiator-scoffers' out there, this story will change your opinion of this, the 'Last of the Fighting Biplanes'....