Red Duster, White Ensign

From 1940-1942, Malta was the burr under Hitler's saddle, the frail island fortress that managed to frustrate Axis plans for sweeping British forces out of Africa. Until the decisive British victory at El Alamein, it was a near-run thing, and just how near-run is the subject of this engaging, inspiring book. First published in 1959 and re-released in the U.S. in 1983 as a Bantam War Book, "Red Duster, White Ensign," as its title suggests, pays tribute primarily to the British merchant marine and Royal Navy sailors who, against incredible odds, kept the island just supplied enough to fend off starvation as well as German and Italian attack. Ian Cameron's book is a product of its time in a way, very stiff-upper-lip and relying heavily on official reports rather than interviews with witnesses. But because the story of Malta is so fascinating in its bare facts, this works to create a tense yarn of constant adventure, as we follow the laborious progress of convoy after convoy, some suffering worse fates than others, all desperately needed by an island on starvation rations and contemplating surrender. Sometimes the story is almost too incredible to believe, as when the island's entire air force, just three outdated biplanes, manages to frustrate and injure the pride of Italy's Regia Aeronautica. The Maltese, heartened by this turn, call the planes "Faith," "Hope," and "Charity," and long after they are finally taken out by the Luftwaffe, their spirit imbues Maltese resistance and courage in the face of attack. It was some attack, too. During one 14-day period, Cameron writes, "the island spent 168 hours under attack from the air; she endured 2,159 individual raids, and in Grand Harbour, 18 ships were sunk and 27 damaged." In terms of concentrated air attack, the pure tonnage of bombs dropped around Grand Harbour during another, earlier period exceeded any similar-sized area in Stalingrad or Coventry. Cameron doesn't linger over much of anything. He zooms in on particular ships as they tread the dangerous straits between Alexandria and Malta, telling of their perseverance. Sometimes, like the island they are supplying, the ships endure incredible damage but manage to limp into Grand Harbour with their vital cargoes. Other times, they come agonizingly close, only to fail. In the end, of course, they accomplished their mission, and the West was saved. Of all the important theaters of World War II, perhaps only Burma is as forgotten as Malta, but the story of Malta's victory is one worth anyone's time, and Cameron tells the story in gripping and accessible fashion. Worth a reprint, surely.