Operation Excess was a series of British supply convoys to Malta, Alexandria and Greece in January 1941. The operation was the first to encounter "Luftwaffe" anti-shipping aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea. All the convoyed freighters reached their destinations. The destroyer "Gallant" was disabled by Italian mines and Axis bombers severely damaged the cruiser "Southampton" and the aircraft carrier "Illustrious".
Background.
Italy's declaration of War on 10 June 1940 brought the Second World War to the Mediterranean Sea and placed the "Regia Aeronautica" astride the traditional British sea route to Indian Ocean ports, while the "Regia Marina" roughly tripled the numbers of battleships, cruisers and submarines available to challenge British sea power. The Royal Navy had held the eastern Mediterranean and France the western Mediterranean but the Second Armistice at Compiègne removed the French navy from the alliance on 25 June 1940. From bases at Gibraltar and Alexandria, the Royal Navy attempted to convoy supplies to Malta to maintain it as a base in the central Mediterranean. As Italy attacked Egypt from Libya in September 1940 and Greece from Albania in October 1940, the Royal Navy maintained most of their Mediterranean Fleet at Alexandria and used Force H at Gibraltar for raids. British successes in early November 1940, including halting the Italian offensive in Greece and disabling Italian battleships , and at the Battle of Taranto, provided incentive and opportunity to supply Malta and Greece.
Prelude.
Allied.
Convoy MC 4 consisted of four freighters at Gibraltar; "Clan Cumming", "Clan MacDonald" and "Empire Song" carried materiel destined for Piraeus. "Essex" carried of seed potatoes, of ammunition and twelve crated Hawker Hurricanes for Malta.
Convoy MW 5 consisted of the Freighters "Breconshire" and "Clan Macaulay" at Alexandria with cargo bound for Malta.
Convoy ME 6 was made up of nine freighters waited at Malta for passage to Alexandria.
Force A comprised , , , , , , , , and to sail from Alexandria, covering convoys MC 4, MW 5 and ME 6 east of the Skerki Banks.
Force B of , , and would carry five hundred soldiers and airmen from the Aegean to Malta and join convoy MC 4 after dropping their passengers in Malta.
Force C was to screen Convoy MW 5 with , and .
Force D, and , was to sail from Alexandria with s "Gloxinia", , , and the replenishment oiler "Brambleleaf" to be joined by and from Souda Bay.
Force F was to cover Convoy MC 4 with , , , and carrying four hundred soldiers and airmen to Malta.
Force H was to protect Convoy MC 4 from Gibraltar to the Skerki Banks with , , , , , , , and ferrying six Fairey Swordfish for Malta.
Axis.
Five hundred anti-shipping aircraft of "Fliegerkorps" X were being transferred from Norway to Sicily to protect Axis convoys to North Africa and prevent passage of British convoys to Malta.
Operations.
6 January 1941.
Convoy MC 4 left Gibraltar, feinting toward the Atlantic, before turning toward Malta after dark, to mislead Axis agents near Gibraltar.
7 January.
Force H sailed from Gibraltar to cover convoy MC 4. Force A, Force D and convoy MW 5 with Force C sailed from Alexandria and Force B sailed from the Aegean toward Malta. Force A was located by Italian air reconnaissance that afternoon.
8 January.
Force B landed its passengers in Malta and proceeded west to meet convoy MC 4. Wellington bombers raided Naples damaging with three near misses and causing the only operational Italian battleship, , to retreat from the approaching convoys.
9 January.
Force A was joined by Force D and south-east of Malta, Force B joined convoy MC 4; Convoy MC 4 and Force H were discovered by Italian aircraft and attacked by ten SM.79s from Sardinia. Two SM.79s were shot down by Fairey Fulmars from "Ark Royal" and a later attack by 15 Fiat CR.42 Falcos carrying bombs also failed. Force H left convoy MC 4 that afternoon after "Ark Royal" launched six Swordfish for the defence of Malta; Force A joined convoy MC 4 at dusk.
10 January.
Italian ships from La Spezia failed to find Force H. The Italian submarine and torpedo boats and (under the command of Commander Giuseppe Fontana) launched torpedoes against Convoy MC 4 but missed. "Bonaventure" and "Hereward" sank "Vega" south of Pantellaria at 08:30 and "Circe" escaped undamaged. "Bonaventure" was slightly damaged and two men killed; 75 per cent of her ammunition was expended in the engagement. Two of "Vega"'s crew survived. Right after the engagement, which pushed the British convoy too far south of their route, "Gallant" struck a naval mine at 08:35. "Mohawk" took "Gallant" in tow toward Malta while the Force B cruisers provided protection from air attacks. Convoys MC 4 and MW 5 arrived at Malta and convoy ME 6 departed for Alexandria.
Fulmars from "Illustrious" shot down an Italian aircraft shadowing Force A at 09:30. "Valiant" avoided torpedoes launched by two SM.79s approaching under the radar horizon at 12:30. As the combat air patrol Fulmars dropped altitude to engage the SM.79s, Force A was attacked at 12:35 by 18 He 111s of "KG" 26 and 43 Ju 87s of "StG" 1 and "StG" 2 escorted by 10 Bf 110s of "ZG" 26. "Illustrious" completed launching Fulmar and Swordfish patrol aircraft as the attack developed. "Illustrious" was the main target and was enveloped in waterspouts and mist of exploding bombs. Some bombers diving from an altitude of 12,000 feet delayed bomb release until they pulled-out lower than the height of "Illustrious"' funnel. The five air patrol Fulmars had not returned from chasing the SM.79s which attacked "Valiant" and the four recently launched Fulmars were unable to gain altitude rapidly enough to break up the attack. The Fulmars claimed eight enemy aircraft during the bombing of Force A as they shuttled to Malta airfields to refuel and re-arm. "Warspite" was lightly damaged by a bomb. "Illustrious" was hit by five bombs, including one which failed to explode and a near miss disabled her rudder mechanism. A bomb striking a lowered elevator caused extensive hangar damage, with many casualties among aircraft maintenance personnel, nine Swordfish and five Fulmars destroyed. At 15:30 "Illustrious" headed for Malta steering with engines. The bombing attacks continued. Seven SM.79s were discouraged by heavy anti-aircraft fire but an attack by six Italian Ju 87s at 16:00 scored another bomb hit and two near misses. Fourteen German Ju 87s missed "Valiant" and "Janus" and a later attack by 14 He 111s was similarly ineffective. "Illustrious" reached Malta at 21:30 and would suffer 126 dead and 91 wounded by the time she departed from Malta.
11 January.
"Gallant" was beached in Malta's Grand Harbor at dawn and never repaired. As "Mohawk" and the Force B cruisers steamed from Malta to rejoin Force A, they were surprised by 12 Ju 87R dive bombers of "II/"St.G".2" attacking out of the sun at 15:20. "Gloucester" was hit by a bomb which failed to explode and "Southampton" was hit by two bombs, which killed eighty men and started fires, requiring the ship to be scuttled east of Malta. Force H returned to Gibraltar.
12 January.
Force A was reinforced west of Crete by Force B, the cruisers of Force D, the battleship and the aircraft carrier from Alexandria.
13 January.
Convoy ME 6 arrived at Alexandria.
The Illustrious blitz.
What Maltese called the Illustrious "Blitz" began when bomb stocks depleted during the attacks of 10 and 11 January were replenished and the Axis made a maximum effort to destroy "Illustrious" before she could be repaired. "Illustrious" and "Essex" were hit during an air raid on 16 January. Ten Macchi C.202s, ten CR.42s and twenty Bf 110s escorted 44 Ju 87s. Bombs exploding in Grand Harbour killed numerous fish, that were collected after the raid and eaten. "Illustrious" was not seriously damaged but a bomb exploded in "Essex"'s engine room killing 15 men and wounding 23 more. There was another heavy air raid on 17 January and "Illustrious" was again hit in an air raid on 18 January. "Illustrious" was not damaged by the last big attack on 19 January. "Illustrious" departed Malta on 23 January but her Fulmars remained for the defence of the island. "Illustrious" was able to complete additional repairs after reaching Alexandria on 25 January but restoration of full combat effectiveness required a trip to United States shipyards.
Losses.
Fairey Fulmar fighters and AA gunners of the Royal Navy shot down at least seven aircraft on 10 January 1941, in defence of "Illustrious", while one Fulmar was lost. No merchantmen were lost during "Excess" but the Royal Navy lost one cruiser sunk and a destroyer damaged beyond repair.
Footnotes.
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References.
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