185: The Malta Squadron

Mussolini declared war on Britain on June 10, 1940, and the next day Italian aircraft began the first of more than 3,000 bombing raids over Malta. The diary entries of the RAF airmen involved provide a unique account of the epic battle as experienced by fighter pilots of 185 Squadron. For 18 months the squadron saw continual action, finally helping to win the war in the air over Malta in 1943. Here, life in Malta's longest serving fighter squadron is narrated as an often humorous and sometimes poignant tale—all the more so with the knowledge that some contributors never survived the war.