Imagine. Rubble and destruction all around you. A once peaceful neighbourhood, now completely obliterated.  Gone are the houses, streets, and schools.  You’re not even sure if your family and loved ones survived this one.  Suddenly, the wailing shriek of the air-raid siren causes widespread panic and chilling terror as everyone scrambles desperately to the nearest shelter…

This was the desperate life in Malta, especially in the Cottonera region, during the early 1940’s – barely enough food to eat and unsure if you’ll survive another day. Few places on earth have experienced the intensity and ferocity of the Axis powers at their peak. Over 4 years, Malta was bombed over 3,300 times, with over 6,000 tonnes of bombs being dropped during April 1942 alone.

The reason for such a devestation was Malta’s strategic location in the Mediterranean Sea and its role as a vital Allied base for disrupting Axis supply lines to North Africa. The Axis powers were determined to neutralise it completely by deploying a fearsome arsenal of the most sophisticated military technology of the time.

Aircraft of the Italian Regia Aeronautica

Warplanes of the German Luftwaffe