Raid on Grand Harbour

Raid on Grand Harbour
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
Fort St Elmo, site of the attack, with the new bridge at the forefront, built in 2012
Date 26 July 1941 Location Grand Harbour, Malta 35°54′07″N 14°31′08″E / 35.9020°N 14.5188°E / 35.9020; 14.5188 Result British victory[1]
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Henry Ferro	Vittorio Moccagatta  † Teseo Tesei  †
Strength
Coastal defences 30 fighter aircraft	1 Aviso 2 MAS torpedo boats 9 MTM explosive boats 2 maiali human torpedoes 2 support boats 10 fighter aircraft
Casualties and losses
1 fighter destroyed	17 killed 18  (POW) 10 boats destroyed 2 boats captured 1 human torpedo (maiale) lost 1 human torpedo captured 3 fighters shot down

The Raid on Grand Harbour (Operazione MALTA-2), was an Italian raid against Allied shipping in Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta in the early morning of 26 July 1941 during the Second World War. MTM explosive motorboat pilots and Frogmen from the Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti (Decima MAS 10th Flotilla Torpedo Armed Motorboats) of the Regia Marina conducted a raid to penetrate the harbour and attack British shipping. The attackers destroyed the St Elmo Bridge trying to enter the harbour, before being driven off by fire from the coastal defences.

The Decima MAS group was killed outside the harbour by the British harbour defences during the raid, swam ashore to be taken prisoner or were killed attempting the return journey; it was the worst defeat suffered by Decima MAS in the war. Many of the two MAS-boat (Motoscafo armato silurante, torpedo-armed motorboat) crews and surviving Decima MAS men were killed when British Hurricane fighter aircraft attacked the MAS-boats on the morning of 26 July, along with two Macchi C.200 Saetta (Lightning) fighter escorts shot down in dogfights. A Hurricane was shot down and the pilot rescued from MAS-452, which was recovered and used as a tender by the British.