Themes

The Navy at Home and Abroad

• Shore Establishments

• Humanitarian Relief

  • Anti-Slavery

  • Spanish Civil War Evacuation

  • Operation Magic Carpet

  • Netherlands Floods 1953

  • Operation Burberry

  • Fastnet Race 1979

  • Operation Haven

• Flying the Flag

• Letters Home

• Prisoners of War

Learning

• How to: Understand a Uniform

Operation Magic Carpet

Submarines help to carry supplies to the besieged island of Malta during World War Two

During World War Two Malta lay under siege from German and Italian aircraft meaning that British surface ships were unable to deliver vital supplies to the island. As a result, the authorities cut rations to an extremely low level and the morale of civilians and members of the services living in Malta declined. The British Government directed Royal Navy submarines to ferry cargo to Malta and as underwater freighters they created the ‘Magic Carpet’ operation. The supply runs took place roughly once every twelve days and it is undeniable that without the ‘Magic Carpet’ the occupants of Malta would not have survived.

Article Highlights

• Introduction

• Supplies carried
  

• How submarines transported the stores

• The role of HMS Rorqual

• HMS Clyde, the mail carrier

Painting by Peter Miles showing the submarine HMS Clyde unloading stores at Shell Pier in Malta (RNSM)

To find out what was transported by the submarines, select Next