Royal Air Force Luqa Malta - Outposts of Empire

Start of the Video at 2:30! RAF Outposts of Empire ‘RAF Malta’ tells the story of the RAF on Malta from its humble beginnings during the First and second World Wars, the Cold War and up to the final departure of British forces in 1979. Interviews with veterans and historians reveal how the Island became an ‘Outpost of Empire’ during the Napoleonic Wars and the Head Quarters of the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean fleet. First-hand accounts reveal how Malta’s people, the Allied servicemen and women suffered, starved and eventually overcame, the two-and-a-half-year Italian and German ‘Blitz’ during World War Two. How The ‘Santa Maria’ and other convoys ran the gauntlet to resupply ‘Fortress Malta’ delivering the Spitfires that broke the siege and earned the Island’s people the George Cross. The Cold War is recalled by the aircrews who flew and supported NATO anti-submarine patrols in Shackleton, Canberra and Nimrod aircraft tracking down Soviet shipping and peering over the ‘Iron Curtain’ to photograph activities in Soviet Block, the Persian Gulf and Middle East. Malta’s RAF history is shown in rare archive film and images from the World-famous Imperial War Museum, Malta National Archives, Bay Retro picture library and many other personal, previously unseen, films and images illustrating the memories of those who served on and flew from, Malta. The final months are remembered with sadness as the British finally withdrew after 160 years and Malta became an independent country and a thriving member of the European Community.