Operation Pedestal

Operation Pedestal tells the story of the August 1942 convoy sent through the Mediterranean to supply Malta at a moment when food and fuel shortages threatened the island’s ability to continue resisting Axis attack. The Royal Navy assembled a major covering force to escort fourteen merchant ships through waters dominated by German and Italian aircraft, submarines and torpedo craft.

The convoy suffered severe losses, but the arrival of five merchant ships—including the damaged tanker Ohio—helped sustain Malta through a critical phase of the war. Hastings combines command decisions with the experiences of naval and merchant crews and islanders, treating Pedestal as both a naval battle and a struggle over logistics and endurance. It is nonfiction military history.