AHQ Malta
No . 248 Wing RAF Spitfire units Other units
No . 69 Squadron RAF Martin Baltimore No . 40 Squadron SAAF No . 23 Squadron RAF , de Havilland Mosquito
No . 108 Squadron RAF , Bristol Beaufighter No . 126 Squadron RAF No . 73 Squadron RAF Det. , Hurricane
No . 221 Squadron RAF , Vickers Wellington No . 185 Squadron RAF No . 256 Squadron RAF Det. , Mosquito
No . 272 Squadron RAF , Beaufighter No . 229 Squadron RAF No . 600 Squadron RAF , Beaufighter
No . 683 Squadron RAF , Spitfire No . 249 Squadron RAF 815 Naval Air Squadron Det . ( FAA ) , Fairey Albacore
826 Naval Air Squadron ( FAA ) No . 1435 Flight RAF No . 983 Balloon Squadron
On the offensive 1943 -- Operation Husky - Order of battle July 1943
An Avro York of No . 246 Squadron RAF being loaded at RAF Luqa . Date not certain but between 1943 and 1945 . When the Allies invaded Sicily ( Operation Husky ) on 10 July 1943 , AHQ Malta directed the units below . [ 6 ]
Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta or Air H.Q. Malta) was an overseas command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War Two. It was established on 28 December 1941 by renaming RAF Mediterranean under Air Vice Marshal Hugh Lloyd. Lloyd was named Air Officer Commanding in Malta on 1 June 1941. AHQ Malta played a key defensive role during the war when Malta was under siege by Axis forces between 11 June 1940 to 20 November 1942. In 1943 it then became a major sub-command centre for the Allies under the Mediterranean Air Command (MAC) when the Allies began their attack on Sicily, Italy. AHQ Malta remained in operation under British command until 1968 when it was disbanded. The British withdrew from Malta in 1979.