Island Innovations: the RAOC(E) and REME in Malta
Malta has a long history with Royal Army Ordnance Corps, especially during the Second World War. Isolated on an island in the Mediterranean, they were forced to adapt to local conditions and shortcomings. Official accounts shed light on a whole host of technical issues they helped resolve through unique and innovative solutions. From dual Lewis gun mountings to heavy anti-aircraft open-sights, they used their ingenuity and whatever could be salvaged locally to make economic and easily reproducible patterns of equipment.
The war diaries of the Chief of Ordnance Mechanical Engineer reveal long lists of items designed, manufactured or modified by the RAOC and affiliated institutions such as the local Dockyard under the Admiralty. Bedsteads, casings for lyon light lenses, camouflage nets, stretchers, dummy soldiers and tanks, cases for secret documents, stamping firearms for issue, and even booby traps were just some of the tasks that befell the engineers (E) of the RAOC early in the war. They also had to perform ample repairs and maintenance on a wide variety of equipment from tents to Bofors crank shafts and Bren gun carriers.
The RAOC (E) dealt with a variety of ordnance as well. The 3.7 inch gun is often mentioned for all sorts of logistical instructions and repairs. The 3.7 inch howitzer, very rarely seen in published images, was also subject to their technical gaze with several modifications done to some examples. War diaries also mention the construction of metal gun shields/covers for coastal guns in several positions. Experiments were commonplace such as the use of a 6 pdr sub-calibre mounted on a carriage anti-tank purposes, as well as a 3 pounder on a Ford chassis. Small arms were also within their remit. A specific device for the production of lead shot by unskilled labourers was devised for local stocks of shotguns.
One of the key elements in any invasion of Malta were concrete pillboxes in which machineguns could be operated. On the 7th of May 1940, a new type of mounting for the Vickers and/or Bren gun was designed and constructed, the process taking only a few days from start to finish. Initial testing necessitated a few modifications but the system soon went into full production. The muzzle-pivoting mount drastically reduced the space required to install a machine gun in a local concrete defence post, saving much needed material and altering their strategic application altogether. It was, without a doubt, one of their most impactful contributions to the island’s defence.
Another interesting problem they helped resolve was getting injured soldiers out of pillboxes. The narrow exits would not allow a normal stretcher to safely evacuate a casualty while still safely secured to it. A specific design was implemented that would allow one to extract casualties even from the top hatch of a defence post. The main difference from a normal stretcher being the ability to be raised or lowered by ropes as well as secure attachment points for improved lashing. Another curious design involving stretchers was a trolley made out of bicycle wheels and condemned boiler tubes; the only suitable material that was available at the time. Bicycles feature again when the problem of transporting Vickers Machine Guns presented itself for which a specific bicycle/motor trailer in limited quantities was produced.
The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers were formed on the 1st of October 1942. They took over the responsibilities of the RAOC’s engineering branch as well as some vehicle inspection and maintenance duties from the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC); any repairs that could not be carried out by the RASC would be REME’s responsibility. A Church service and parade were held on the 4th of October to commemorate the event with the Officer Commanding (O.C.) Lieutenant Leslie N. Tyler leading the march together with O.C. RAOC Colonel W. Cam M.C. In Malta, 17 officers and 220 other ranks were transferred from the RAOC and a few weeks later a REME Malta section was also formed. In an official letter from L.N Tyler to O.C. RAOC makes reference to the growing need for engineering in modern methods of warfare, and that REME, although regretfully severing from the RAOC, inherited their traditions and intended to “prove itself to be a worthy child of a famous parent.” In the RAOC’s reply there is also reference to REME as the “child of our loins which has grown to manhood and is entitled to a partnership in the firm”, equating their relationship as that between the store and the workshop.
REME were responsible for most of the army’s maintenance and repairs. War diaries shed light on several locations used to repair a variety of things, from radio equipment to batteries. One of the most important jobs was the constant servicing and repair of anti-aircraft equipment, from mounting to breeches to barrels and predictors. They also administered textile refitters as well as typewriter, blacksmith, carpentry and retinning workshops, some of which employed civilians.
REME armourers were critical to ensure local small arms and other weapons functioned without issues. One of the first tasks at hand for REME was the refurbishing of small arms salvaged from sunken ships. More so, workshops were established where they would repair (and ‘cannibalise’) mortars, and rifles. They even tested out local inventions to improve equipment. One design submitted in 1943 by Cpl Wexsler from the RASC detailed a blank firing system for the Bren with disintegrating wooden-tipped rounds.
REME mechanics had to constantly overhaul engines. On the 31st of July 1943, they reported: “98 vehicles, 45 engines were overhauled and 394 jobs in connection with repair and maintenance were completed.” The following month, they would also write off over 200 vehicles as they were no longer necessary. From that point onwards, only equipment with special instructions to be repaired received attention as Malta had a surplus of equipment.
REME would retain their presence past 1945 and well into the post-war years. Fortunately, several of their local bases are still extant. A notable example is their underground workshops at ‘l-Inglin’ which survives almost entirely intact. The quarry had several tunnels used for equipment repair and still bears the mark of the Royal Engineers 173 tunnelling Coy. that dug them in 1942. It is with such inter-corps and inter-regimental co-operation that Malta’s siege was finally lifted and the island took on the role as attacker in 1943.
The RAOC (E) and REME’s story shed light on the fact that Malta did not always wait for supplies from convoys. The island had very skilled men repairing and, most importantly, manufacturing all sorts of things. However, the story of REME’s association with Malta goes further. A REME workshop would be attached to the 231st ‘Malta’ brigade during the invasion of Sicily, throughout the Italian Campaign, and throughout operation Overlord and Market Garden. A few days after D-Day in 1944, the workshops landed in 18 inches of water in France, working on their first ever heavy tracked vehicle: a Sexton. They would go on to service, overhaul, repair, and recover several other armoured vehicles, motorcycles and artillery and all sorts of equipment throughout the campaign.
By Nikolai Debono, on behalf of Battlefront Malta
With thanks to the REME museum for their ongoing support.
This article was published on The Craftsman; the official REME magazine, in August 2024
Sources
Unpublished official account of the RAOC (E) in Malta, The REME Museum, UK.
National Archives, Kew, UK:
COME War Diary 1940, WO 169 898.
RAOC Malta 1940, WO 169 899.
RAOC Malta 1941, WO 169 3266.
RAOC Malta 1942, WO 169 7391.
RAOC Malta 1943, WO 169 14545.
REME Malta Workshop 1944, WO 169 18710.
RAOC Ammunition Depo. 1944, WO 169 18709.
231 REME Workshop 1943, WO 169 8990.
231 REME Workshop 1944, WO 171 716.