Drowning men screamed as burning oil engulfed them: With hundreds dead and half the supply ships sunk, the British mission to save Malta in 1942 seemed doomed. What followed, as Max Hastings recounts in a gripping book, would go down in maritime history By summer 1942, the island of Malta was on the brink of surrender Starving population endured round-the-clock bombing by Germans and Italians Operation Pedestal carried vital food, fuel and ammunition on ships In compelling account of heroism under fire, remaining ships limp doggedly on