Illustrious under sustained air attack

CPO Richard Griffin's 815 Squadron account begins with a warning that German air units had reached Sicily and follows HMS Illustrious into the attack near Pantelleria. The carrier's aircraft were armed and loaded with torpedoes in the hangar for an attack on the Italian fleet, making bomb penetration and fire an immediate danger to both ship and air group. Bombs struck aft, and a thousand-pound bomb pierced the forward armored deck before exploding about 10 to 15 feet from Griffin. Fires, casualties, a destroyed aft medical station, and flooding from the overhead sprays tested the crew through six to seven hours of attack. Captain Boyd eventually steered the damaged carrier into Malta using its engines. This close view makes the human work of armored-carrier damage control visible.