"Royal Air Force Operations in Malta, Gibraltar and the Mediterranean, 1940-1945." Bristol Beaufort Mark II of No. 39 Squadron RAF based at Luqa, Malta, flying at low level during an attack on an Axis tanker in the Ionian Sea. This aircraft retains the unit codes of No. 86 Squadron RAF which, with Nos. 39 and 217 Squadrons RAF, was disbanded to form a new 39 Squadron at Luqa in August 1942.