View source for Operation Hurry

{{Use British English|date=March 2024}}
{{Short description|1940 operation in the Mediterranean}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Hurry
| partof            =  the [[Battle of the Mediterranean]] of the [[Second World War]]
| image             = File:Aircraft carrier HMS Argus in the later 1920s.jpg
| image_size        = 250px
| caption           = HMS ''Argus'', photographed in the late 1920s
| date              = 31 July – 4 August 1940
| place             = western Mediterranean Sea
| result            = British victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|United Kingdom}}
| combatant2        = {{flag|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)|name=Kingdom of Italy}}
| commander1        = [[James Somerville]]<br />[[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Andrew Cunningham]]
| commander2        =
| units1            = [[Force H]]<br />[[Fleet Air Arm]]
| units2            = {{lang|it|[[Regia Aeronautica]]}}<br />{{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}}
| strength1         =
| strength2         =
| casualties1       = 2 aircrew killed<br />2 aircrew taken prisoner<br />2 aircraft lost
| casualties2       = 4 aircraft destroyed in Sardinia<br />2 aircraft shot down
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Mediterranean Campaign}}
}}

'''Operation Hurry''' (31 July – 4 August 1940) was the first British operation in a series that have come to be known as [[Club Run]]s. The goal of the operation was to fly twelve [[Hawker Hurricane|Hurricane]] Mk I fighters from {{HMS|Argus|I49|6}} to [[Malta]], guided by two [[Blackburn Skua]]s. [[Force H]], based in [[Gibraltar]], took the opportunity to raid [[Cagliari Elmas Airport|Elmas airfield]] in Sardinia and conduct a deception operation with {{HMS|Enterprise|D52|6}}. The [[Mediterranean Fleet]] conducted diversions in the eastern Mediterranean and the [[Aegean Sea]].

A squadron of Hurricanes had reinforced Malta, Elmas airfield had been bombed and Italian bombers had been deterred by anti-aircraft fire and the Skuas of Ark Royal. Attacks on the Italian mainland had been shown to be possible and the {{lang|it|[[Regia Aeronautica]]}} had been found to be less formidable than had been feared; both fleets had been attacked but only one bomb hit by a dud and some near-misses on the British ships had been achieved; the battle fleet of the {{lang|it|[[Regia Marina]]}} remained in port.

== Background ==
===Malta, 1940===

[[Malta]], is a Mediterranean island of {{cvt|122|sqmi}}. The island group had been a British colony since 1814. By the 1940s, the island had a population of 275,000 but local farmers could feed only one-third of the population, the deficit being made up by imports. Malta was a staging post on the British [[Suez Canal]] sea route to [[India]], East Africa, the oilfields of [[Kingdom of Iraq|Iraq]] and [[Iran]], India and the Far East. The island was also close to the [[Sicilian Channel]] between [[Sicily]] and [[Tunis]].{{sfn|Roskill|1957|pp=293–294}} After the Italia entry into the [[Second World War]] (10 June 1940), Malta was used as a base of operations by the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF) and [[Fleet Air Arm]] (FAA), sea and submarine operations by the [[Royal Navy]] against Axis supply convoys from Italy to Italian Libya.{{sfn|Richards|Saunders|1975|pp=169–170}} On 11 June 1940, Italy began the [[Siege of Malta (World War II)|Siege of Malta]], the first step in an Italian plan to gain control of the [[Mediterranean]]. The Italians intended to bomb or starve Malta into submission, by attacking its ports, towns, cities and Allied shipping supplying the island.{{sfn|Holland|2003|p=417}}  After over a month of bombardment, the troops on Malta were beginning to run low on supplies and equipment, including aircraft, to help fight off the attackers. Doubt was expressed whether Malta was worth the supplies it required and some even planned on letting Malta work on the few supplies that were left.{{sfn|Shankland|Hunter|1961|p=92}} The decision was made to reinforce substantially the island air defences.{{sfn|Ireland|2003|p=29}}

==Prelude==

===HMS ''Argus''===

{{main|HMS Argus (I49)|l1=HMS Argus|Club Run}}

[[File:The Royal Navy during the Second World War A12882.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|HMS ''Argus'', photographed in 1942}}]]
Flying Hurricane reinforcements across France to North Africa in June, thence to Malta had been a partial success but after the French surrender in June 1940 this practice became impossible. Aircraft could be carried in merchant ships to West Africa, assembled and flown to Egypt on the [[Takoradi Airport|Takoradi route]] or sailed round the Cape to Egypt. On 12 July the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] reported that twelve Hurricanes bound for Malta and another twelve for Egypt were due to be sent by merchant ship from Britain to Gibraltar and wondered if the ship could sail direct to Malta. Somerville suggested using an aircraft carrier, if ferried to about {{cvt|350|–|400|mi}} from Malta, avoiding the {{lang|it|Regia Marina}} and {{lang|it|Regia Aeronautica}} bases in [[Italian Libya]], [[Sardinia]], [[Pantellaria]] and Sicily, for the Hurricanes to fly the rest of the way; submarines could be used to shift personnel and equipment.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|pp=21–22}}

The FAA had no pilots trained on modern fighters; during July, nine fighter sergeant-pilots from [[RAF Fighter Command]] were sent to [[RAF Uxbridge]] and called [[No. 261 Squadron RAF|418 Flight]].{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|pp=21–22}} The pilots had served secondments to the FAA and had received training in flying from aircraft carriers. The pilots collected Hurricanes and travelled to Glasgow where they were briefed on the first [[Club Run]] and joined by five RAF officers. The aircraft and pilots were embarked on the aircraft carrier ''Argus'' (Captain [[Henry Cecil Bovell (British Naval officer)|Henry Bovell]]) which sailed on 23 July with twelve Hurricane Mk1s, escorted by the destroyers {{HMS|Encounter|H10|6}}, {{HMS|Greyhound|H05|2}}, {{HMS|Gallant|H59|2}} and {{HMS|Hotspur|H01|2}}.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=58}} A suggestion that two [[Bristol Blenheim|Blenheim]] bombers be embarked on ''Argus'' to act as guides was dismissed as impractical, leading to two Skuas being substituted, along with a couple of spare pilots, who were to travel in the Skuas. The voyage to [[Gibraltar]] was uneventful and the Hurricanes were reassembled and put on the fight deck. A Sunderland flying boat, one of two which were to fly with the Hurricanes to rescue pilots who came down in the sea, was loaded with spare parts. The second Sunderland embarked 23 RAF ground crew to maintain the Hurricanes on Malta.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|pp=21–22}}{{efn|Operation Hurry became the first of the Club Runs which, from August 1940 to March 1942, delivered Hurricanes and then Spitfires until October 1942. The runs carried 764 fighters, twelve turned back and landed on the aircraft carrier and 34 of which were lost.{{sfn|Dannreuther|2005|p=43}}}}

===Plan===
[[File:Blackburn Skua.jpg|thumb|{{center|Photograph of a Blackburn Skua, similar to the two in Operation Hurry}}]]
The plan for Hurry was for Group II, the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Argus|I49|2}}, with twelve [[Hawker Hurricane]] Mk Is on board, to sail within flying distance of Malta and dispatch the Hurricanes, with two two-seater [[Blackburn Skua]]s to assist with navigation. They would be met by two [[Short Sunderland]] flying boats from Malta to guide them in. ''Argus'' was to sail with the battleships {{HMS|Valiant|1914|6}} and {{HMS|Resolution|09|2}}, the cruisers {{HMS|Arethusa|26|6}}, {{HMS|Delhi|D47|2}} and {{HMS|Enterprise|D52|2}} and the destroyers {{HMS|Faulknor|H62|6}}, {{HMS|Forester|H74|2}}, {{HMS|Foresight|H68|2}}, {{HMS|Foxhound|H69|2}}, {{HMS|Fearless|H67|2}}, {{HMS|Escapade||2}}, {{HMS|Active|H14|2}} and {{HMS|Wrestler|D35|2}} of Force H.{{sfn|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|2005|p=34}} Group I, the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Ark Royal|91|6}} protected by battlecruiser {{HMS|Hood|51|6}} and four destroyers was to conduct Operation Crush, an attack by [[Fairey Swordfish]] bombers and minelayers on [[Cagliari Elmas Airport|Elmas airfield]] at [[Cagliari]] in Sardinia. Operation Spark, a wireless deception carried out by the cruiser ''Enterprise'', was to distract the Italians by reporting a suspicious boat off the coast of [[Menorca]]. The operations required all the ships of Force H ([[Vice-Admiral]] [[James Somerville]], in ''Hood'').{{sfn|Titterton|2011|p=52}}

===Club Run, 31 July===

On 31 July, after a reconnaissance by aircraft from [[No. 200 Squadron RAF|200 Squadron]], ''Argus'' sailed at {{nowrap|8:00 a.m.}} with its four destroyers and Force H, ''Ark Royal'', the battleships ''Hood'', ''Valiant'' and ''Resolution'', two cruisers and the six destroyers at {{cvt|17|kn}}, ''Ark Royal'' flying anti-submarine patrols. The wind increased which reduced the effectiveness of [[Asdic]] as destroyers [[Ship motions#Pitch|pitched]] up and down. On 1 August at {{nowrap|8:00 a.m.}} three Skuas took off from ''Ark Royal'' to attack a shadowing aircraft and shot it down. Radar contacts from the set on ''Valiant'' caused numerous false alarms because the British aircraft did not carry [[Identification friend or foe]] (IFF) At {{nowrap|12:30 p.m.}}, with six Skuas overhead, the fleet sailed in open order and at {{nowrap|5:10 p.m.}} more Skuas took off. Eight Italian [[Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero|SM.79bis]] approached at {{nowrap|5:49 p.m.}} and were turned back by the Skuas. Soon afterwards, another nine SM.79bis bombers closed on the fleet from the north-west. The ships turned 40° to port and the anti-aircraft fire by the ships damaged an SM.79bis which turned away, the other aircraft dropped about eighty bombs, which fell short. Skuas of [[803 Naval Air Squadron]] from ''Ark Royal'' shot down an SM.79bis, which had the general commanding the Sardinia-based bombers on board, with no survivors.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|p=22}} The attack was not pressed with as much vigour as an earlier attack in July which Somerville ascribed to the two weeks' training he had arranged for the ships' anti-aircraft gunners. {{lang|it|[[Supermarina]]}} had sent the submarines [[Italian submarine Argo (1936)|''Argo'']], [[Italian submarine Axum|''Axum'']], [[Italian submarine Diaspro|''Diaspro'']], [[Italian submarine Luciano Manara|''Manara'']], [[Italian submarine Medusa (1931)|''Medusa'']], [[Italian submarine Neghelli|''Neghelli'']], [[Italian submarine Scirè (1938)|''Scirè'']], [[Italian submarine Turchese|''Turchese'']] in two patrol lines off [[Cap Bougaroûn]] in eastern Algeria, which remained until 9 August.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|pp=58, 60}}

==Operations==
===Operation Hurry===

[[File:EU-Malta.svg|thumb|Malta]]
On 1 August, the pilots received a briefing from Bovell, Captain of ''Argus'', revealing that they were bound for Malta. The pilots were aghast when they were told where they were to take off from, which was far outside the range of a Hurricane. Flight-Lieutenant Duncan Balden, the commander of 418 Flight, refused to take off so far west of Malta and eventually the captain broke radio silence to consult the authorities in Britain who supported the Hurricane pilots. The take of point was moved to 37° 40', N 007° 20' E {{cvt|360|nmi}} instead of {{cvt|400|nmi}}, about {{cvt|120|nmi}} south-west of Cagliari. Now that the position of Force H was known, Bovell decided that the Hurricanes must fly as soon as possible after dawn the next day, 2 August.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|pp=21–22}}

Two flights of six Hurricanes each led by a Skua, which carried a navigator, were to make the journey but it was found that the two FAA pilots lacked experience on Skuas and two of the Hurricane pilots, Flying Officer Bradbury and Sergeant Harry Ayre volunteered, with Sub Lieutenant W. R. Nowell and Captain  K. L. Ford (Royal Marines) as navigators. The fourteen aircraft ranged on deck made the take-off run look exceedingly small to the pilots and at {{nowrap|4:45 a.m.,}} the first Skua took a long time to start, delaying take-off for thirty minutes. The Skua began its take-off run, bounced on the ramp at the end of the flight deck and sank below the bows, skimming the sea, building up flying speed.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|pp=21–22}}

The six Hurricanes took off easily, having more powerful engines and this made room for the second flight. The Skuas and Hurricanes avoided Pantelleria and arrived at Malta after a flight of two hours and twenty minutes, having flown {{cvt|380|nmi}}.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|p=22}} As the Hurricanes began to land at Luqa, Sergeant Jock Robinson crashed on landing, due to a "faulty petrol gauge" but really because his [[Vic formation|vic]] of three aircraft beat up the airfield, Rose rolling his Hurricane as the other two climbed steeply. Rose came in to land with a low steep turn and as he lined up with the runway, the engine cut, the Hurricane flipped on its back and ran through three stone walls, Rose being lucky to suffer only mild concussion. The Hurricane pilots had been under the impression that their carrier experience was being used to ferry the Hurricanes to Malta and there was uproar when they were told that they were to stay on the island, rather than fly back to Gibraltar in the Sunderlands. The Hurricane pilots had to wait for the rest of the spares to arrive in the submarines {{HMS|Pandora|N42|6}} and {{HMS|Proteus|N29|2}}. The pilots took turns to be the readiness flight, sitting in their cockpits waiting for the Italian bombers but there were no attacks, only reconnaissance flights for the next three days.{{sfn|Cull|Galea|2001|p=22}}

====Mediterranean Fleet====

[[File:Aegean Sea map.png|thumb|{{center|Map of the Aegean Sea}}]]
The Mediterranean Fleet sailed early on 27 July to cover Convoy AS 2 (Aegean South, Alexandria to Piraeus) from the north which was escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers. On 23 July the cruiser {{HMS|Orion|85|6}} and the destroyers {{HMAS|Vampire|D68|6}} and {{HMS|Vendetta|D69|6}} practised a ruse, off [[Kastellorizo]] near the Turkish coast, pretending to make landing preparations. The deception was repeated on 26 July before Convoy AS 2 sailed, when the [[armed boarding vessel]]s ''Chakla'' and ''Fiona'' also made spurious preparations for a landing on Kastellorizo. A delay to the departure of ''Argus'' from Gibraltar to 31 July required Admiral [[Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope|Andrew Cunningham]], the commander of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]], to alter his plans to divert Italian attention from the western Mediterranean. The battleships {{HMS|Malaya||6}}, {{HMS|Royal Sovereign|05|2}} and {{HMS|Warspite|03|2}} and the aircraft carrier {{HMS|Eagle|1918|6}} with the cruisers {{HMS|Neptune|20|2}} and {{HMAS|Sydney|D48|6}} and ten destroyers, were to sail between Crete and Libya during 1 August. {{sfn|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|2005|p=34}}

Cruisers and destroyers conducted a sweep in the Aegean with a demonstration westwards, via the [[Kithera Channel]], during the evening of 1 August. The intention was to give the impression of operations in the central Mediterranean, deterring the Italian navy based in Sicily and southern Italy from voyaging westwards. The {{lang|it|Regia Aeronautica}} attacked the ships from 27 to 29 July but achieved only a hit on {{HMS|Liverpool|C11|2}} which was a dud and several near-misses.{{sfn|Rohwer|Hümmelchen|2005|p=34}} A Greek ship, ''Ermione'', transporting aviation fuel to the [[Dodecanese Islands]] for the Italians, was sunk when ''Neptune'' and ''Sydney'' sailed into the [[Gulf of Athens]]. The battleship and aircraft carrier sortie had to be cut short when ''Malaya'' had engine trouble, returning with ''Eagle'' to Alexandria on 30 July.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=478}}{{efn|''Malaya'' had chronic problems with salt water leaking into its condensers.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=478}}}} The activity in the eastern Mediterranean was thought to have created indecision in the minds of {{lang|it|Supermarina}}, the Italian naval staff, who kept most of its ships in harbour.{{sfn|Playfair|Stitt|Molony|Toomer|1957|p=159}}

====Operation Crush====
[[File:Tyrrhenian Sea map.png|thumb|{{center|Map of the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]], showing [[Sardinia]] and [[Malta]]}}]]
Group I, ''Ark Royal'', ''Hood'', the cruiser ''Enterprise'' and the destroyers ''Faulknor'', ''Foxhound'', ''Foresight'' and ''Forester'' detached from the main force to conduct Operation Crush, an attack on Elmas airfield at Cagliari in Sardinia as Group II, ''Argus'', Valiant'', ''Hotspur'', ''Greyhound'', ''Gallant''. Escapade'', ''Encounter'' and ''Velox'' continued towards the Malta flying-off point.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=58}} On 2 August, at {{nowrap|2:30 a.m.}} nine Swordfish bombers and three minelayers began to take off from ''Ark Royal''. Somerville wrote later that he watched,

{{quotation|...in the pitch dark... a small shadow detach itself from the great shadow of the ''Ark''. The first Swordfish taking off. And then I thought  of those incredibly gallant chaps taking off...to fly 140 miles.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=59}}}}

A Swordfish crashed on take-off but a search by the destroyers for its crew could not find them. The rest waited until daylight then flew the {{cvt|140|nmi}} towards the target. The wind veered from south to west which ruined the flight plan, blowing the Swordfish to the south, delaying the aircraft so that they attacked in daylight, rather than at dawn. The Italian anti-aircraft fire was intense and damaged one Swordfish which made an emergency landing on the airfield. The two [[hangar]]s were hit and set on fire, four aircraft and several buildings were destroyed. The Swordfish mine-layers dropped their mines in Cagliari harbour without loss.{{sfnm|1a1=Woodman|1y=2003|1p=59|2a1=Rossiter|2y=2007|2pp=109–110}} After the Swordfish had taken off the ships turned south to rendezvous with Group II and at {{nowrap|4:45 a.m.}} swordfish were sent eastwqards to search for the Italian ships reported to have sailed north through the Straits of Messina and south-south-east to find Group II; Nine Skuas flew overhead to protect the fleet and the Swordfish returning from Cagliari.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=59}}

====Operation Spark====
At {{nowrap|8:30 p.m.}} ''Enterprise'' departed from Group I to carry out Operation Spark, a wireless deception to the north of [[Minorca]]. Two aircraft were reported overhead and the ruse was considered a success. Somerville ordered ''Enterprise'' to search for a French steamer ''Gouverneur-Général de Gueydon'' bound for Marseilles from Algiers, carrying [[Édouard Daladier]], the French prime minister, 1938 – 20 May 1940. Daladier had tried to rally French resistance in North Africa, only to have been taken prisoner. After failing to find the French ship Somerville ordered ''Enterprise'' to return direct to Gibraltar rather than risk being caught isolated.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|pp=60–61}}{{efn|On his return to metropolitan France, Daladier was imprisoned in the [[Buchenwald]] and [[Dachau]] concentration camps until the liberation of 1945.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=478}}}}

===1–4 August===
[[File:Locatie Straat van Messina.PNG|thumb|{{center|Location map of the Straits of Messina}}]]
On 1 August, the British submarine {{HMS|Oswald|N58|6}}, on patrol south of the [[Straits of Messina]], reported cruisers and destroyers sailing north through the strait but Somerville had chosen to keep to the plan.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=59}} After the take-off, Group I had changed course to rendezvous with Group II, joining soon after ''Argus'' had flown-off the Hurricanes and Skuas. A westerly wind increased, a headwind which slowed the Swordfish returning from Cagliari. Visibility deteriorated and the cloud base dropped to {{cvt|4000|ft}} but the Swordfish landed between {{nowrap|6:30 and 7:20 a.m.}} An Italian submarine was spotted near the fleet. At {{nowrap|9:30 a.m.}} ''Arethusa'' was sent to intercept the French ship ''Gouveneur-Général de Gueydon'' but found nothing, despite reconnaissance flights by four Swordfish from ''Ark Royal''.{{sfn|Woodman|2003|p=60}} The Swordfish and Skuas flew all day, forming an anti-submarine screen and providing fighter cover. At noon, a [[CANT Z.506 Airone]] (Heron) reconnaissance aircraft was shot down by a Skua of [[800 NAS]]. Late in the morning the radar apparatus on ''Valiant'' detected bombers to the north, which turned away, {{cvt|10|nmi}} short of Force H. By the afternoon of 4 August the ships were back in Gibraltar.{{sfn|Rossiter|2007|pp=109–110}}

== Aftermath ==
===Analysis===
A squadron of Hurricane aircraft had reinforced Malta, Elmas airfield had been bombed and Italian bombers had been deterred by anti-aircraft fire and the Skuas of ''Ark Royal''. Attacks on the Italian mainland had been shown to be possible and the {{lang|it|Regia Aeronautica}} had been found to be less formidable than had been feared. The training of Force H instituted by Somerville had been a success and Force H had begun to establish itself in the Mediterranean.{{sfn|Rossiter|2007|pp=109–110}} Operation Hurry, the first Club Run to reinforce the RAF on Malta, had succeeded..{{sfn|Smith|2008|p=122}}

===Casualties===
The British suffered the loss of two Swordfish aircraft, one crew being killed and the other taken prisoner. Four Italian aircraft were destroyed on the ground at Elmas airfield near Cagliari in Sardinia and two bombers were shot down by the Skuas of ''Ark Royal'', with no survivors.{{sfn|Rossiter|2007|pp=109–110}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Footnotes==
{{reflist|20em}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cull |first1=Brian |last2=Galea |first2=Frederick |title=Hurricanes over Malta June 1940 – April 1942 |year=2001 |publisher=Grub Street |location=London |isbn=1-902304-91-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Dannreuther |first=Raymond |title=Somerville's Force H: The Royal Navy's Gibraltar-based Fleet, June 1940 to March 1942 |year=2005 |publisher=Aurum Press |location=London |isbn=1-84513-020-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Holland |first=James |title=Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943 |year=2003 |publisher=Miramax Books |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4013-5186-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Ireland |first=Bernard |title=War in the Mediterranean |publisher=Pen and Sword |location=Barnsley |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-84415-047-2}}
* {{cite book |first1= I. S. O. |last1=Playfair |author1-link=Ian Stanley Ord Playfair |first2= G. M. S. |last2=Stitt |first3=C. J. C. |last3=Molony |first4= S. E. |last4=Toomer |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |series=History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series |title=The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941) |volume=I |publisher=[[HMSO]] |year=1957 |orig-year=1954 |edition=4th |oclc=494123451 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-Med-I/index.html |display-authors=1}}
* {{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=D. |last2=Saunders |first2=H. St G. |title=Royal Air Force 1939–45: The Fight Avails |volume=II |year=1975 |orig-year=1954 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RAF-II/index.html |edition=repr. |isbn=978-0-11-771593-6 |archive-date=1 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101044324/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RAF-II/index.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last1=Rohwer |first1=Jürgen |author-link1=Jürgen Rohwer |last2=Hümmelchen |first2=Gerhard |title=Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=2005 |edition=3rd rev. |isbn=1-59114-119-2}}
* {{cite book |series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series |title=The War at Sea 1939–1945: The Defensive |volume=I |last=Roskill |first=S. W. |author-link=Stephen Roskill |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=James Ramsay Montagu Butler |year=1957 |orig-year=1954 |publisher=HMSO |location=London |edition=4th impr. |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-I/index.html |oclc=881709135 |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227021618/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/UK-RN-I/index.html |url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Rossiter |first=Mike |title=Ark Royal: The Life, Death and Rediscovery of the Legendary Second World War Aircraft Carrier |year=2007 |orig-year=2006 |publisher=Corgi |location=London |edition=ePUB |isbn=978-1-4464-6394-9}}
* {{cite book |last1=Shankland |first1=Peter |last2=Hunter |first2=Anthony |title=Malta Convoy |year=1961 |publisher=Collins |location=London |oclc=10394061}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Peter Charles |title=The Great Ships: British Battleships in World War II |year=2008 |publisher=Stackpole Books |isbn=978-0-8117-3514-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Titterton |first=G. A. |series=Naval Staff Histories |title=The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: September 1939 – October 1940 |volume=I |year=2011 |orig-year=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |edition=published version of a secret document of 1952 |isbn=978-0-7146-5179-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Woodman |first=Richard |title=Malta Convoys 1940–1943 |year=2003 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |isbn=0-7195-6408-5}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Ben |series=Publications of the Navy Records Society (No. 159) |title=The Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War: Norway, the Mediterranean and the Bismarck 1939–1941 |volume=I |year=2012 |publisher=Ashgate for the Navy Records Society |location=Farnham |edition=ePUB |isbn=978-1-4724-0422-0}}

==External links==
* [https://www.historyofwar.org/articles/operation_hurry.html Operation Hurry]
* [https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-04CV-HMS_Argus.htm HMS ''Argus'' at naval-history.net]
* [https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-04CV-HMS_Ark_Royal.htm HMS ''Ark Royal'' at naval-history.net]

{{World War II}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurry, Operation}}
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II]]
[[Category:Battle of the Mediterranean]]
[[Category:Malta Convoys]]
[[Category:Aerial operations and battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:July 1940 events in Europe]]
[[Category:August 1940 events in Europe]]