Operation Hurry

Operation Hurry
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
HMS Argus, photographed in the late 1920s
Date 31 July – 4 August 1940 Location western Mediterranean Sea Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Kingdom of Italy
Commanders and leaders
James Somerville Andrew Cunningham
Units involved
Force H Fleet Air Arm	Regia Aeronautica Regia Marina
Casualties and losses
2 aircrew killed 2 aircrew taken prisoner 2 aircraft lost	4 aircraft destroyed in Sardinia 2 aircraft shot down

Operation Hurry (31 July – 4 August 1940) was the first British operation in a series that have come to be known as Club Runs. The goal of the operation was to fly twelve Hurricane Mk I fighters from HMS Argus to Malta, guided by two Blackburn Skuas. Force H, based in Gibraltar, took the opportunity to raid Elmas airfield in Sardinia and conduct a deception operation with HMS Enterprise. 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 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 Regia Marina remained in port.