Early capture of Malta by Italy

Did Italy have any plans for grabbing Malta whilst it was still poorly defended or not defended at all?

Could it have done so?

What effect would its early capture by Italy whilst it was poorly defended have on the RN and where it deployed its ships – with Malta in Italian hands, no need for supply convoys.

Its often noted how attacks from Malta on supply convoys to North Africa were a thorn in the side for the Axis forces in North Africa but Martin van Crefeld’s ‘Supplying War’ suggests the unloading the ships when they got there and the transport of the supplies from the ports to the front line was as much as or even more of a problem than the attacks on the convoys.

What effect would an early capture of Malta have had on the North African and Mediterranean campaigns and as a result other campaigns?

Well the problem for Italy is getting troops to Malta. That isn't easy considering Malta is in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. And it's a Sea which is patrolled by the Royal Navy. So the Italians will have to neutralise the RN first, keep the RAF from reinforcing Malta, then overcome whatever British Army units that garrison Malta at the time. Good luck: the Italians will need it.

To look at it in another way - if the Germans found it impossible to launch a certain sea mammal operation across the English Channel, due to the enormous difficulties in crossing a waterway of about 40km wide, I'd dare say the challenges facing the Italians are significantly greater getting to Malta.

Punta Stilo

If the Italians had commited both Vittorio Veneto and Littorio to the Battle of Punta Stilo emulating the British short breakdown, that battle could've been a serious RN defeat. With notable exception of Warspite the RN fire control were having some serious problems finding the range and Royal Sovereign's speed was slow. Coupled with the Italian cruiser superiority this battle could have easily turned ugly.

There is a controversy about whether the RN distorted this battle. There may have been a large caliber hit on one of their battleships (which they denied) as well as underwater shrapnel damage (which they did not mention).

See the following link:

http://www.regiamarina.net/battles/puntastilo/part4_us.htm#Blue Smoke

A major defeat at this time just as the Battle of Britain got underway may have been Italy's best shot at taking Malta. As a lot of people know I am usually rain big time on most Axis Win 'Ze Plane, Ze plane' Parades but Punta Stilo is an underappreciated POD.

TOm

Maybe so Tom, but the Italians still have to get their invasion force to Malta. That's their big problem.


Now even if (& that's a big IF) the RN may lose a naval battle, to the Italian navy (a ship-to-ship naval battle may I add), the RN could rush naval reinforcements into the Med. Importantly, the RN could afford to lose a few ships, whilst the Italians couldn't. Furthermore, the RN still has their carriers & the RN were prepared to use them very effectively against the Italians as demonstrated at Taranto (where the Littorio & Conte di Cavour were torpedoed). And that air raid by the RN ensured that the Italian navy was pretty much put out of action for well over 6 months.

And I wouldn't have too much faith in what Italian cruisers could do considering what HMAS Sydney did to two of them

DMA said:

Maybe so Tom, but the Italians still have to get their invasion force to Malta. That's their big problem.


Now even if (& that's a big IF) the RN may lose a naval battle, to the Italian navy (a ship-to-ship naval battle may I add), the RN could rush naval reinforcements into the Med. Importantly, the RN could afford to lose a few ships, whilst the Italians couldn't. Furthermore, the RN still has their carriers & the RN were prepared to use them very effectively against the Italians as demonstrated at Taranto (where the Littorio & Conte di Cavour were torpedoed). And that air raid by the RN ensured that the Italian navy was pretty much put out of action for well over 6 months.

And I wouldn't have too much faith in what Italian cruisers could do considering what HMAS Sydney did to two of them

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Ehh if the RN rushes reinforcements to the Med during the BoB, then the Germans launch Sealowe and invade the UK.

esl said:

Ehh if the RN rushes reinforcements to the Med during the BoB, then the Germans launch Sealowe and invade the UK.

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Not in naval vessels which is what I'm talking about. Granted, it's a different story come fighter aircaft.

Did I hear a certain sea mammal get mentioned?

DMA said:

Not in naval vessels which is what I'm talking about. Granted, it's a different story come fighter aircaft.

Did I hear a certain sea mammal get mentioned?

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Not quite sure what is mean't , but the reinforcements the RN would send would be BB/CVs, which would have to strip those from defending the UK.

The issue with Sea Lion is that a consensus has been reached that the Germans, even at the height of their victory in 1940, would have had a better chance of successfully invading Hell than of capturing the British Isles.

In regard to the Italians taking Malta, might this, and perhaps a resulting addition of troops to N. Africa, have distracted them from their Greek adventure? Also, how much would the Italians be likely to lose when the British retake it, or simply blockade it and starve the place into submission?

esl said:

Not quite sure what is mean't , but the reinforcements the RN would send would be BB/CVs, which would have to strip those from defending the UK.

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Well I don't know where you're getting your OOB list from, but this is what I know is in the OTL RN Med fleet (or what can be added to it quickly) with little concern in regards to Sealion from July-Dec 1940

CVs:

HMS Ark Royal
HMS Argus
HMS Eagle
HMS Furious
HMS Illustrious

That's 5 OTL CVs operating in the Med during the BoB when Sealion was a threat.

Now for the BB/BC

HMS Hood
HMS Malaya
HMS Ramilles
HMS Renown
HMS Resolution
HMS Royal Sovereign
HMS Valiant
HMS Warspite


That's 8 OTL BB/BCs operating in the Med again during the BoB when Sealion was a threat.

Now even if the RN did lose a few ships, which they did, they have more than enough in just the Med Fleet to cover their loses.

So there's no way you can convince me, considering the OTL history of the Italian navy in 1940/41, that they are going to defeat the RN Med Fleet & control the sealanes around Malta long enough to get an invasion force to the island.

Maybe late 1941/early 1942 is possible, but in reality it's too late by then as the US has entered the war.

thesandman said:

The issue with Sea Lion is that a consensus has been reached that the Germans, even at the height of their victory in 1940, would have had a better chance of successfully invading Hell than of capturing the British Isles.

In regard to the Italians taking Malta, might this, and perhaps a resulting addition of troops to N. Africa, have distracted them from their Greek adventure? Also, how much would the Italians be likely to lose when the British retake it, or simply blockade it and starve the place into submission?

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Well you've brought up a couple of good points. The Italians have gotten themselves involved with the Greece business and actions in North Africa & Somalia around the same time. So it's highly probable that they wouldn't have the troops avaliable to attempt an invasion of Malta even if the ASBs had removed the RN from the Med. And as I posted above, the RN Med fleet is very formidable by itself in July-Dec 1940. And that list doesn't include all the cruisers, destroyers, & above all subs.

Furthermore, I would dare argue, even if the RN did lose some battleships early on, the RN would merely bring forward their Taranto raid earlier & neutralise the Italian fleet in July or August instead of November. Then the RN CVs would ensure a stalemate at worst, although it's more likely to be not too disimilar to the OTL.

Maybe just after the BoB Hitler goes for the Med option, and invades Malta the way he did with Crete a year later. The RAF and RN were stronger in 1941 but they could not avoid Crete's fall, so I guess Malta would fall too. The germans were also able to keep Crete in spite of the RN dominating the Med. I always felt that the germans somehow wasted a year between the BoB and Barbarrossa, after achieving so much in so little time.

Karlos said:

Maybe just after the BoB Hitler goes for the Med option, and invades Malta the way he did with Crete a year later. The RAF and RN were stronger in 1941 but they could not avoid Crete's fall, so I guess Malta would fall too. The germans were also able to keep Crete in spite of the RN dominating the Med. I always felt that the germans somehow wasted a year between the BoB and Barbarrossa, after achieving so much in so little time.

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Well you've still got to defeat the RN - this is the fundamental problem for the Italians & Germans. There is no way that the Italian navy can achieve this.

The next problem is the Axis just don't have the air assets in 1940 to conduct both the BoB & an invasion of Malta. Plus it'll have to be the Luffwaffe, because the Italian Airforce weren't capable of even subduing just the Maltese air defence in 1940. This changed, granted, in 1941, but only thanks to lot of Luffwaffe help. Yet even then Malta held out & Britain was able to resupply Malta, whilst suffering some of the worst convoy attacks imaginable. So I have zero faith of the Axis air forces doing any better in any AH.

Furthermore, if you leave the invasion until after the BoB, the Luffwaffe is a spent force thanks to their sever loses in the BoB. In fact the Luffwaffe was still feeling their loses from the BoB during Barbarrosa some 12 months later! They simply just don't have the aircraft to inflict sever damage on the RN Med fleet, dominate Maltese air space, as well as parachute in 15 000 plus troops into Malta. Likewise, any major Malta invasion force will drain major assests from Sealion. And again, the German army can't plan & conduct two major sea invasions simultaneously let alone one IMHO.

Ironically, though, in 1941 odds favoured the Axis in Greece & Crete, because the Allies were deeply committed in North Africa, the Middle East, not to mention their defence of Malta, as well as getting their arses kicked in Greece. Plus, as a quirk of history, Germany had assests in place to attack Crete by the very nature of the fact that they were on the beaches in Greece, whilst the British defence was in complete disarray. Not so with Malta.

Furthermore, if the Axis do commit to Malta in early 1941, then you can forget about the DAK. Similarly, the Germans won't be able to launch the invasion of Crete as their airbourne troops can't be in two places at once. And, by far more importantly, Operation Barbarrosa would be put back indefinately due to the assests which will be required for an invasion of Malta in 1941. Much of the Luffwaffe will have to be committed as will all of the German airbourne troops, not to mention a couple of infantry divisions. To add to the problem, there's still the German committment to their operations against the Yugoslavs & Greeks. And Hitler was annoyed enough as it was, because by having to intervene in Greece Barbarrosa was put back something like 2-3 months. So on that point alone, Hitler isn't going to agree to a major operation against Malta, when it means postponing Barbarrosa another 3 months.

DMA said:

Well I don't know where you're getting your OOB list from, but this is what I know is in the OTL RN Med fleet (or what can be added to it quickly) with little concern in regards to Sealion from July-Dec 1940

CVs:

HMS Ark Royal
HMS Argus
HMS Eagle
HMS Furious
HMS Illustrious

That's 5 OTL CVs operating in the Med during the BoB when Sealion was a threat.

Now for the BB/BC

HMS Hood
HMS Malaya
HMS Ramilles
HMS Renown
HMS Resolution
HMS Royal Sovereign
HMS Valiant
HMS Warspite


That's 8 OTL BB/BCs operating in the Med again during the BoB when Sealion was a threat.

Now even if the RN did lose a few ships, which they did, they have more than enough in just the Med Fleet to cover their loses.

So there's no way you can convince me, considering the OTL history of the Italian navy in 1940/41, that they are going to defeat the RN Med Fleet & control the sealanes around Malta long enough to get an invasion force to the island.

Maybe late 1941/early 1942 is possible, but in reality it's too late by then as the US has entered the war.

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5 carriers sounds good but when you consider what aircraft they were carrying it doesn't look so good and i'm not sure if Illustrious would have had any aircraft if rushed there early.

Here is the FAA's front-line squadron strengths (excluding ship based recon flights of the float-plane squadrons) on 10 May 1940.

HMS Ark Royal: at sea off Narvik
Vice-Admiral: VA Lionel Victor Wells, CB, DSO, RN
Flag Captain: Capt. Cedric Swinton Holland, RN
Captain: Lt.Cdr.(ret.) George William Emil Castens, RN
800 Squadron: 9 x Skua II (12 crews)
801 Squadron: 9 x Skua II (8 crews)
803 Squadron: 9 x Skua II (9 crews)
810 Squadron: 11 x Swordfish I (11 crews)
820 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)

HMS Furious:
Captain: Capt. Thomas Hope Troubridge, RN
804 Squadron (-): 6 x Sea Gladiator (6 pilots)
818 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (10 crews)
263 Squadron, RAF: 18 x Gladiator II (18 pilots)

HMS Glorious:
Captain: Capt. Guy D’Oyly-Hughes, DSO+bar, DSC, RN
802 Squadron (-): 6 x Sea Gladiator (10 pilots)
823 Squadron (-): 6 x Swordfish I (6 crews)
701 Squadron: 6 x Walrus I (6 crews)
46 Squadron, RAF: 18 x Hurricane I (18 pilots)

HMS Sparrowhawk (RNAS Hatston):
804 Squadron (Det.): 3 x Sea Gladiator (3 pilots)
806 Squadron: 9 x Skua II (14 crews)
823 Squadron (Det.) 6 x Swordfish I (6 crews)

HMS Merlin (RNAS Donibristle):
816 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)

RNAS Evanton (Donibristle satellite)
821 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)

HMS Kestrel (RNAS Worthy Down):
825 Squadron: 12 x Swordfish I (12 crews)

HMS Daedalus (RNAS Ford):
812 Squadron: 12 x Swordfish I (12 crews)
826 Squadron: 12 x Albacore I (12 crews)

RAF Station West Freugh`
819 Squadron: 12 x Swordfish (12 crews)

RAF Station Bircham Newton:
815 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)

HMS Eagle: just completed repairs @ Singapore with orders to join the Mediterranean Fleet
Captain: Capt. Arthur Robin Moore Bridge, RN
813 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)
824 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)

HMS Hermes: at Freetown
Captain: Capt. Richard Francis John Onslow, MVO, DSC, RN
814 Squadron: 9 x Swordfish I (9 crews)
[ashore at Ouakam, Dakar] x Swordfish I (3 crews)
710 Squadron (Det.) 4 x Walrus I (4 crews)

HMS Illustrious: Completing @ Liverpool
Captain: Capt. Denis William Boyd, DSC, RN

HMS Argus: Refitting @ Malta for DLT duty in the Mediterranean
Captain: Capt. Henry Cecil Bovell, RN
767 DLT Flight: Lt.Cdr Anthony Francis Hall 6 Swordfish I


As you see, not much in the way of fighters and the situation was not that much better a year later. There are a few Swordfish but their performance off Norway does not suggest they could do very well in the Med, they just simply did not have the training.

The Italian Air force seriously worried the Med Fleet even with the addition of Illustrious and her Fulmar 'fighters' and until around August 1940 all Malta had for air defence were 3 Gladiators - the 4 Hurricanes she received in August were stripped form Alexandria.

Well the Swordfish from Illustrious were good enough at Taranto. 21 Swordfish, on 12 November 1940, right in the period that we discussing, managed to put 2 battleships of the Italian Fleet out of action for 6 months, whilst put a further battleship out of the war. And, it goes without saying, that the Japanese took note of what the RN did at Taranto, & then put their own plans in motion for Pearl Harbour.

Likewise it was Swordfish which damaged Bismarck enough for it to be effectively put out of commission. Needless to say, Bismarck didn't last much longer.

And this is despite the fact that the RN has 8 battleships/cruisers that still need to be dealt with, which often worked in co-operation with the carriers as "hunting groups" to coin a phrase.

Anyway, what is the Italian air force going to do in trying to protect their battleships at sea? Put a continuous CAP in place? Something they never did? Furthermore, the Italian air force planes weren't all that better than what the RN had - whether they be Sukas, Fulmars & Swordfish. Granted the Luffwaffe's planes are superior, but they're stuck in the BoB or recovering from it.


Now it may be fair to say that the Italian air force worried the RN, but that's nothing in comparision to what the RN could do, & did do, to the Italians. And that handful of RAF planes, based on Malta, kept the Italian air force at bay time & again. And just like what the Luffwaffe showed over London - they might be able to bomb it at will, but it's a completely different story when it came to Sealion. I see no difference here, especially when you consider the limitations of the Axis powers in 1940/41 (as pointed out in the previous posting). They can't have units, planes, ships, etc, in two places at once.

DMA said:

Well the Swordfish from Illustrious were good enough at Taranto. 21 Swordfish, on 12 November 1940, right in the period that we discussing, managed to put 2 battleships of the Italian Fleet out of action for 6 months, whilst put a further battleship out of the war. And, it goes without saying, that the Japanese took note of what the RN did at Taranto, & then put their own plans in motion for Pearl Harbour.

Likewise it was Swordfish which damaged Bismarck enough for it to be effectively put out of commission. Needless to say, Bismarck didn't last much longer.

And this is despite the fact that the RN has 8 battleships/cruisers that still need to be dealt with, which often worked in co-operation with the carriers as "hunting groups" to coin a phrase.

Anyway, what is the Italian air force going to do in trying to protect their battleships at sea? Put a continuous CAP in place? Something they never did? Furthermore, the Italian air force planes weren't all that better than what the RN had - whether they be Sukas, Fulmars & Swordfish. Granted the Luffwaffe's planes are superior, but they're stuck in the BoB or recovering from it.


Now it may be fair to say that the Italian air force worried the RN, but that's nothing in comparision to what the RN could do, & did do, to the Italians. And that handful of RAF planes, based on Malta, kept the Italian air force at bay time & again. And just like what the Luffwaffe showed over London - they might be able to bomb it at will, but it's a completely different story when it came to Sealion. I see no difference here, especially when you consider the limitations of the Axis powers in 1940/41 (as pointed out in the previous posting). They can't have units, planes, ships, etc, in two places at once.

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Stationary targets taken by surprise at anchor with crews asleep - take a look at the attack on Scharnhorst April 1940 as she headed back to Germany after repairing damage caused by Acastra's torpedo, no hits against a manouevring, alert and firing back target.

Bismark was a VERY lucky hit from over 20 torpedoes launched in two raids.

No integrated radar warning and control network makes attacking Malta a lot easier than attacking the UK - it would be more like what would have happened had the UK not had its radar and control network, with aircraft sent up on visual sightings.

All the Italian Air force has to do is put a CAP over the area around Malta (the Italian fighters were a lot better than the Skua and Gladiator) and better than the Fulmar and its bombers would have a field day with the RN's heavy ships in the narrows - look at Pedastal, all the heavy ships turned back before reaching the narrows and then with better aircrfat and AA defences. Once Malta's in Italian hands, there is not much the UK can do about it.

There was nothing in the way of offensive capability for use against ships at Malta for a long time, as i said, it took until August to get just 4 Hurricanes for air defence. By the time 1941 comes about then yes, the island has the offensive muscle it needs to make an attack very costly but until then.....an early capture of the island, something the Italian Air Force had said would be necessary back in 1937 would probably have not cost the Italians much but could have cost the RN ships it couldn't aford to loose with Japan stirring

PMN1 said:

Stationary targets taken by surprise at anchor with crews asleep - take a look at the attack on Scharnhorst April 1940 as she headed back to Germany after repairing damage caused by Acastra's torpedo, no hits against a manouevring, alert and firing back target.

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And who's to say the RN wouldn't conduct such a raid earlier than November & do exactly the same thing?

PMN1 said:

Bismark was a VERY lucky hit from over 20 torpedoes launched in two raids.

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Nonetheless if you attack often enough you'll eventually do damage. There wasn't much luck about it. Just dedicated airmen attacking their target doing their jobs.

PMN1 said:

All the Italian Air force has to do is put a CAP over the area around Malta (the Italian fighters were a lot better than the Skua and Gladiator) and better than the Fulmar and its bombers would have a field day with the RN's heavy ships in the narrows - look at Pedastal, all the heavy ships turned back before reaching the narrows and then with better aircrfat and AA defences. Once Malta's in Italian hands, there is not much the UK can do about it.

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And the Italians tried this time & again & failed. The Italian fighters weren't that much better until later in the war. Certainly I doubt that something like the Fiat 50 or the Macchis are better than a Hurricane. In fact, during the early stages of the attacks on Malta, you had biplanes (the Italian Fiats 32 & 42 vs RAF & RN Gladiators) on both sides fighting it out in scenes akin to WWI. And this is dispite the fact that the Italians themselves still have to get to Malta. You miss that point. Where do they get the necessary planes from? Where are invasion ships coming from? Where are the troops coming from? Meanwhile the RN & RAF will throw everything they've got at them. Furthermore, the Italians have gotten themsleves over commited to Greece, where they are taking a pounding; they're committed to their attacks on Egypt, where they are also taking a pounding; & likewise in Somalia.

PMN1 said:

There was nothing in the way of offensive capability for use against ships at Malta for a long time, as i said, it took until August to get just 4 Hurricanes for air defence. By the time 1941 comes about then yes, the island has the offensive muscle it needs to make an attack very costly but until then.....an early capture of the island, something the Italian Air Force had said would be necessary back in 1937 would probably have not cost the Italians much but could have cost the RN ships it couldn't aford to loose with Japan stirring

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Yet I'm still waiting to see this successful battle plan. The Italians said a lot of things, yet in the reality of war, their claims proved to be completely & utterly false. They were defeated again & again throughout 1940, during the period that you're claiming that they'll be nevertheless successful. And this is dispite the fact that the RN has 5 carriers & 8 battleships in the Med to counter any Italian moves. And this is likewise in dispite of the OTL where the RN defeated the Italians time & again in 1940.

You can't make claims about timelines which run completely & utterly against the OTL by just claiming the Italians can do this, that, & something else when clearly they were incapable of doing such without a major POD somewhere. And this POD has to drastically alter completely the situation in the Med if you want to take Malta. Well that POD probably means Hitler doesn't bother with the BoB or Sealion, & instead orders the Luffwaffe & Herr to the Med specifically to take Malta & beyond into North Africa, Egypt, etc. But it requires a dedicated, thoroughly organised, & deliberate stratergy by the Germans. And I'm not sure that Hitler would do such a thing what with his wonts in regards to the USSR.

Of course if Hitler completely alters his plans in July 1940, & there's isn't the BoB, there isn't Sealion, then Britain will obviously change her plans accordingly, which may mean drastic consequencies for Germany's future whatever they may be.

Capturing Malta in the early stages of the war, could have meant that the Italians might have been amble to cut in half the meditteranian and created a safe corridor through which convoys going to Africa might have had safe passage. Subsequently, this might have given the opportunity to the Italians to dispatch a larger number of ships (and, of course submerines) in other areas of the Mediteranian.

The actual capture of Malta might have been inspired by the attack plan used by the Germans on Crete. First, the Italian paratroopers ("Folgore"), and possibly, together with the German Paratrooper force (Ramke's "Green Devils"), would have disabled the radar positions and the main AA guns, enabling a safe passage for the tactical bombers that would in turn hit the airports. Finally, there would be an attack from the sea which would naturally include the main sea invasion. All of this would of course include a premptive naval blocade on the island and especially the port of La Valetta on behalf of the Italian submarines.

This is quite a plan, but there are some strategic imperments.
1) The Italian paratrooper division "Folgore" was not created until 1942 when the Germans took it upon themselves to create this force to rienforce the army.
2) Since the invasion of Crete, although successful, had a huge cost in human life, especially in the air attack battalions, Hitler refused to implement any of his paratrooper divisions for the rest of the war. Even though the Germans would have a strategic interest in the island, it is unlikely they would have taken any major role in the invasion.
3) The whole operation, especially the first part would have to have been carried out with a high degree of stealth, and very quickly so that at least the main invasion force might have been on the island in the first six hours from the beggining of the invasion. If it had taken any longer, the Italians might have posed themself at risk of a British intervention from the naval bases in Gibraltar or Egypt.

Instead of attacking France in June of 1940, where they accomplished no good, the Italians simply send a division of troops on a few freighters and ground them on Malta. By the time the British navy gets around to the other side of the island the Italians are on shore and moving away from the ships. The British try to bombard the Italian troops until some are sunk by the Italian submarines and the rest leave.
The Italian troops move overland with just side arms and perhaps some mortors. They overrun an airfield and the reinforcements begin coming in with some mountain artillary. By the end of the week Valetta is under siege and under bombardment by the Italian airforce operating out of the interior of the island, while the British air field near Valetta is under artillary attack and unable to respond. Italian bombers and air transports continue to land ammunition and reinforcements to supplement the invasion force supplies, while the Italian submarines make carrier operations by the British more and more difficult.
By the end of June the Italians have conquered the island except for the city of Valetta itself and the British are penned up, out of supplies, and helpless to fight. The British naval units have been withdrawn, carrying most of the garrison with them.
Now what?

Did the British have spotters and radar on Malta in 1940? If so, the freighters will be caught before they can land.

nk71ln said:

Capturing Malta in the early stages of the war, could have meant that the Italians might have been amble to cut in half the meditteranian and created a safe corridor through which convoys going to Africa might have had safe passage. Subsequently, this might have given the opportunity to the Italians to dispatch a larger number of ships (and, of course submerines) in other areas of the Mediteranian.

The actual capture of Malta might have been inspired by the attack plan used by the Germans on Crete. First, the Italian paratroopers ("Folgore"), and possibly, together with the German Paratrooper force (Ramke's "Green Devils"), would have disabled the radar positions and the main AA guns, enabling a safe passage for the tactical bombers that would in turn hit the airports. Finally, there would be an attack from the sea which would naturally include the main sea invasion. All of this would of course include a premptive naval blocade on the island and especially the port of La Valetta on behalf of the Italian submarines.

This is quite a plan, but there are some strategic imperments.
1) The Italian paratrooper division "Folgore" was not created until 1942 when the Germans took it upon themselves to create this force to rienforce the army.
2) Since the invasion of Crete, although successful, had a huge cost in human life, especially in the air attack battalions, Hitler refused to implement any of his paratrooper divisions for the rest of the war. Even though the Germans would have a strategic interest in the island, it is unlikely they would have taken any major role in the invasion.
3) The whole operation, especially the first part would have to have been carried out with a high degree of stealth, and very quickly so that at least the main invasion force might have been on the island in the first six hours from the beggining of the invasion. If it had taken any longer, the Italians might have posed themself at risk of a British intervention from the naval bases in Gibraltar or Egypt.

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Yes, this approach has merit for somewhere around August 1942 most likely. The Allies are stretched to the limit, considering what's happening in the Pacific, & the Allies found it very hard to get supplies into Malta at this time (but they still did, it should be noted). Still the British would have a respectable air force presence on Malta by now. Gone are the Gladiators; we're now talking Spitfires & Hurricanes.

I just wonder, though, with what's happening in North Africa, along with the substanical losses Italy has already suffered, whether Italy can really pull something like this off by themselves. I still think that an invasion of Malta, regardless of date, will require a large German commitment. And I'm not convinced that that German commitment will be forthcoming after their Crete experience, considering the Germans never conducted another large airbourne operation after Crete.

Also, another thing about Crete. The German victory was gained thanks to two strokes of luck. In the first instance, a number of German paratroops were blown off course & landed in the wrong place. Ironically this saved them from being slaughtered, unlike those who landed in the right place. The second piece of luck was that a battalion of New Zealanders were wrongly withdrawn from a hill overlooking one of the airfields at a critical moment. This let the surviving German troops take the airfield allowing reinforcements to flood in. Somehow I don't see these pieces of luck repeat themselves twice.