Ciao Enrico,
I have found this, hope this will help you :
"All attention was now to be focused on the efforts to get these vessels Ohio, Dorset and Brisbane Star in.
The last, Brisbane Star, was the only one still entirely on her own. She was down by the head with ten feet of water in No 1 hold, but still capable of 8 knots. Captain Riley knew that they would need more than their fair share of luck to get enough to Malta unprotected during the daylight hours of the 13th (13 août 1942). Indeed almost as soon as the dawn brought the sun up over the Gulf of Hammamet they were sighted by one of the early morning search planes, an SM 79 from Sicily.
There was nothing Captain Riley could do except trust to the fates. Technically, being in territorial waters, neither the ship nor the plane had the right to open fire, unless they were attacked. It was therefore a matter of bluff as to who was panicked into letting fly first. In order to provoke the freighter the Italian pilot circled the Brisbane Star, carefully noting her armaments and the gaping hole in her bow. It was obvious she was one of the convoy, but the pilot, being an Italian, was very strict in observing international law. He therefore made a series of dummy runs as if to launch his torpedoes, in the hope of provoking the gunners, but in this he was unsuccessfull. Three times he banked and came in frighteningly at masthead height, but to no avail.
After the third attempt the pilot ruefully realized that he was going to get no change from Captain Riley and, after a brief period noting her course and speed, he flew off to the north. Captain Riley noted in his report that the pilot was a gentleman and observed the rules of war, but the Naval liaison officer, after the Italian had flown away, only awaited the arrival of a Teutonic gentleman to finish the job. It was doubted whether the Luftwaffe would be as fussy about rules as their Italian counterparts – but in the event no other aircraft followed.
They were now crossing the Gulf close to the shore and not surprisingly they were soon challenged by the prickly Vichy authorities. At ten o’clock the signal station of Hammamet started signaling frantically at them. There followed a somewhat absurd exchange of signals :
Hammamet : You should hoist your signal letters.
Brisbane Star : Please excuse me.
Hammamet : You should anchor.
Brisbane Star : My anchors are fouled. I cannot anchor.
Hammamet :You appear to be dragging your bow and stern anchors.
Brisbane Star : I have no stern anchors.
Hammamet : Do you require salaveg ?
Brisbane Star : No.
Hammamet : It is not safe to go too fast.
Somewhat tired of this corny cross-talk act, Captain Riley had been cautiously edging his bow round towards the open sea and in reply to this final piece of advice he hoisted a jumble of flags to keep the French authorities guessing and steamed away. The French remained silent as he disappeared.
Thankful as he was to have escaped from the Vichy French with a mere exchange of signals and useless information, Captain Riley soon found himself facing another problem. On leaving the safety of the coastal waters he laid himself open to further enemy assault and after a few hours further steaming he spotted what he took to be an enemy submarine keeping pace with him just outside territorial waters, obviously waiting for them to make the break for Malta.
It is not certain which submarine this was ; only the Asteria was stationed to the South of Sicily, but she made no sighting report. All the British submarines were on their patrol line to the north-east and they are been ordered to dive soon after 6 am when it was confirmed that they would not be needed. It may have been French, but to whichever nationality it belonged, it shadowed the Brisbane Star patiently for the next hour or so. As if this complication was not sufficient, the Vichy French made an official reappearance.
It was nearly five o’clock and Brisbane Star was well south of her desired position and the submarine was still in her. A small French patrol boat stood out from Monastir Bay and signaled Captain Riley to stop. Signaling unintelligible messages back to him the British freighter altered course and attempted to shake him off. After half an hour the French Captain finally got tired of the chase and, losing patience, fired a warning shot which landed ten yards off Brisbane Star bow. Captain Riley had no alternative but to heave to and once he had done so his ship was boarded by two Vichy French officers.
They were the essence of correctness and formality, but insisted that the British vessel should follow them back to Tunisia and be interned the rest of the war. Captain Riley was equal to the occasion; he invited them both down to his cabin for a drink. Here he plied them liberally with both whisky and charm – and his Irish blarney evidently cut through even Vichy ice for within that time he managed to persuade them not to proceed with their plans. Not only did they allow him to proceed, they also took off one of the hands who had been badly injuried by the torpedo explosion and wished the Brisbane Star “Bon Voyage”.
Captain Riley subsequently awarded the OBE and his citation included a tribute to his “initiative, tact, clear-thinking and determination”; it cannot be disputed that he well earned this praise.
The mollified Frenchmen steamed back to port, leaving Riley the task of losing the submarine. The coming of dusk greatly eased his problem and among the shoals and sandbars he finally satisfied himself that he had shaken her off. At nightfall on the 13th, after a very uneventful day, Brisbane Star nosed her crumpled bows towards Malta and commenced the last leg of her dash to safety…”
from PEDESTAL - the convoy that saved Malta, by Peter C. SMITH, Crécy Publishing, Manchester 1999 pp.188-191.
Last words to tell my sadness to read that you will not help me for the debate on Malta, as you ar far more competent than me on this matter
You know that I am sharing some of your conclusions on real Malta's importance during the WW2 in Mediterranean theatre of operation, not all but the biggest part...
regards,
CM