AHQ Malta and other aircraft reached the island during the summer of 1942, the defensive and offensive capabilities of AHQ Malta rose. On 1 July 1942, AHQ Malta had approximately 200 aircraft, about half of which were Spitfires. Air Vice Marshal Sir Keith Park took over command of AHQ Malta On 15 July 1942. At this time, the island provided critical operational air bases for the Allies with proximity to Axis shipping lanes and the battlefields of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Pantelleria, Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and mainland Italy during World War II. There were three main airfields on Malta known as RAF Hal
Battus of Malta side of the island of Malta. The sepulcher had an inscription, made up of forty-seven letters in four lines. The characters were mostly unreadable, however the last line was agreed to state ""hal byn bat malek,"" which signified ""for the son of Bat, the king."" The same inscription was recorded in the "Vocabolario Maltese" published by Mikiel Anton Vassalli in 1796. The story linking Anna Perenna with Malta can only be found in Ovid, and derivative works. Another epic poet, Silius Italicus, bypasses Anna's arrival in Malta, and places her refuge with a King Battus in the Greek colony of