Viking halberd difficult to know what kind of weapon is being described in these translations, or the original texts. Many of these terms are shown below. The "atgeir" was a type of bill or halberd, from Old Norse "geirr", "spear". The "atgeirr" is thought to have been a foreign weapon and is rarely mentioned in the sagas, but is famous as the favorite weapon of Gunnar of Hlíðarendi. In Njál's saga this weapon is shown as used mostly for thrusting, but also for hewing. The "höggspjót", literally "hewing spear", takes its name from Old Norse "högg", "stroke, blow, slaughter, beheading" and "spjót",
Operation Halberd vessels to be scuttled. The rest of the convoy arrived at Malta and discharged their cargo. Operation Halberd was at the time the largest Malta resupply effort of the war. Nine merchant ships carrying 81,000 tons of military equipment and supplies sailed from Liverpool on 16 September and from the Clyde on 17 September as part of convoy WS (Winston Specials) 11X, passing Gibraltar on 24 September 1941, with a close escort under the command of Rear-Admiral Harold Burrough. The nine ships were: Force H, under the command of Admiral James Somerville, accompanied the convoy as defence against Italian surface