The Malta War Museum, located in Fort Saint Elmo in Valletta, the capital of Malta, is one of Malta’s most popular museums.
Although the Malta War Museum houses artifacts from the bronze age, its opening purpose was to exhibit artifacts from World War I and II. Reflecting Malta’s military side, the museum will be of interest to those who love military equipment and paraphernalia.
We have already mentioned that the Malta National War Museum in Malta mainly exhibits artifacts from World War II. Among these artifacts, there are various photo exhibitions about Malta’s life during World War II. The aim is to show how civilian life was affected by the war and especially the damage caused by aerial bombardments. The building where the museum is located was once known as a place where weapons to repel air raids were stored and where work was carried out on this subject.
There are many rooms in the castle and each of them is dedicated to a different subject. The museum also exhibits motor vehicles used in the war. Among them is the Willys Jeep used by Dwight D. Eisenhower during the Allied landings in Sicily in World War II, known as Operation Husky.
Motorcycles, anti-air attack machines and defense devices are among the devices on display in the motor vehicles room.
Among the artifacts are airplanes that were caught by torpedoes, machine guns and other weapons during the war and turned into a pile of debris.
Projection shows in the museum tell the stories of the battles that took place in the history of Malta. There are images and reenactments of the Ottoman Empire everywhere. One of the greatest successes in the history of Malta is its success against the Ottoman Empire. As a result of the war, which is shown among the fiercest battles, the Ottoman Empire could not win and retreated. The retreat caused the Ottoman Empire’s perception of invincibility in Europe to change. After his resistance against the Ottoman forces, Jean de Valette, the commander of Malta, gained great respect in Europe. Valletta, the capital of Malta today, is actually named after the commander.
The museum is built inside Fort St Elmo, which was used as a defense fortress in its time. The fort was built in a very short time to protect the harbors around it. There is also a chapel inside the castle built in the 1550s.
