Well, so almost convoys went from Cape of Good Hope to Suez? Then supply arrived very too late. But, Allies used train for large number of supply. On the other hand, Axis across form Mediterranean. So, supply material very quickly pilled up Tripoli or Bengazi. But Axis no have train which supply transport form supply depot to front. Also Allies air force and SAS attack supply route. So, Allies front arrive large number of supply. On the other hand, Axis front arrive small supply.
Each offensive which ran out of steam in the desert war primally down to supply issues, each side outrunning there main supply base and nothing having the motorised transport/trains or costal shipping to get up front as quick as they would like. The solution to this problem was i believe Monty stockpilied enourmous ammounts of supplies before and during the 2nd El Alamein to ensure this did not repeat itself.
The axis supply problem was really from the get go. The Royal Navy, especially when they were escorting special convoys through the Med would attack ports and dock facilities as decoy either via naval bombardment and/or Fleet Air Arm attacks from the carriers. Not to mention in the early months of the war the Royal Navy attempting to stop and search Italian merchant ships. On top of all that submarines were operating out of Malta and every now and again surface ships were too - all attempting to engagemerchant shipping.
There was RAF bombers when possible stationed in Malta making regular air attacks agaisnt Italian mainland ports while bombers based within Egypt attacked the ports within range i.e. Bengazhi, which i have read was one of the most bombed places of the war.
Later on this bomber force would literally crippled the Italian merchant fleet and make it extremely hard to ship supplies over.*
On the other hand, while having to run the gaunlet of U-Boats and a limited number of surface raiders and luftwaffe planes the supply convoys to Suez had a more easier time.
*There some figures somewhere showing the tonnage sunk over a few months split between the surface ships from Malta and the planes attacking the convoys. Ill try and find it later and provide the information.
Save for the Tiger convoy, I don't think there were any other North Africa bound convoys sailing from Gibraltar through the western Mediterranean until the end of the Tunisian campaign. There were of course convoys from both east and west bound for Malta, but that's a different matter.
I may have been thinking of Operation Hats, RN ships sent through the Med to reinforce the Med Fleet in Alexnadria and some sent from the Med fleet to reinforce Force H.
I could have swore though that there was more then one occasion the Med Fleet sallied out of port in conuction with Force H to escort ships. Maybe it was all Malta bound convoys this was done for, thinking about it seem to recall mention of the main fleet being put to sea as decoy for ships escorted by Force H to get through to Malta.
