Tomorrow (March 28th) marks the 70th anniversary of the decisive Battle of Cape Matapan. The battle was fought between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina (Italian Navy), and resulted in the Italians ceding control of the Eastern Mediterranean to the Allies: the Italian Navy never attempted to enter it until after the capture of Crete. The fighting involved the following major warships: An asterisk (*) indicates that the ship was sunk before the end of the war. Royal Navy (Adm Andrew Cunningham) 28 Ships Aircraft Carriers: HMS Formidable Battleships: HMS Barham* HMS Valiant HMS Warspite Light Cruisers: HMS Ajax HMS Gloucester* HMS Orion HMAS Perth HMS Carlisle HMS Calcutta* (see above, same class as HMS Carlisle) HMS Bonaventure* and 17 destroyers Regia Marina (Adm Angelo Iachino) 26 Ships Battleships: Vittorio Veneto Heavy Cruisers: (from the right) Fiume*, Zara*, Pola* Trieste* Trento* Bolzano* Light Cruisers: Duca degli Abruzzi Giuseppe Garibaldi and 17 destroyers In the battle, the Italian force was heavily battered. Vittorio Veneto suffered heavy damage. The Heavy Cruisers Zara, Pola and Fiume were sunk. Additionally, the destroyers Vittorio Alferi and Giosue Carducci were sent to the bottom. Italian casualties numbered over 2300 killed. The British casualties were much lighter: the Ajax, Orion, Gloucester and Perth suffered superficial damage, and only three men were killed (when their aircraft was shot down). Due to the Italian defeat, the Allies were able to allocate more naval resources to the North Africa theater, which was played a part in Rommel's eventual defeat. Further Reading Battle of Cape Matapan: World War II Italian Naval Massacre ยป HistoryNet Battle of Cape Matapan - World War II Battle of Cape Matapan --- Note: I have also had to make some modifications so I could fit all the ships in one message: HMS Calcutta doesn't have a photo (see HMS Carlisle photo for reference, they are the same class), and the Fiume, Pola and Zara are combined in one photo.
Nice work, Alan. I'm not sure I've heard of this battle before. I'll be sure to follow your links. Thanks.
They sure did. Even when compared to the combat record of the rest of the Italian Navy during WWII, this was particularly bad