Edited from material
by Mike Yaklich, et al
1941
January 1941:
British destroyer Gallant badly damaged by Italian mine near
Malta (later bombed while under repair, never sails again). Italian-flown Ju-87 dive-bomber scores one of
the six bomb hits that severely damage British aircraft carrier
Illustrious. Free French submarine
Narval sunk by destroyer escort Clio.
British merchantman Clan Cumming torpedoed by sub Neghelli but reaches
port. British tanker Desmoulea torpedoed
by destroyer escort Lupo (towed back to port).
February 1941:
British gunboat Ladybird damaged (not seriously) by Italian
air attack during unsuccessful commando raid on island of Kastelorizo. Italian bombing raids on Benghazi force the
British to stop using the port for the time being.
March 1941:
British heavy cruiser York severely damaged (beached, never
sailed again) and tanker Pericles sunk by Italian “explosive
motorboats” (launched from destroyers Crispi and Sella) in Suda Bay. British light cruiser Bonaventure sunk by Italian
sub Ambra.
April 1941:
British destroyer Mohawk torpedoed and sunk by Italian
destroyer Tarigo (itself also sinking) in action against Italian convoy off the
Kerkenah light buoy. British tanker
British Science (7,300 tons) sunk by SM79 torpedo planes. Greek destroyer escort Proussa sunk by
Italian Ju-87s. Small freighter Susanah (900 tons) hit by Italian Ju-87s,
beached, later destroyed in another attack by Italian Ju-87s. British fleet oiler British Lord damaged by
SM79 torpedo planes. British salvage
vessel Viking sunk by SM79s. Freighter Devis (6,000 tons) damaged by SM81s
(multiple bomb hits, seven men killed, 14 wounded, on fire but rejoins British
convoy). (1)
May 1941:
During battle of Crete, British destroyer Juno sunk by
Italian Z1007s in level bombing attack; destroyer Imperial sunk by Italian SM84
bombers; light cruiser Ajax damaged (20 serious casualties) by Italian SM84s.
(2) British submarine Usk sunk either by Italian destroyers (Pigafetta and
Zeno) or Italian mines. British submarine
Undaunted sunk either by Italian destroyer escorts (Pegaso or Pleiadi) or
Italian mines. British transport
Rawnsley hit by SM79 torpedo planes (previously damaged by German bombers-
towed to Crete after Italian attack, later sunk there). British gunboat Ladybird sunk by Italian
Ju-87s at Tobruk.
June 1941:
Australian destroyer Waterhen sunk in combined attack by
German and Italian Ju-87s (Italian pilot Ennio Tarantola was credited with a
near-miss that caused serious damage).
July 1941:
During Malta convoy operation, British destroyer Fearless
sunk by SM79 torpedo bombers; British light cruiser Manchester damaged by SM79
torpedo bombers (38 killed, out of action nine months); British destroyer
Firedrake damaged by Italian bomb (boilers and steering out, towed back to
port); freighter Sydney Star torpedoed in attacks by MAS 532 and MAS 533, but
reaches Malta. Tanker Hoegh Hood (9,350
tons), returning to Gibraltar from Malta empty in simultaneous operation, hit
by Italian torpedo plane but makes port.
British destroyer Defender sunk by Italian aircraft off Sidi Barrani.
(3) British sub Union sunk by destroyer
escort Circe. British sub Cachalot
rammed and sunk by destroyer escort Papa.
August 1941:
British light cruiser Phoebe damaged by Italian torpedo
plane (out of action eight months).
British sub P. 32 sunk by Italian mines while trying to enter port of
Tripoli. British sub P. 33 sunk in same
area, presumably by Italian mines.
British tanker Desmoulea damaged by SM79 torpedo planes. Belgian tanker
Alexandre Andre damaged by SM79 torpedo planes. British tanker Turbo sunk by SM79 torpedo
planes. British small armaments carrier
Escaut sunk by SM79 torpedo planes.
British netlayer Protector severely damaged by SM79 torpedo planes (out
of action four years).
September 1941:
During Malta convoy operation, British battleship Nelson
damaged by SM84 torpedo bombers (one torpedo hit, out of action six months);
merchantman Imperial Star (12,000 tons) sunk by SM79 torpedo planes. British small tanker Fiona Shell, fleet oiler
Denbydale, and merchantman Durham (11,000 tons) sunk at Gibraltar by
“piloted torpedoes” launched from submarine Scire (however, Denbydale
and Durham settled in shallow water and were both later recovered).
October 1941:
British merchantman (blockade runner to Malta) Empire
Guillemot sunk by SM84 torpedo planes.
British sub Tetrarch presumed sunk by Italian mines off Sicily.
November 1941:
British merchantmen (blockade runners to Malta) Empire
Defender and Empire Pelican sunk by Italian torpedo planes. During sinking of “Duisburg”
convoy, British destroyer Lively suffers minor splinter damage from near misses
of 8-inch shells from Italian heavy cruisers.
December 1941:
British battleships Queen Elizabeth and Valiant, tanker
Sagona, and destroyer Jervis (tied alongside Sagona for fueling) damaged at
Alexandria by “piloted torpedoes” launched from sub Scire (Queen
Elizabeth sank but settled in shallow water:
raised and repaired, out of action almost a year and a half. Valiant out of action eight months. Sagona henceforth used only as a stationary
fuel bunker. Jervis under repair one
month). British light cruiser Neptune,
destroyer Kandahar sunk (only one survivor from Neptune!), light cruisers
Aurora and Penelope damaged by mines laid by light cruisers of Italian 7th
Division (Aurora out of action eight months). British destroyer Kipling suffers
minor splinter damage from near misses (one man killed) during “First
Battle of Sirte.” Small British steamer
Volo (1,500 tons) sunk by SM79 torpedo bombers.
NOTES
(1) Italian SM79s also claimed the sinking of the British
transport Homefield, however according to Shores et al (“The Air War for
Yugoslavia, Greece, and Crete”) the damage that resulted in this ship
being scuttled was inflicted in a later attack by German Ju-88s. Shores states that the Italian torpedo
bombers which claimed a hit were mistaken, and that all damage resulted from
(German) bomb hits.
(2) Italian torpedo bombers also claim to have fatally
damaged British destroyer Hereward during the Crete battle. Bragadin (“The Italian Navy in World War
II”) repeats this claim, and also says that the badly-damaged Hereward was
scuttled as Italian MAS torpedo boats approached. Greene and Massignani (“The Naval War in
the Mediterranean”) accept the account of Shores et al (op cit) that
Hereward was hit by German Ju-87s (although, contrary to much of the book,
Shores does not specify the exact unit or mission for the attacking aircraft),
and refute Bragadin, Sadkovich, and others.
Shores does also note that survivors were picked up by Italian MAS
boats, as do other British accounts. My
own conclusion is that the best evidence is for the ship being fatally damaged
by German air attack, but that the Italians may be accorded a small role, as
the appearance of the MAS probably prompted the decision to scuttle.
(3) A number of
accounts list this as a combined attack by German and Italian planes, but
sources I consulted seemed to agree that Italian aircraft should get either
full or partial credit for the sinking.
1942
January 1942:
British sub Triumph sunk, apparently by Italian mines off
Greek island of Milo.
February 1942:
British sub Tempest sunk by Italian antisubmarine forces,
including destroyer escort Circe.
British sub P. 38 sunk by Italian convoy escorts, again including
Circe. British sub Thresher badly damaged
while attacking Italian convoy.
March 1942:
During Malta convoy operation (“second battle of
Sirte”) British light cruiser Cleopatra hit by 6-inch shell from light
cruiser Bande Nere (radio and antiaircraft fire director knocked out, 15 men
killed: splinters from near misses kill
one more man); light cruiser Euryalus suffers splinter damage from near-miss by
15-inch shell from battleship Littorio; destroyer Kingston hit by 15-inch shell
from Littorio (passes through ship without exploding, but kills 14, wounds 20,
and starts a small fire); destroyer Havock hit by splinters of 15-inch shell
from Littorio (seven killed, nine wounded, one boiler flooded); destroyer
Lively hit by 15-inch splinters from Littorio (minor flooding, funnel on fire);
destroyer Sikh straddled by 15-inch shells, but only minor damage. (4) British destroyer Southwold sunk by Italian
mine outside Malta.
April 1942:
British sub Upholder sunk by destroyer escort Pegaso. British sub Urge sunk (exact cause uncertain,
but all sources which cite cause agree it was to Italian action: most probably Italian mines, possibly to
destroyer escort Pegaso or to Italian aircraft). British subs Pandora and P. 36 sunk by
Italian bombers in raid on port at Malta.
British destroyer Havock torpedoed by sub Aradam, but only after it had
been run aground, abandoned, and largely demolished by its crew. (5)
May 1942:
(None found?)
June 1942:
During Malta convoy operation, destroyer Bedouin sunk by
SM79 torpedo plane, after having been heavily damaged in surface action by
ships of Italian 7th Division (hit by 12 shells, mostly 6-inch, some of which
passed through the ship without exploding); Dutch merchantman Tanimbar (8,000
tons) sunk by SM79 torpedo plane; British light cruiser Liverpool damaged by
SM79 torpedo plane (towed back, out of action almost two years); freighter Burdwan
and tanker Kentucky sunk by ships of Italian 7th Division (both had been badly
damaged in previous air attacks); antiaircraft cruiser Cairo damaged in surface
action with 7th Division (one armor-piercing 6-inch shell- used because the
Italian light cruisers had run out of the more effective high-explosive
ammunition- penetrates fuel bunker but fails to do fatal damage because it
failed to explode); destroyer Partridge damaged by ships of 7th Division
(stopped but gets under way again); minesweeper Hebe hit by one shell from
ships of 7th Division (badly damaged).
(6) British destroyer Nestor,
badly damaged by German air attack but being towed back to port (SM79s also
participated in that attack but scored no hits), is scuttled on appearance of
more Italian aircraft due to the risk to the towing vessel.
July 1942:
Tanker Antares (Turkish but in British service) sunk by sub
Alagi. Small British freighters Meta,
Shuma, Snipe, and Baron Douglas (total approx. 10,000 tons) sunk at Gibraltar
by Italian “frogman” swimmers.
August 1942:
During major Malta convoy operation, British antiaircraft
cruiser Cairo sunk, light cruiser Nigeria damaged (52 killed, severe structural
damage), and tanker Ohio (10,000 tons) damaged by sub Axum (Ohio stopped and on
fire, but fires are extinguished by water pouring in through large torpedo hole
in its side!); light cruiser Manchester sunk by large torpedo boats MS 16 and
MS 22 (each scored one hit); destroyer Foresight sunk by SM79 torpedo bomber;
freighter Glenorchy (9,000 tons) sunk by large torpedo boat MS 31; freighter
Wairangi (12,400 tons) sunk by torpedo boat MAS 552; freighter Almeria Lykes
(7,700 tons) sunk by torpedo boat MAS 554; freighter Santa Elisa (8,300 tons)
sunk by torpedo boat MAS 557; freighter Empire Hope (12,600 tons) sunk by sub
Bronzo after being severely damaged by (German) air attack and abandoned; light cruiser Kenya damaged (three killed,
one wounded; sonar knocked out and extensive flooding- however, the ship
remained with the convoy) by sub Alagi; freighter Rochester Castle (7,800 tons)
damaged by torpedo boat MAS 564, but makes it to Malta; aircraft carrier
Victorious hit by two 1,386-lb bombs by Re2001 fighter-bombers, but one bounces
over the side before exploding, other one does minor damage to flight deck (six
killed, two wounded); aircraft carrier Indomitable hit by one 220-lb bomb by
CR42 fighter-bomber which does minimal damage to flight deck; battleship Rodney
hit by one bomb by Italian Ju-87s, but it bounces off main gun turret before
exploding and does no damage; tanker Ohio damaged again by near-miss from
Italian Ju-87, which buckles bow plates and causes more flooding; freighter
Port Chalmers hit on paravane of minesweeping gear by torpedo from SM79, but
this is cut loose and the torpedo explodes underwater, causing no damage. (7)
British destroyer Eridge damaged beyond repair by MTM small assault
torpedo boats off North African coast (towed back to Alexandria but written
off). British sub Thorn sunk by destroyer escort Pegaso.
September 1942:
During foiled large-scale commando raid on Tobruk, British
destroyer Sikh sunk and destroyer Zulu badly damaged by combined fire of
Italian and German shore batteries (Zulu later sunk by air attack); British
torpedo boats MTB 308, MTB 310, MTB 312, were sunk and MTB 314 was captured [She
was later used by the Germans] in same raid, along with two motor launches, by
Italian MC200 fighter-bombers and/or Italian shore batteries. (8)
British small freighter Raven’s Point sunk at Gibraltar by Italian
swimmers.
October 1942:
(None found?)
November 1942:
British sub Utmost sunk by destroyer escort Groppo. British sloop Ibis sunk by Italian torpedo
plane. British auxiliary antiaircraft
ship Tynwald and troopship Awatea (13,400 tons) sunk by submarine Argo (Awatea
had previously been heavily damaged by bombing). (9)
British minesweeper Algerine sunk by submarine Asciangi. British minesweeper Cromer sunk by Italian
mines off Mersa Matruh. French tanker
Tarn damaged by sub Dandolo but makes port.
December 1942:
British destroyer Quentin sunk by SM79 torpedo bomber. British corvette Marigold sunk by Italian torpedo
planes. British sub P. 222 sunk by
destroyer escort Fortunale. British sub
P. 48 sunk by destroyer escorts Ardente and Ardito. British sub P. 311 sunk by Italian mines
outside port of Maddalena. British light
cruiser Argonaut hit by two torpedoes from sub Mocenigo (only three men killed,
but out of action eleven months). Small
Norwegian freighter Berto (1,400 tons) sunk, freighters Ocean Vanquisher
(7,000 tons), Empire Centaur (7,000 tons), and Armattan
(4,500 tons) damaged in port at Algiers by “piloted torpedoes” and
swimmers launched from sub Ambra.
NOTES
4) There are many conflicting reports of damage inflicted at
Second Sirte. The above reflects only what I have been able to verify from
sources on the British side. The
Italians believed they had also damaged light cruiser Penelope and destroyers
Lance and Legion, and at least one British source I consulted also gives this
information. On the other hand, the
British thought they had torpedoed battleship Littorio and hit light cruiser
Bande Nere and an unidentified heavy cruiser, when in actuality they only
scored one hit, a 120mm (4.7-inch) shell which struck Littorio doing minimal
damage. The fog of war was apparently
very thick in this battle (literally, given the effective British use of
smokescreens), as the Italians thought that Kingston had been hit by a heavy
cruiser, variously reported as Trento or Gorizia, and some Italian accounts
also credit Trento (not Bande Nere) with having hit Cleopatra.
(5) Italian accounts
almost unanimously reverse the cause and effect, saying that Havock was first
torpedoed, and then beached- including eyewitness reports from the crew of
Aradam, which surfaced and reported seeing the British destroyer on fire. I have accepted the British version, not
necessarily incompatible with that eyewitness testimony.
(6) There are claims that Burdwan was crippled by Italian
SM84s which were mistakenly reported as German planes. Kentucky was eventually finished off by the
guns of light cruiser Montecuccoli and a torpedo from destroyer Oriani.
(7) Great confusion surrounds the August 12 night action
against the “Pedestal” convoy, which is perhaps understandable given
repeated attacks by Italian submarines and various Axis aircraft, sometimes
virtually overlapping, over a period of about two hours. Sadkovich (op cit, p. 292-296, citing several
other sources) mentions Italian claims that freighter Brisbane Star was hit by
Italian sub Dessie (a claim often repeated but now generally considered to have
been in error, the sub’s crew probably having heard the successful torpedo hits
of Axum and assumed they were their own); that the sub Alagi also hit the
freighter Clan Ferguson (this is far more
plausible, but as Sadkovich times the attack at 21:18, while Clan Ferguson with
its load of ammunition had been reported hit by a German He-111 torpedo plane
at 21:02, the ship would have already been abandoned, on fire, and rapidly
sinking when this occurred); and that
sub Bronzo also crippled Glenorchy (this ship was at any rate credited to
Italian action, as it was confirmed sunk by an Italian torpedo boat later that
night). Sadkovich also claims that
Italian Ju-87s hit destroyer Ashanti while attacking Ohio on August 13, but I
have been unable to find any other reference which verifies this, or indeed
that Ashanti was damaged at all during “Pedestal” (the ship was
providing close escort to Ohio at a time when Italian Ju-87s scored a near-miss,
and was heavily engaged). Other sources mention Brisbane Star as having been
torpedoed by an SM79 (a possibility, since there were only seven He-111 torpedo
planes involved in the German air attack- the other German aircraft being 30
Ju-88s armed with bombs- and these already appear to have accounted for Clan
Ferguson, the previously-damaged Deucalion, and possibly Empire Hope, which had
a 15-foot hole in its side that sounds like a torpedo hit. However, I have not come across anything that
gives more specifics on any Italian planes involved in these air attacks), and
still other sources list Deucalion as a victim of Italian rather than German
torpedo planes (probably an error).
British destroyer Wolverine had its bows badly damaged when it rammed
and sank Italian sub Dagabur with all hands, but I hesitate to classify that as
“damage inflicted by the Italians,” given the circumstances.
(8) Again, it is difficult to decipher exactly who did what
in this action. By the best accounts, Sikh was hit twice by a German 88mm
battery and took at least three more shells of unknown origin. From accounts of those aboard, the best
reconstruction of its fate seems to be that the ship was crippled by the German
guns and then finished off by the Italian (152mm). Zulu was probably hit by an
Italian battery. The exact identity of
the aircraft that sank Zulu also remains unclear. Many Italian sources credit MC200
fighter-bombers. The MC200s definitely
did effectively bomb and strafe British motor torpedo boats, claiming to sink
three and badly damage a fourth. Another
four British torpedo boats were claimed by Italian shore batteries. British reported losses of small craft, as
seen above, were four torpedo boats and two motor launches.
(9) Italian SM79 torpedo bombers also claimed Awatea in the
original air attacks, but most accounts have it set afire by German Ju-88s.
1943
January 1943:
British corvette Samphire sunk by sub Platino.
February 1943:
British minesweeping trawler Tervani sunk by sub Accaio.
March 1943:
British sub Turbulent sunk either by Italian anti-submarine
trawler or by Italian mines outside La Maddalena. British sub Thunderbolt sunk by corvette
Cicogna.
April 1943:
British destroyer Pakenham sunk as a result of gun battle
with destroyer escorts Cassiopea and Cigno (Cigno was also sunk in this
encounter). British sub Sahib sunk by corvette Gabbiano (after being attacked
by German Ju-88s). British torpedo boat
MTB 639 sunk by destroyer escort Sagittario.
May 1943:
Freighters Pat Harrison (7,000 tons), Marhsud (7,500 tons),
and Camerata (4,800 tons) sunk at Gibraltar by “piloted torpedoes”
operated from derelict freighter Olterra (interned by Spanish at nearby
Algeciras and converted by Italians into secret base for missions against
Gibraltar). British minelayer Fantome
sunk by Italian mines off Bizerte.
June 1943:
(None found?)
July 1943:
During invasion of Sicily, British carrier Indomitable
seriously damaged by SM79 torpedo plane (out of action seven months); British
light cruiser Cleopatra damaged by sub Dandolo (out of action four months); US
transport Timothy Pickering sunk by Re2002s (166 killed, including British
troops aboard); US transport Joseph G Cannon damaged by Re2002s (hit by bomb
which failed to explode, returned to Malta); British torpedo boat MTB 316 sunk
by light cruiser Scipione Africano; sub Flutto inflicts 17 casualties before
being sunk in surface battle with British torpedo boats MTB 640, MTB 651, and
MTB 670. Greek steamship Orion (4,800
tons) sunk by mine planted by Italian swimmer in neutral Turkish harbor one
week earlier (the swimmer, Lt. Luigi Ferraro, smuggled in by undercover agents
of naval intelligence, as were the mines).
Freighter Kaituna (4,900 tons) damaged by mine placed by same swimmer
(Ferraro mined two other ships which were saved by underwater inspections after
British found a second unexploded mine on Kaituna).
August 1943:
Tanker Thorshoud (10,000 tons), freighter Harrison Grey Otis
(7,000 tons), and freighter Stanbridge (6,000 tons) sunk at Gibraltar by
“piloted torpedoes” from Olterra.
British sub Saracen sunk by corvettes Minerva and Euterpe.
September 1943:
(none found?)
French Ships
See below. My
comments marked *.
– French “super-destroyer” Albatros hit by 6-inch
shell from Italian coastal battery during bombardment of Genoa (ten men
killed).
* 14/6/40: the “contre-torpilleur” Albatros was
indeed hit by a 152mm round from the Pegli coastal battery; 12 men in all died
from burn wounds.
– Small freighter Elgo (1,900 tons) sunk by sub Capponi
while en route to a French North African port.
* 22/6/40: the Elgo was a Swedish freighter going from Tunis
to Sfax.
– Small French steamer Cheik (1,000 tons) sunk by sub Scire.
* 10/7/40: torpedoed by error on the Marseille-Alger route;
13 men missing. I suppose this does not
count as a legitimate sinking since the Franco-Italian armistice was already in
effect. The Italian sub rescued the survivors,
later repatriated to Corsica on board Italian minesweeper Argo.
* Other reported incidents involving Vichy French vessels in
the Mediterranean:
* Note: there could be more cases, but the attacker often
remains unidentified, or no damage was done.
* 13/9/40: a French convoy (11 merchantmen) drifted a bit
from its Bone-Marseille route and entered an Italian minefield near San Pietro
(Sardinia). The liner Cap Tourane struck
a mine first but kept afloat; 3 dead and 17 missing among military
passengers. The freighter Cassidaigne,
coming to help, then struck a mine too and sank rapidly. Finally, the freighter Ginette-Leborgne,
bringing up the rear of the convoy, suffered the same fate. No other casualties are reported.
* 28/7/41: Tunisian sail-ship Sidi Fredg attacked by 3
Italian seaplanes (somewhere between Nabeul and Korba); 2 wounded, ship
abandoned, later retrieved.
UK Losses in the Mediterranean
The UK losses in the Mediterranean for the duration of the
war were 41 submarines and 175 surface warships of all types. So, the impact of
Italian Navy and Italian/German aircraft was not small.
Coincidently the surface ships lost in the Atlantic also
amounted to 175 of all types (the Japanese accounted for another 50).
I do not denigrate the Italian war effort, but emphasise
that their surface combats between Warships (not MTB’s etc) could have been
more effective.
Figures are from “Standard of Power”, Dan Van Der
Vat.
Italian Chances
The Italian pre-war doctrine was very similar to that of the
USN. Their ships were designed to fight long-range (20,000 yards plus) gunnery
duels. The Italians practiced this doctrine almost exclusively. Thus, their
ships were designed with extremely long, high-velocity guns to give great
range. However, this gave the guns extremely short barrel lives for modern
designs, as much as a third of their foes. Barrel life has a significant effect
on accuracy, especially if the individual guns have different wear. Further,
the Italians had poor production standards in both shells (weight) and powder.
This further exacerbated gunnery calculations. All this was then combined with
optics that were not designed with good water resistance – but the same optics
were also usually mounted too low and were, thus, extremely wet! Taken in
concert, the resulting gunfire, under wartime conditions, produced patterns
with great variations in dispersion, which greatly affected the chance to hit, especially
at long range! Thus, the Italians went to war with a doctrine that was all but
assured to fail – but they did not know it! Of course, neither did anybody
else!
Another serious factor was the fact that the new Littorio
class battleships, which had a new and marvelous torpedo defense system in
theory, found that it was seriously flawed in actual practice. Thus, their
newest and most powerful warships were prone to suffering severe underwater damage
at inopportune times.
One the Italians became aware of these two serious issues,
it was 1941, and they found themselves with a navy that was designed to fight
in a fashion that it could not, really, succeed at. Add a severe fuel crunch
into the mix, and you can see why the Italians ended up relying on small craft.
#
“For Vittorio Balbo Bertone Di Sambuy [Mach Pari tra due grande flotte Mediterraneo,
1940-1942], the naval war was a “match pari”– a draw– between
the British and the Italians, and this seems a reasonable judgement. While Supermarina (1) certainly made errors,
and cooperation with the air force was not perfect, in the spring of 1941, the
RMI understood the need to occupy Tunisia, and it pressed for the seizure of
Malta in 1941 and 1942. Had Supermarina been able to use Tunis and Bizerte, and
had the Germans aided their ally as generously as the United States did theirs
(2), the war would probably have run a different course. Certainly, the Italian navy cannot be blamed
for the failure of Hitler and OKW to appreciate the importance of the
Mediterranean, and it is clear that the British held crucial technological and
intelligence advantages in their struggle with Italy (3).
Yet Italy was
the major Axis player in the Mediterranean, and it was the Italian navy and air
force, with only sporadic help from their German ally, that stymied the British
navy and air force for most of the thirty-nine months that Italy was a
belligerent. To pretend otherwise is to
raise propaganda to the level of reasoned analysis, just as to explain the
RMI’s defeat by culling criticism regarding Italian competence from German and
British sources is to credit racist prejudice as objective observation. All
navies made mistakes, and all navies had personnel who were bureaucratic,
marginally competent, prone to error, and individually unpalatable, but to
criticize Iachino as cowardly for not entering British smokescreens while
praising Cunningham’s decisions to avoid Italian smokescreens as prudent is to
apply a pernicious double standard. If Vian is to be praised for avoiding
Iachino in the two battles of Sirte Gulf, then Campioni should also be praised
for avoiding Cunningham and Somerville at Punta Stilo and Cape Teulada
(4). And if so much is made of the few
convoys that managed to reach Malta, much more should be made of the many that
kept the Axis war effort in Africa alive by repeatedly braving attack by
aircraft, submarine, and surface vessel.
If doomed by its technical weaknesses and Ultra, the Italian navy still
fought a tenacious, and gallant, war; and if it did not win its war, it avoided
defeat for thirty-nine long, frustrating months.”
(1)
Supermarina was naval command, the central headquarters for the RMI.
(2) In the
previous paragraph, Sadkovich had mentioned that “between 1940 and 1942,
the United States supplied Britain with over 11,000 aircraft, far more than the
few squadrons of Ju.87s sold Italy by Germany.”
(3) the chief
intelligence advantage was of course Ultra, which from the spring of 1941
proved invaluable in locating and harassing Italian convoys to North Africa.
(4)
Sadkovich’s point here is that at Punta da Stilo and Cape Teulada the Italians
were the inferior force and should be given credit for being able to disengage
more or less intact. An assertion open
to argument, perhaps, but not too much of a stretch. At Punta da Stilo (Jul ’40) Cunningham had
three 15-inch gun battleships (Warspite, Malaya, Royal Sovereign) plus a
carrier (Eagle), while Campioni had the two small battleships Cesare and Cavour
(also the oldest in the Italian navy), which had 12.6-inch guns. The Italians did possess a considerable
advantage in cruisers– six heavy and a dozen light compared to five cruisers
total for the British– but in a long-range gun battle, which was essentially
what
Punta da Stilo was, the characterization of Campioni as
being at a disadvantage is pretty accurate.
At Cape Teulada (Nov ’40) the British had two forces which managed to
unite, giving them the battleship Ramillies, battlecruiser Renown (both with
15-inch guns), carrier Ark Royal, five large cruisers, and ten destroyers.
Campioni had battleships Vittorio Veneto (15-in) and Cesare (12.6-in), six
heavy cruisers, and 14 destroyers. So again,
it is not unreasonable to say the advantage lay with the British. Furthermore, Campioni was under very
restrictive orders—he was no to move beyond the range of land-based air cover
from Sardinia, and he was not to risk what remained of the Italian fleet (this
encounter occurred less than three weeks after the raid on Taranto) unless he
had a clear superiority. Personally, although there is much to be said about
the Italians in these two encounters–for starters, they did come out and face
arguably superior British battle fleets on both occasions, something their
critics frequently say they were too “afraid” to do, even when they
had an advantage that was definitely lacking in these examples–I would choose
as the Italian counterpart to the escapes of Vian at the two Sirte battles
(albeit on a smaller scale) the incident in May 1941 wherein the Italian
destroyer escort Sagitario, escorting 30 small vessels carrying German mountain
troops to Crete, held off a British force of five cruisers and three
destroyers, and saved the convoy.
James Sadkovich – The Italian Navy in World War II
This revisionist history convincingly argues that the Regia
Marina Italiana (the Royal Italian Navy) has been neglected and maligned in
assessments of its contributions to the Axis effort in World War II. After all,
Italy was the major Axis player in the Mediterranean, and it was the Italian
navy and air force, with only sporadic help from their German ally, that
stymied the British navy and air force for most of the thirty-nine months that
Italy was a belligerent. It was the Royal Italian Navy that provided the many
convoys that kept the Axis war effort in Africa alive by repeatedly braving attack
by aircraft, submarine, and surface vessels. If doomed by its own technical
weaknesses and Ultra (the top-secret British decoding device), the Italian navy
still fought a tenacious and gallant war; and if it did not win that war, it
avoided defeat for thirty-nine, long, frustrating months.
James Sandkovich: The Italian Navy in World War Ii, ed. Westport. 1994 (In Rome, at the Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare, Mr.Sandkovich epic activity looking for documents which were used for this very documented work is still a legend. He arrived to buy a personal Xerox machine to copy the various files he needed without having so to wait for the official copy service and presented it at the Ufficio Storico – where they consider it quite a monument in loving memory – after a year of continuous activity, almost night and day).
Jack Greene and Alessandro Massignani, The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940-1943, July 15, 2011 Updated and Revised.
This was the first [1998] English-language account of the
naval war to take advantage of the research in all languages to provide a
comprehensive record of fighting in the Mediterranean during World War II. Far
more than an operational history, it explains why the various warship classes
were built and employed, the role of the Italian Air Force at sea, the
successes of German planes and U-boats, the importance of the battle of Malta,
and the distrustful relationship between the Italians and Germans.
Period photographs and detailed maps illustrate the
realities of war at sea and provide a clear visual record of the war’s key
events in the Mediterranean theater. With its in-depth background information,
exhaustive research, and fascinating narrative, this book is essential reading
for those interested in World War II.
Marc’Antonio Bragadin, The Italian Navy in World War II, Annapolis 1957 (It is dated but is the only one which can give you the right idea of what were the actual opinions at Supermarina – The Royal Italian Navy H.Q. – during the war)
Cdr. Junio Valerio Borghese, Sea Devils, Chicago 1954, reprinted 2009 by the Naval Institute Press.
Erminio Bagnasco and Mark Grossman, Regia marina, Italian battleships of World War Two ed. Pictorial Histories Publ. Co. Missolula, Montana (good photos, excellent drawings and a concise but authoritative text); Erminio Bagnasco is also the author of “Submarines of World War Two”, ed. U.S. Naval Institute (there’s a German version too)
Aldo Fraccaroli, Italian Warship of World War Two, ed. Ian Allan, London, 1967 (a precious pocket book with the right description and data of all the Italian Warships of the last world war).
A.Santoni/F.Mattesini “La partecipazione tedesca alla guerra aeronavale nel Mediterraneo (1940-1945)”
Though about the Germans, could perhaps be useful for
contested hits. The authors wrote it (25 years ago) to prove that, compared
with the Germans’, the Italian Navy and Air Force achievements in the
Mediterranean War were poor: this against some Italian authors who
over-estimated or over-exalted them, not for anti-national feelings (btw
Santoni was teacher of Naval History at the Italian Navy’s Naval Academy).
G. Giorgerini “Uomini sul fondo” and “La Guerra Italiana sul mare”.
Giorgerini’s first book is a history of the Italian Navy
submarine branch (a good work, very objective if not even a little bit too
severe with our submariners in some judgements), the other one is a general
overview of the Italian Navy’s WWII (the book is recent and, well researched, a
good work too).
The Rivista Marittima (the Italian Naval staff monthly since
1868) has got, at the end of its various articles a summary in English, German,
French and Spanish. It’available on the web at
http://www.marina.difesa.it/rivista/index.htm while the e-mail is maririvista@marina.difesa.it
and the address is: Via dell’Acqua Traversa 151 00135 ROMA.
You may have the 11 numbers of the year and the 12 “supplementi”
(separate books inclusive of the service).
With a bit of will and a good dictionary (The Associazione
Navimodellisti Bolognesi, C.P. 976 40100 Bologna, may let you have, with their
catalogue formed by more than 2.200 drawings of ships, weapons and boats based
on the original projects of the Italian ships since XIX to XXI century a
concise but very useful technical Naval dictionary in English, German and
French) Italian language is not a too much difficult obstacle for naval matters
and it may give you quite a lot of surprises.
