Operations Vigorous and Harpoon

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Operations Vigorous and Harpoon were British convoy operations in the Mediterranean during World War II from June 2 to June 16, 1942 . The aim of the operations was to supply the besieged Malta with supplies.

Course of the battle

Both from Alexandria ("Operation Vigorous") and from Gibraltar ("Operation Harpoon") British convoys ran out to Malta, which were initially fought by the Axis powers from the air. On June 14th, naval formations under Admiral da Zara left the ports of Messina and Taranto (two battleships , four cruisers , 10 destroyers ) to intercept the convoys. The British responded with air strikes, later for the first time in the Mediterranean area with the support of the Americans, whose USAAF attacked with B-24 "Liberator" bombers . The Allies first damaged the heavy cruiser Trento and the battleship Littorio , the Axis powers sank the destroyer HMS Hasty and severely damaged the cruiser HMS Newcastle . On June 16, a British submarine sank the disabled Italian cruiser Trento . On the Allied side, the destroyers HMS Airedale and HMAS Nestor (G02) and the cruiser HMS Hermione were lost , and two other cruisers were damaged.

The convoy from Gibraltar also suffered considerable losses. Italian cruisers first damaged the destroyers HMS Bedouin (then sunk by the Italian Air Force) and HMS Partridge , later other ships were damaged or sunk by air raids. There were further Allied losses in Italian minefields.

consequences

The Battle of the Mediterranean in June 1942 was a limited success for the Axis powers. Only three merchant ships and four destroyers reached Malta. But while the supply problem on the Allied side was limited to Malta, a chronic, general supply problem developed on the Axis side. Italian convoys suffered significant losses en route to North Africa because of the British Ultra Secret . The naval battle in June 1942 meant the last participation of the Italian battle fleet in major combat operations. Because of a lack of fuel, the Italian battleships remained in the ports.

See also

literature

  • Michael Galea: Malta Diary of a War 1940-1945. Publishers Enterprise Group, Malta, 1994. 307 pp. ISBN 99909-0-029-9 .
  • Richard Woodman: Malta Convoys. 1940 - 1943. Hodder And Stoughton Verlag, 2004. 560 pages. ISBN 0-7195-6408-5 .