Naval battle at Punta Stilo
| date | July 9, 1940 |
|---|---|
| place | Near Calabria , Italy |
| output | draw |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 1 aircraft carrier 3 battleships 5 light cruisers 16 destroyers |
2 battleships 10 cruisers 32 destroyers 5 torpedo boats |
| losses | |
|
1 light cruiser damaged |
1 battleship damaged |
_crowned.svg){kind=small}
The naval battle at Punta Stilo was fought south of Calabria on July 9, 1940 between the Allies ( Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy ) and the Italian Navy ( Regia Marina ). Punta Stilo is a reference point on the south coast of Calabria .
background
It was the first naval battle of World War II in the Mediterranean and the first major clash of British and Italian naval units in history.
The naval battle only developed after both sides had finished their respective assignments: the Italian naval association was on its way back from an escort mission for a convoy to North Africa, the Allied escort mission had been postponed. When the naval associations clashed, both sides engaged in a fight. Punta Stilo was one of the rare direct encounters between battleships during World War II. A total of five battleships and an aircraft carrier were involved:
On the Allied side under Admiral Andrew Cunningham :
- Force A (Vice Adm. John Tovey ):
- 5 cruisers: HMS Gloucester , Liverpool , Neptune , Orion , HMAS Sydney
- 1 destroyer: HMAS Stuart
- Force B (Adm. Cunningham):
- 1 battleship: HMS Warspite ( flagship )
- 5 destroyers: HMS Nubian , Mohawk , Hero , Hereward , Decoy
- Force C (Vice-Adm. Henry Pridham-Wippell ):
- 2 battleships: HMS Malaya , Royal Sovereign
- 1 aircraft carrier: HMS Eagle
- 10 destroyers: HMS Dainty , Defender , Hasty , Hyperion , Hostile , Ilex , Janus , Juno , HMAS Vampire and Voyager
(a total of 3 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 5 cruisers, 16 destroyers; a total of 24 381 mm guns)
On the Italian side under Admiral Inigo Campioni :
- Convoy Protection Group:
- Convoy Security Group:
- Cruiser Pola (flagship)
- 1st Cruiser Division: Fiume , Gorizia , Zara
- 3rd cruiser division: Bolzano , Trento , Trieste
- 12. Destroyer Squadron : Ascari , Carabiniere , Corraziere
- 9th destroyer squadron: Alfieri , Carducci , Gioberti , Oriani
- 11th destroyer squadron : Artigliere , Aviere , Camicia Nera , Geniere
- Battle fleet:
- 5th Battleship Division: Conte di Cavour , Giulio Cesare
- 4th Cruiser Division: Cadorna , Diaz , Da Barbiano , Di Giussano
- 8th Cruiser Division: Duca degli Abruzzi , Garibaldi
- 7th Destroyer Squadron : Dardo , Freccia , Saetta , Strale
- 8. Destroyer Squadron : Baleno , Folgore , Fulmine , Lampo
- 14. Destroyer Squadron : Mosto , Verrazzano , Maloncello , Pigafetta , Zeno
- 16. Destroyer Squadron: Da Recco , Tarigo , Pessagno , Usodimare
(A total of 2 battleships, 13 cruisers, 32 destroyers, 5 torpedo boats; a total of 20 320 mm guns. Due to technical problems, three destroyers - Dardo , Da Noli and Strale - and two light cruisers - Diaz and Cadorna - returned before the start of the Battle back to Taranto )
Course of the battle
The Italian admiralty ordered by Bengasi returning naval units, located on July 9, at 14 o'clock at the coordinates 37 ° 40 ' N , 17 ° 20' O to unite, or about 65 nautical miles south-east of Punta Stilo to there favorable in strategically Position of the allied naval units. The two naval units crossed in the morning in the direction of NNW, about 90 nautical miles apart at around 12 p.m. At 11:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m., Cunningham from the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle ascended Swordfish aircraft , but their attacks on the Italian fleet were unsuccessful.
The British cruiser HMS Neptune sighted the Italian fleet units at 3:10 p.m., which in turn had been heading for the British since 3:05 p.m. At 15:15, four Italian heavy cruisers opened fire from a distance of 21,500 m on Admiral John Tovey's formation, who shortly thereafter also opened fire. The Italian cruisers Da Barbiano and Da Giussano were particularly fired at by the British cruiser HMS Orion and the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney , but they withdrew from 3:23 p.m. due to Italian pressure. HMS Neptune received a hit from the cruiser RN Giuseppe Garibaldi , but the damage was limited to the catapult and the aircraft on board. At 3:30 p.m. this first battle ended.
The battleships went into action when the Italians made an attempt with their light cruisers Da Barbiano and Di Giussano to attack the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle and the damaged cruiser HMS Gloucester , which had been held in the rear along with some destroyers. The British had not inconsiderable problems because of the different maximum speeds of their battleships.
The Italian battleship Giulio Cesare opened fire on the battleship HMS Warspite at 3:52 p.m. from a distance of 26,400 m , the Conte di Cavour then on Malaya and Royal Sovereign . Since the Battle of the Skagerrak , the rule in the Italian Navy was that each battleship should only fight a single target, while a fire summary on the Warspite might have been more successful, precisely because of the imprecise Italian fire control and targeting systems, but also because the three British battleships could never properly operate together (recent research in British archives - Cernuschi, Rivista Marittima 2/1998 - has revealed that the Warspite was hit by a 320 mm shell from Giulio Cesare , which the British side still does today never wanted to admit).
At 3:53 p.m. one of these inaccurate Italian volleys flew over the Warspite and damaged the destroyers Hereward and Decoy . From 3:54 p.m. the battleship Malaya also fired at the Giulio Cesare , but the distance was too great, whereupon she stopped fire again at 3:58 p.m. From 3:55 p.m. the Italian cruisers intervened in the action. The heavy cruiser RN Trento fired three 203 mm volleys at the HMS Warspite , the sister ship RN Bolzano fought with the cruisers Toveys. At 15:59, two shells from Giulio Cesare missed the Warspite by a hair's breadth (“closely bunched salvo”). Immediately afterwards, the Giulio Cesare received a 381 mm hit from the Warspite , which caused considerable damage: fire broke out, a 37 mm ammunition depot exploded, there were several dead and wounded, the power went out for a short time and the speed sank to 18 knots. The crew was able to restore full operational readiness in a short time, but at 16:04 clock both battle fleets broke off the fight almost simultaneously and changed their respective course; the British, because the Italians had zeroed in on the Warspite (quote from Cunningham: "enemy gunnery good" ), which the Mediterranean Fleet did not want to lose under any circumstances. Only Malaya continued to fire for a short time. Cruisers and destroyers continued the fight until 4:50 p.m. First the heavy cruisers RN Fiume and RN Gorizia fired at the British cruiser Liverpool , which then abruptly changed course along with other cruisers, which led to considerable confusion among the British and for a few minutes to rather inaccurate Allied fire. At 4:07 p.m. the Italian destroyer Alfieri was slightly damaged, shortly afterwards the cruiser Bolzano received three hits, which led to a brief failure of the control system. The Italian destroyer squadrons attacked the British units six times between 4:06 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., but without success.
consequences
The naval battle of Punta Stilo ended in a draw. Despite contrasting propaganda on both sides, it had no strategic consequences for the two warring parties. The British attempt to inflict a devastating defeat on the Italian fleet immediately after the outbreak of war had failed. It could have ended badly for the British if the two Littorio-class battleships remaining in Taranto, with their total of 18 381 mm guns, had run out.
At the tactical level, it confirmed proven tactics and lessons, but it also led to a number of new approaches. The naval battle of Punta Stilo was the beginning of the end of traditional "dinosaur battles" between battleships. Admiral Cunningham had the "Rules of Engagement" (dt .: rules for combat operations) of the "Mediterranean Fleet" (dt .: Mediterranean Fleet) revised and demanded anti-aircraft cruisers and armored aircraft carriers.
On the Italian side, the lessons to be learned were much more difficult. The naval battle of Punta Stilo took place in the immediate vicinity of the bases of the Italian air force , but it was still a long way from a truly synergic cooperation between the two rival branches of the armed forces. Up to Punta Stilo, these two branches of the armed forces cooperated through a kind of "administrative assistance" that was exchanged through ministerial channels. Italian planes arrived far too late over the site of the naval battle on July 9, 1940 and then accidentally bombed their own fleet. The Italian Foreign Minister, Ciano, wrote in his diary of the battle that the real problem was not the British fleet, but the contrast between the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. The cooperation was later improved, and the introduction of excellent air-to-sea torpedoes brought progress, but the British then had a decisive lead thanks to their radar and above all thanks to the deciphering specialists in Bletchley Park .