Second naval battle in the Gulf of Syrte
The second naval battle in the Gulf of Syrte took place on March 22, 1942 north of Libya . Five cruisers and eleven destroyers were involved on the British side, and one battleship , three cruisers and ten destroyers on the Italian side . The Italians tried to intercept a British supply convoy to Malta . The defeated British succeeded in pushing the Italian naval units away from the convoy. However, all four transporters in the convoy were lost in air raids and only a small part of the cargo reached Malta.
In December 1941, the first sea battle in the Gulf of Syrte took place in the Great Syrte when the security units of supply convoys to Malta and Tripoli collided. Results were not achieved on either side because each association tried to cover its object of protection without knowing of the worthwhile goals on the other side.
The British convoy
On March 20, 1942, the supply convoy MW.10 for Malta with the transporters Breconshire (9776 GRT), Clan Campbell (7255 GRT), Pampas (5415 GRT) and Talabot (6798 GRT) left Alexandria , with over 25,000 t of supplies Had board. The transporters were accompanied by the flak cruiser Carlisle and the "22nd Destroyer Flotilla" with Sikh , Zulu , Lively , Hero , Havock and Hasty . At the same time, a cover group under Rear Admiral Philip Vian went to sea with the cruisers Cleopatra , Dido , Euryalus and the "14th Destroyer Flotilla" with Jervis , Kipling , Kelvin and Kingston . Heavier units than the Dido-class cruisers were not available to the Mediterranean Fleet since the attack by Italian combat swimmers on the British battleships in Alexandria .
As with the previous convoys, the association was to be strengthened by Force K from Malta, which met the cruiser Penelope and the destroyer Legion and arrived at the association on the 22nd before the battle. The Penelope the Arethusa class was with her six 152-mm guns the British ship with the heaviest weaponry for a gun battle.
In the event of an Italian attack, the 5th Destroyer Flotilla with the destroyer escorts Southwold , Beaufort , Dulverton , Hurworth , Avon Vale , Eridge and Heythrop should join the convoy and take over the security of the transporters with the Carlisle . The Hunt destroyers were at an anti-submarine company off Tobruk .
There were also six British submarines in the Gulf of Taranto and in front of Messina on an outpost position. The submarine P36 also reported the departure of the Littorio group from Taranto on the 21st .
Course of the battle
On March 21, the Italian submarine Platino discovered the British convoy going to Malta north of Tobruk , whereupon two Italian naval formations from Messina with the cruisers Gorizia , Trento , Bande Nere and the destroyers Alpino , Fuciliere , Bersagliere and Lanciere of the Soldati class (1937) as well as Taranto with the battleship Littorio and the destroyers Aviere , Grecale , Ascari , Alfredo Oriani , later followed by Geniere and Scirocco, set out to intercept him. At 2:26 p.m. on March 22, the Italian cruisers sighted the British formation and then withdrew to lure the British near the battleship Littorio . The British warships chased the Italians while the British convoy retreated south. At 3:20 p.m. the British broke off the chase and reported to Alexandria that they had pushed the enemy away.
The united Italian naval association under Admiral Iachino then tried to cut the British off in a south-westerly direction, which, however, put the Italians in a comparatively unfavorable position because of the wind and heavy seas. At 4:31 p.m., the Italian fleet association had visual contact with the British again, and at 4:43 p.m. the battle between the two units at a distance of 17,000 meters began under the most adverse weather conditions. The British flagship, the cruiser Cleopatra , was hit by a 152 mm shell from the cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere , whereupon the British initially withdrew, but then attacked the Italians with four destroyers, who in turn used the 381 mm guns of the Littorio answered. Only now did the British discover the presence of an Italian battleship. The battle was interrupted by the very heavy seas, which also led to an accident at the Italian destroyer Grecale , which then withdrew completely.
At 17:40 the Italians opened fire again and damaged the British destroyer Sikh . At 5:52 p.m. the battle had to be broken off again because of the swell. At 17:59 , the 14th Destroyer Flotilla , led by Jervis , attacked the 14th Destroyer Flotilla from previously laid smoke , of which the destroyer Kingston was left lying after being shot through. They fired their torpedoes at the Littorio from the maximum possible distance . From 18:31 the Italian ships attacked the British formation with determination. The British destroyers counterattacked despite the Italian 381mm volleys and took losses because they mistakenly believed they had scored a hit in the first attack. In fact, the aircraft on board went up in flames due to an accident on board the Littorio . This time Lively and Havock stayed after the Littorio hit close . The British destroyers were able to withdraw without further incident. The three broken-down ships also managed to start at least one machine again. Kingston and Havock reached Malta, the Lively ran to Tobruk and from there to Alexandria. Euryalus and Penelope of the British cruisers had meanwhile also suffered minor damage from shrapnel. At 18:58 o'clock, Admiral Iachino broke off the engagement because of the incipient darkness (the Italian ships still had no radar ) and the bad weather.
Consequences of the battle
The British convoy could not go directly to Malta because of the battle and had to retreat far south. This gave the German and Italian air forces the opportunity to air strikes on March 23. Clan Campbell was sunk 20 nm off Malta. The Breconshire was beached badly damaged and capsized on March 27 while attempting to rescue after further hits in Marsaxlokk Bay .
With renewed attacks on the 26th, the pampas and talabot also sank , so that of the 25,900 t cargo only 5000 t came ashore.
During the attacks by the Axis air forces on the transporters, Penelope and Legion were damaged by close hits. The destroyer escort Southwold was lost to Italian mines shortly before Malta on 23 March. The destroyer Legion sat down on the beach in Malta on the 24th after further close hits, where it was later destroyed by aerial bombs.
The heavily damaged Kingston , which came to Malta, was hit several times from the air while the repair work was beginning and sank in Dock No. 4 on April 11, 1942. The ship was canceled as a total loss. The destroyer Lance , which was unable to take part in the battle in the Syrte due to repairs, was so badly damaged shortly before the necessary work was completed that it was not repaired. The damaged cruiser Penelope left Malta for Gibraltar; the repair of the cruiser was not completed until late 1942. The damaged Havoc tried the same , but ended up stranded at Cap Bon . Only one crew member was killed, but the rest and the passengers on board were taken prisoner by the Vichy French. The destroyer escort Avon Vale , damaged by a close hit by the Air Forces and a collision with the Carlisle , was successfully transferred to Gibraltar. The British submarine P39 was also so badly damaged in the air raids on Malta that followed the battle that it could not be used again.
The heavy swell took a bitter toll on the Italians: breakers sank the destroyers Lanciere and Scirocco . Only 18 men survived. The Italian cruisers Trento and Giovanni delle Bande Nere were damaged by the swell. A few days later the Giovanni delle Bande Nere was summoned to La Spezia for repair work . On the way there, the British submarine Urge sank the Italian cruiser near Stromboli . 287 men were killed.
Movies
- National Geographic : HMS Southwold: Malta's Hope. Report u. Documentation. 45 min (On March 24, 1942, the British destroyer HMS Southwold sinks a few miles from Malta at a German mine barrier. A camera team on the search for clues. With many contemporary documents. From the NG series "The Seejäger II", episode 12, 2006)