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N0KFQ > TODAY 28.03.13 17:18l 69 Lines 3225 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Mar 28
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Sent: 130328/1455Z 37860@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.54
...
Mar 28, 1941:
Cunningham leads fateful British strike at Italians
On this day, Andrew Browne Cunningham, Admiral of the British
Fleet, commands the British Royal Navy's destruction of three
major Italian cruisers and two destroyers in the Battle of Cape
Matapan in the Mediterranean. The destruction, following on the
attack on the Italian Fleet at Taranto by the British in November
1940, effectively put an end to any threat the Italian navy posed
to the British.
Admiral Cunningham was one of Britain's most distinguished naval
officers, having served as Gen. Dwight Eisenhower's naval deputy.
As Commander in Chief Mediterranean, he had a clear-cut goal: to
disable the Italian navy. When the war began, Britain's ships
were generally older than Italy's. By the fall of 1940, with the
surrender of the French to the Germans the previous June, Britain
was alone and shaky in the Mediterranean.
Admiral Cunningham knew he had to confront the Italian navy soon
and considered an offensive while the Italian Fleet was still in
harbor the most prudent strategy. On November 11, 1940, the
British aircraft carrier Illustrious was 170 miles southeast of
the Italian navy port at Taranto in southern Italy. Twenty-one
Swordfish aircraft took off from the Illustrious and launched a
raid against the Italian Fleet. The Italians lost three
battleships, sending a shockwave through the Italian navy.
The next major engagement between the Royal and Italian fleets
was at Cape Matapan, off Greece's southern tip. On March 25,
1941, British air reconnaissance picked up increased Italian
naval activity off Greece and Crete, and further intelligence
confirmed an Italian plan to attack a British convoy in the area.
Two days later, Admiral Cunningham put his battle fleet to sea to
meet up with Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell's cruiser force. The
element of surprise was crucial, given that the Italian fleet was
larger, faster, better armed, and more modern.
The Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto spotted Pridham-Wippell's
cruisers and opened fire. The Italians missed and the Brits got
away; the RAF followed up with an air attack, but this time it
was the Vittorio Veneto that got away. But, on March 28, the
British battleship Warspite proved a better shot, firing five
15-inch shells at the Italian cruiser Fiume, crippling it.
Another Italian cruiser, the Zara, was hit broadside by the
Brits' Valiant and Barham and suffered a similar fate. The Pola
was also struck by an 18-inch torpedo; it caught fire and lay
dead in the water. Once the crew was taken off, torpedoes sank
it. On top of these crushing losses, two escorting destroyers,
the Alfieri and the Carducci, were also sunk by the Royal Navy.
In total, the Italians lost 2,303 men from the five ships. The
long-term effect on the Italian navy was to effectively render it
impotent.
Footnote: Exactly one year later, on March 28, 1942, a British
sub near Antipaxo sunk the Italian ocean liner Galilea, which was
being used to transport troops from North Africa back to Italy.
The loss of the liner entailed the loss of 768 Italian soldiers
and crewmen.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@hotmail.com
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