Second Battle of Sirte
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
Italian battleship Littorio, Admiral Iachino's flagship
Date 22 March 1942 Location Gulf of Sidra, Mediterranean Sea Result See Assessments section
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Philip Vian	Angelo Iachino
Strength
4 light cruisers 1 anti-aircraft cruiser 18 destroyers 1 submarine	1 battleship 2 heavy cruisers 1 light cruiser 10 destroyers 1 submarine
Casualties and losses
39 killed 3 light cruisers damaged 2 destroyers disabled 3 destroyers damaged	No casualties 1 battleship slightly damaged

The Second Battle of Sirte was a naval engagement in which the escorting warships of a British convoy to Malta frustrated a much more powerful Regia Marina (Italian Navy) squadron. The British convoy was composed of four merchant ships escorted by four light cruisers, one anti-aircraft cruiser, and 17 destroyers. The Italian force comprised a battleship, two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and eight destroyers.^[1] Despite the initial British success at warding off the Italian squadron, the battle delayed the convoy's planned arrival before dawn, which exposed it to intense air attacks that sank all four merchant ships and one of the escorting destroyers in the following days.^[2] The battle occurred on 22 March 1942 in the Mediterranean, north of the Gulf of Sidra and southeast of Malta, during the Second World War.

Background[edit]

Malta had long been a major factor in British successes against Italian convoys to North Africa,^[3][4] and in return became the target of an increasing number of heavy Axis air raids. By early 1942 the Allies lost the initiative in the central Mediterranean as Italian and German forces gained the upper hand in their attempts to isolate Malta and made plans to remove it as a threat.^[5][6]
After a series of Allied setbacks, the Italians achieved naval superiority over their enemies by spring 1942.^[7][8]
As Malta was running short of aircraft, antiaircraft guns, fuel, food and ammunition, convoy MW10 sailed from Alexandria on 21 March.^[9][10]

The British expected opposition from German and Italian aircraft as well as Italian surface units. In December 1941, the two battleships (Queen Elizabeth and Valiant) stationed in the eastern Mediterranean had been disabled by an attack by Italian frogmen, and so their Alexandria squadron consisted only of cruisers and destroyers.^[8]
Meanwhile, a diversion was organized from Gibraltar: on the morning of 20 March, the battleship Malaya—with the aircraft carriers Eagle and Argus, supported by the cruiser Hermione and eight destroyers—set sail from "The Rock". The next day, the squadron aborted the operation and returned to port – the carriers were unable to fly off aircraft reinforcements to Malta due to defective long-range fuel tanks.^[11]

The escort of convoy MW10 relied heavily on destroyers—including lighter-built destroyer escorts—to provide anti-submarine protection and included the anti-aircraft cruiser Carlisle to bolster the convoy's anti-aircraft capability. Additional destroyers and another light cruiser were also sent from Malta.^[12]

British defensive plan[edit]

Admiral Sir Philip Vian, commanding the convoy, organised his ships into six divisions plus a close escort for the convoy of five Hunt-class destroyers.^[13]

• 1st Division: destroyers Jervis, Kipling, Kelvin and Kingston
  


• 2nd Division: light cruisers Dido and Penelope with the destroyer Legion
  


• 3rd Division: destroyers Zulu and Hasty
  


• 4th Division: light cruisers Cleopatra (flagship) and Euryalus
  


• 5th Division: destroyers Sikh, Lively, Hero and Havock
  


• 6th Division: anti-aircraft cruiser Carlisle and Hunt-class destroyer Avon Vale
  

In case of an Italian surface attack, the first five divisions were to stand off from the convoy to face the enemy while the sixth division laid smoke across the wake of the convoy to obscure it from the enemy.^[13] The first five divisions would act as a rearguard to lay smoke and delay the enemy while Carlisle and the Hunt-class destroyers proceeded with the cargo ships to Malta.^[14]

The battle[edit]

British cruisers Cleopatra (making smoke) and Euryalus (foreground) moving into action

At 14:30 the next day, the British were faced by a pair of heavy cruisers and escorting destroyers. Admiral Vian immediately implemented his plan; the cargo ships and escorts turned away to the south while the light cruisers and remaining destroyers laid smoke and charged the Italians. After an exchange of fire, the two Italian heavy cruisers backed off in an attempt to lure the British toward the incoming main Italian squadron, and at 16:37 they returned to attack with the battleship Littorio, a light cruiser and their screening destroyers.^[15]

The Italian cruiser Gorizia firing her 203 mm (8.0 in) guns on the British destroyers during the battle

The battle raged for two and a half hours, with the British ships leaving the safety of their huge smoke screen to fire a few volleys and then returning to it when the Italian salvos got too close. During one of these exchanges, Havock suffered heavy damage from a near-miss when fired at by the Italian battleship, and was ordered to withdraw from the battle line and join the convoy. At 18:34, Vian decided to send his destroyers in to launch torpedo attacks from about 5,000 yd (4,600 m), the closest the Italians would allow the British to approach. None of the torpedoes found their target, but as Kingston turned she was hit hard by a round which penetrated her boiler room, ignited a fire and temporarily brought her to a halt.^[16] The battle began with a 25 kn (29 mph; 46 km/h) wind blowing to the North-west, with the wind continuing to increase during the day; a factor which favoured the gunnery of the larger Italian ships throughout the battle, but the direction of the wind aided the laying of smokescreens by Vian's ships.^[17]

Lively was also struck by shell splinters from the battleship's main guns that pierced a bulkhead, causing some flooding but no casualties.^[18]

The Italian light cruiser Giovanni delle Bande Nere. During the battle, she landed a 152 mm (6.0 in) round on the cruiser HMS Cleopatra′s bridge with her second salvo, disabling the radar and radio.^[19]

Right at the end of the action, at 18:55, Littorio had been hit by a 4.7 in (120 mm) shell, with negligible damage. Her floatplane caught fire from the blast from a salvo of her after turret at the same time. This led to the claim by the British that one of the torpedoes struck home.^[20][21]

At dusk, about 19:00, the Italians gave up and turned for home. Without radar, they would have been at a significant disadvantage in a night action, as in the Battle of Cape Matapan.^[22]
The Italians outgunned their British counterparts but they appeared unwilling to close for a decisive blow, perhaps wary of the torpedo threat from the numerically superior British destroyer force.^[23]

Battle damage[edit]

According to British reports, "HMS Cleopatra was struck on the after part of the bridge at 16:44...",^[24] by a 152 mm (6.0 in) hit from the light cruiser Giovanni dalle Bande Nere; 16 seamen were killed.^[25][26][27] Cruisers Euryalus^[28] and Penelope were also damaged, with Euryalus straddled by Littorio at 16:43 and at 18:41.^[29]Kingston was hit amidships by a shell from Littorio that killed 15 men of her crew.^[30][31][32] and left the destroyer dead in the water, with her starboard whaleboat torn apart, her anti-aircraft guns, searchlight tower and torpedo launchers shattered by the explosion. Some sources claim that she was hit by the guns of the heavy cruiser Gorizia.^[33] Although Kingston had an engine in flames and a flooded boiler, she managed however to recover speed, reaching Malta the next day.^[34]Havock was also badly damaged in a boiler by a Littorio near miss at 17:20,^[35] suffering eight deaths.^[32]Lively was forced to retreat to Tobruk for repairs at 18:55, after a near miss from Littorio′s aft turret holed her hull, resulting in some flooding.^[36][37]
Three more destroyers—Sikh, Legion and Lance—suffered lesser damage from 8 in (203 mm) cruiser fire.^[38]
The Italian fleet expended 1,511 rounds of all calibres upon the British squadron; the only Italian destroyer to open fire was Aviere.^[39] The British cruisers had replied with 1,553 rounds and the destroyers with about 1,300 rounds as well as 38 torpedoes.^[36][40] Axis aircraft made continual attacks, mainly against the convoy, throughout the naval action and Royal Navy AA gunners claimed the destruction of seven Axis aircraft and damage to several more.^[41]

Follow-up actions[edit]

Most of the escort force, now short of fuel and ammunition due to the protracted engagement and unable to find the convoy, turned back for Alexandria.^[42]
The damaged destroyers and the cargo ships were sent on to Malta, with Carlisle, Penelope and Legion. The next day, they were subjected to continuous air attacks. The cargo ship Clan Campbell was sunk twenty miles from harbour, and the oil tanker Breconshire was too damaged to reach Valletta. Nonetheless, the other two merchantmen, Talabot and steamer Pampas, reached Malta's Grand Harbour virtually unharmed. Pampas had been hit by two bombs but these failed to explode.^[43]Penelope attempted to tow Breconshire, but the tow parted in heavy seas.^[44]
She anchored short of the protective minefields and the destroyer Southwold^[45] attempted to take her in tow, hitting a mine in the process. She was eventually towed into Marsaxlokk Bay by tugs.

Intense Axis air raids against Malta on 24–25 March failed to damage the three surviving convoy ships.^[46] However, on 26 March, German dive bombers scored bomb hits on all three ships, sinking Talabot and Pampas that day with Breconshire capsizing on 27 March.^[47] Much of Breconshire′s oil was salvaged through the hole in her hull. Only about 5,000 short tons (4,500 t) of cargo had been unloaded, of the 26,000 short tons (24,000 t) that had been loaded in Alexandria.^[48]

Destroyer HMS Kingston suffered heavy damage from Littorio's main guns during the battle, and while in drydock at Malta she was successively attacked by German bombers which further damaged her, this time beyond repair.

The Italian fleet units were no more lucky after the battle. After failing to destroy the convoy by themselves, they were caught en route to their bases by a severe storm that sank the destroyers Scirocco and Lanciere.^[49]

While under repair in dry dock at Malta, Kingston was attacked a few days later by German aircraft and suffered further damage, this time beyond repair. She was scrapped in situ in the following months.^[50]

Assessments[edit]

Almost all sources with an opinion on the matter have assessed the battle as a British victory, credited to the escort of light cruisers and destroyers which successfully prevented the Italians from inflicting any damage whatsoever on the convoy by staving off an Italian squadron, composed of a battleship and two heavy cruisers, while fending off heavy Axis air attacks.^[51][52]
On the other hand, some authors^[53]
while generally acknowledging the British success, write of the battle as a partial Italian achievement in delaying and turning the convoy aside.

Nearly all sources acknowledge the Italian fleet inflicted significant damage and several casualties on the British squadron while suffering minimal damage and no casualties in return.^[54][55]
The action, however, represented a failure on the Italians' part to exploit their advantage and destroy the convoy. Indeed, they were unable to sink or cripple a single cargo ship. This was due to Admiral Vian's vigorous and skillful defence in the face of a superior adversary.^[51] The overwhelming strength of the Italian fleet was not fully exploited by Admiral Iachino also because bad weather and lack of radar prevented him from continuing the pursuit of the convoy at dusk.^[56]

But when the main objective, to re-supply Malta, is included in the assessment, the outcome is different. The British intention to reach Malta before dawn with a substantial escort was disrupted by the intervention of the Italian Navy. This left the cargo ships exposed to Axis air supremacy.^[57][58][59]

Thereafter, Italian and German aircraft caught the British convoy at sea and chased the surviving steamers to the harbour; more than 80% of the supplies were lost. The British convoy operation was, therefore, a strategic failure.^[60]

Order of battle[edit]

Italy[edit]

• Admiral Angelo Iachino
  
  • 1 battleship: Littorio
    
  
  
  • 6 destroyers: Alfredo Oriani, Ascari, Aviere, Geniere, Grecale, Scirocco (sunk by a storm after the action)
  
  


• 2nd division, Admiral Angelo Parona
  
  • 2 heavy cruisers: Gorizia, Trento
    
  
  
  • 1 light cruiser: Giovanni delle Bande Nere
    
  
  
  • 4 destroyers: Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Lanciere (sunk by a storm after the action)
  
  


• Submarine: Platino^[61]

United Kingdom[edit]

• 
  Carlisle squadron:
  
  • 1 C-class light cruiser: Carlisle
    
  
  
  • 
    5th Destroyer Flotilla (Hunt-class destroyer escorts) from Tobruk: Southwold (sunk by a mine on 23 March); Beaufort; Dulverton; Hurworth; Avon Vale; Eridge. HMS Heythrop lost en route on 20 March to submarine U-652
    
  
  
  • 4 cargo ships: Clan Campbell, Breconshire, Pampas and Talabot (all sunk by 26 March)
  
  


• 15th Cruiser Squadron (Admiral Vian):
  
  • 3 light cruisers: Dido; Euryalus (slightly damaged); Cleopatra (seriously damaged)
  
  
  • 
    14th Destroyer Flotilla: Jervis; Kipling; Kelvin; Kingston (heavily damaged)
  
  
  • 
    22nd Destroyer Flotilla: Hasty; Havock (heavily damaged); Hero; Lively (seriously damaged); Sikh (slightly damaged); Zulu (structural damage due to high speed manoevring^[62])
  
  


• Support squadron from Malta:
  
  • 1 cruiser: Penelope;
  
  
  • 1 destroyer: Legion (damaged by near miss during air attack on 23 March, sunk by air attack on 26 March while awaiting repair)
  
  
  • 3 submarines: Unbeaten, Upholder and Ultimatum^[63]
  
  


• Submarine based in Alexandria:
  
  • 
    Proteus (Parthian class)^[64]

Footnotes[edit]

Sources[edit]

• Bauer, Eddy; James L. Collins, Jr; and Peter Young: The Marshall Cavendish Encyclopedia of World War Two. Marshall Cavendish, 1985.
  ISBN 978-0-85685-954-0.


• Belot, Raymond de: The Struggle for the Mediterranean 1939–1945, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1951.


• Bernotti, Romeo: La guerra sui mari nel conflitto mondiale:1940–1945 Tirrena Editoriale. Livorno, 1954. (in Italian)
  


• Bradford, Ernle: Siege: Malta 1940–1943, William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1986.
  ISBN 978-0-688-04781-8.


• Bragadin, Marc'Antonio: The Italian Navy in World War II, United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, 1957.
  ISBN 978-0-405-13031-1.


• Cunningham, Andrew: A Sailor's Life, New York, 1955.


• Greene, Jack & Massignani, Alessandro: The Naval War in the Mediterranean, 1940–1943, Chatam Publishing, London, 1998.
  ISBN 978-1-86176-057-9.


• Gigli, Guido: La Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Laterza, 1964. (in Italian)
  


• Guglielmotti, Umberto: Storia della marina italiana. V. Bianco, 1961 (in Italian)
  


• Harwood, Admiral Sir Henry H., Despatch on the Battle of Sirte 1942 Mar. 22., SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 18 September 1947.


• Holland, James: Fortress Malta: An Island Under Siege, 1940–1943, Miramax Books, New York, 2003.
  ISBN 978-1-4013-5186-1.


• Hough, Richard Alexander:The longest battle: the war at sea, 1939–45. Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1986


• Jellison, Charles A.: Besieged: The World War II Ordeal of Malta, 1940–1942, University Press of New England, 1984.
  ISBN 978-0-87451-313-4.


• Llewellyn, M. J.: The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean Convoys: A Naval Staff History, Naval Staff History series, Routledge, London, 2007.
  ISBN 978-0-415-39095-8.


• Macintyre, Donald: The Battle for the Mediterranean. Norton ed., New York, 1965.


• O'Hara, Vincent P.: Struggle for the Middle Sea, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2009.
  ISBN 978-1-59114-648-3.


• Playfair, I.S.O., et al.: British Fortunes reach their Lowest Ebb, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume III (September 1941 to September 1942), Naval & Military Press, Uckfield, 2004.
  ISBN 978-1-84574-067-2. First published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1960.


• Roskill, S.W.: The Period of Balance, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, The War at Sea 1939–1945, Volume III, Naval & Military Press, Uckfield, 2004,
  ISBN 978-1-84342-805-3. First published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1956.


• Sadkovich, James: The Italian Navy in World War II, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1994.
  ISBN 978-0-313-28797-8.


• Secchia, Pietro: Enciclopedia dell'antifascismo e della Resistenza. La Pietra, 1989.


• Shores, Christopher and Brian Cull with Nicola Malizia: Malta: The Spitfire Year, 1942. Grub Street, London, 1991.
  ISBN 978-0-948817-16-8.


• Sierra, Luis de la: La guerra naval en el Mediterráneo, 1940–1943, Ed. Juventud, Barcelona, 1976.
  ISBN 978-84-261-0264-5. (in Spanish)
  


• Simpson, Michael: A life of Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Cunningham. A Twentieth-century Naval Leader. Routledge Ed., 2004.
  ISBN 978-0-7146-5197-2.


• 
  Stephen, Martin; Grove, Erik: Sea Battles in Close-up: World War Two. Naval Institute press, 1988.
  ISBN 978-0-7110-2118-1.


• Thomas, David A.: Malta Convoys, Leo Cooper Ed., South Yorkshire, 1999.
  ISBN 978-0-85052-663-9.


• Weichold, Eberhard: Die deutsche Führung und das Mittelmeer unter Blickwinkel der Seestrategie. Wehrwissenschaftlichen Rundschau, 1959. (in German)
  


• Wilmott, Ned & Fowler, Will: Strategy & tactics of sea warfare. Marshall Cavendish, 1979.
  ISBN 978-0-85685-505-4
  


• Woodman, Richard: Malta Convoys, 1940–1943, Jack Murray Ltd., London, 2000.
  ISBN 978-0-7195-5753-8.

References and external links[edit]

• 
  "No. 38073". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 September 1947. pp. 4371–4380. Royal Navy official despatches relating to the battle, written shortly after the battle, but not published until after the war. Also available as a single pdf file at ibiblio.org
  


• The 2nd Battle of the Sirte


• 
  Seconda Battaglia della Sirte – Plancia di Comando
  


• Main page with link to sources (scroll down and open link to Bibliografia)


• "Our Navy in Action" video newsreel film


• 
  "The Ship" (1943) by C.S Forester is a fictionalised account of the battle, seeing the action through the eyes of the crew of a Royal Navy light cruiser "HMS Artemis". Though a novel, it seems fairly accurate on the action and gives an excellent account of the roles of different crew members. Published in 1943, the novel did have a propaganda/morale raising aspect, stressing that everyone's efforts were important, and not mentioning the loss of merchant ships afterwards. C.S.Forester, best known for his Hornblower R.N. novels, sailed with both the British and American navies during World War II to gather material.

Coordinates: 34°20′N 17°30′E / 34.333°N 17.500°E / 34.333; 17.500