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First Battle of Sirte
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First Battle of Sirte
The First Battle of Sirte was fought between forces of the British Mediterranean Fleet and the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. The engagement took place on 17 December 1941, south-east of Malta, in the Gulf of Sirte. The engagement was inconclusive as both forces were protecting convoys and wished to avoid battle.
In the following days, two Royal Navy forces based at Malta ran into Italian minefield T off Tripoli and two British battleships were disabled by Italian Human torpedo during the Raid on Alexandria. By the end of December, the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean had shifted in favour of the Regia Marina.
The British Eighth Army and the Axis armies in North Africa were engaged in battles resulting from Operation Crusader, which had been fought between 18 November and 4 December. Its aim was to defeat the Afrika Korps and relieve the siege of Tobruk. This had been achieved and Axis forces were conducting a fighting retreat; by 13 December, they were holding a defensive line at Gazala, east of Benghazi. The Axis were desperate to supply their forces, intending to transport stores to Tripoli, their main port in Libya and Benghazi, the port closest to the front line. The island garrison of Malta was under siege and the British wanted to supply their forces on the island.
The Italians were preparing to send Convoy M41, of eight ships, to Africa on 13 December 1941. That morning, their previous supply attempt, two fast cruisers carrying fuel to Tripoli, had failed when they were sunk at the Battle of Cape Bon by a force of destroyers en route to Alexandria. The eight merchant ships were in three groups, with a close escort of five destroyers and a distant cover force of the battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, four destroyers and two torpedo boats. Soon after sailing on 13 December, a group of Convoy M41 was attacked by the British submarine HMS Upright and two ships were sunk; later that day two ships collided and had to return to base, while the distant cover force was sighted by the submarine HMS Urge and Vittorio Veneto was torpedoed and forced to return to port.
Supermarina, the high command of the Italian navy, rattled by these losses and a report that a British force of two battleships was at sea, ordered the ships to return to await reinforcement but the "force of two battleships" was a decoy operation by the minelayer HMS Abdiel. On 16 December, the four-ship Italian convoy, renamed Convoy M42, left Taranto, picking up escorts along the way. The close escort was provided by seven destroyers and a torpedo boat; by the time they reached Sicily they were also accompanied by a close cover force, comprising the battleship Duilio, three light cruisers and three destroyers. The distant covering force consisted of the battleships Littorio, Andrea Doria and Giulio Cesare, two cruisers and 10 destroyers.
The British planned to run supplies to Malta using the fast merchant ship Breconshire, covered by a force of cruisers and destroyers, while the destroyers from the Cape Bon engagement would proceed to Alexandria from Malta covered by Force K and Force B from Malta on 15 December. The British force was depleted when the light cruiser HMS Galatea was torpedoed and sunk by U-557, just before midnight on 14 December. U-557 was accidentally sunk less than 48 hours later, by the Italian torpedo boat Orione. On 15 December, Breconshire sailed from Alexandria escorted by three cruisers and eight destroyers under Rear-Admiral Philip Vian in HMS Naiad. On 16 December, the four destroyers of 4th Flotilla (Commander G. Stokes in HMS Sikh) left Malta, covered by Force K (Captain William 'Bill' Agnew in HMS Aurora), two cruisers and two destroyers. Thirty Italian warships were escorting four cargo ships. The two British groups were also at sea and steaming toward each other; the opposing forces were likely to cross each other's tracks east of Malta on 18 December.
On 17 December, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft spotted the British westbound formation near Sidi Barrani, apparently proceeding from Alexandria to intercept the Italian convoy. The British convoy was shadowed by Axis aeroplanes and attacked during the afternoon but no hits were scored and Agnew and Stokes met the westbound convoy. By late afternoon the Italian fleet was close by and spotter planes from the battleships had made contact with the British convoy, but the planes misidentified Breconshire as a battleship. At 17:42, the fleets sighted each other; Admiral Angelo Iachino—commander of the Italian forces—moved to intercept to defend his convoy.
Vian also wished to avoid combat, so with the British giving ground and the Italians pursuing with caution, the British were easily able to avoid an engagement. Just after sunset, an air attack on the British ships caused them to return fire with their anti-aircraft guns, allowing the Italian naval force to spot them. Iachino took in the distant covering force and opened fire at about 105,000 ft (32,000 m), well out of range of the British guns. Vian immediately laid smoke and moved to the attack while Breconshire moved away, escorted by the destroyers HMS Decoy and HMS Havock.
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First Battle of Sirte
The First Battle of Sirte was fought between forces of the British Mediterranean Fleet and the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the Second World War. The engagement took place on 17 December 1941, south-east of Malta, in the Gulf of Sirte. The engagement was inconclusive as both forces were protecting convoys and wished to avoid battle.
In the following days, two Royal Navy forces based at Malta ran into Italian minefield T off Tripoli and two British battleships were disabled by Italian Human torpedo during the Raid on Alexandria. By the end of December, the balance of naval power in the Mediterranean had shifted in favour of the Regia Marina.
The British Eighth Army and the Axis armies in North Africa were engaged in battles resulting from Operation Crusader, which had been fought between 18 November and 4 December. Its aim was to defeat the Afrika Korps and relieve the siege of Tobruk. This had been achieved and Axis forces were conducting a fighting retreat; by 13 December, they were holding a defensive line at Gazala, east of Benghazi. The Axis were desperate to supply their forces, intending to transport stores to Tripoli, their main port in Libya and Benghazi, the port closest to the front line. The island garrison of Malta was under siege and the British wanted to supply their forces on the island.
The Italians were preparing to send Convoy M41, of eight ships, to Africa on 13 December 1941. That morning, their previous supply attempt, two fast cruisers carrying fuel to Tripoli, had failed when they were sunk at the Battle of Cape Bon by a force of destroyers en route to Alexandria. The eight merchant ships were in three groups, with a close escort of five destroyers and a distant cover force of the battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, four destroyers and two torpedo boats. Soon after sailing on 13 December, a group of Convoy M41 was attacked by the British submarine HMS Upright and two ships were sunk; later that day two ships collided and had to return to base, while the distant cover force was sighted by the submarine HMS Urge and Vittorio Veneto was torpedoed and forced to return to port.
Supermarina, the high command of the Italian navy, rattled by these losses and a report that a British force of two battleships was at sea, ordered the ships to return to await reinforcement but the "force of two battleships" was a decoy operation by the minelayer HMS Abdiel. On 16 December, the four-ship Italian convoy, renamed Convoy M42, left Taranto, picking up escorts along the way. The close escort was provided by seven destroyers and a torpedo boat; by the time they reached Sicily they were also accompanied by a close cover force, comprising the battleship Duilio, three light cruisers and three destroyers. The distant covering force consisted of the battleships Littorio, Andrea Doria and Giulio Cesare, two cruisers and 10 destroyers.
The British planned to run supplies to Malta using the fast merchant ship Breconshire, covered by a force of cruisers and destroyers, while the destroyers from the Cape Bon engagement would proceed to Alexandria from Malta covered by Force K and Force B from Malta on 15 December. The British force was depleted when the light cruiser HMS Galatea was torpedoed and sunk by U-557, just before midnight on 14 December. U-557 was accidentally sunk less than 48 hours later, by the Italian torpedo boat Orione. On 15 December, Breconshire sailed from Alexandria escorted by three cruisers and eight destroyers under Rear-Admiral Philip Vian in HMS Naiad. On 16 December, the four destroyers of 4th Flotilla (Commander G. Stokes in HMS Sikh) left Malta, covered by Force K (Captain William 'Bill' Agnew in HMS Aurora), two cruisers and two destroyers. Thirty Italian warships were escorting four cargo ships. The two British groups were also at sea and steaming toward each other; the opposing forces were likely to cross each other's tracks east of Malta on 18 December.
On 17 December, an Italian reconnaissance aircraft spotted the British westbound formation near Sidi Barrani, apparently proceeding from Alexandria to intercept the Italian convoy. The British convoy was shadowed by Axis aeroplanes and attacked during the afternoon but no hits were scored and Agnew and Stokes met the westbound convoy. By late afternoon the Italian fleet was close by and spotter planes from the battleships had made contact with the British convoy, but the planes misidentified Breconshire as a battleship. At 17:42, the fleets sighted each other; Admiral Angelo Iachino—commander of the Italian forces—moved to intercept to defend his convoy.
Vian also wished to avoid combat, so with the British giving ground and the Italians pursuing with caution, the British were easily able to avoid an engagement. Just after sunset, an air attack on the British ships caused them to return fire with their anti-aircraft guns, allowing the Italian naval force to spot them. Iachino took in the distant covering force and opened fire at about 105,000 ft (32,000 m), well out of range of the British guns. Vian immediately laid smoke and moved to the attack while Breconshire moved away, escorted by the destroyers HMS Decoy and HMS Havock.
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