Italian biggest control of mediterranean areas and seas (within green line & dots) in 1942.
The
Italian '''Regia Marina''' (literally: "Royal Navy") dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after
Italian unification. With the birth of the Italian Republic (1946) it changed its name to become the ''
Marina Militare''.
History
Origins
The 'Regia Marina' was born on
17 March 1861 following the proclamation of the formation of the
Kingdom of Italy. Just as the Kingdom was a unification of various states in the Italian peninsula, so the Regia Marina was formed from the navies of those states, though the main constituents were the navies of the former kingdoms of
Sardinia and
Naples. The Regia Marina inherited a substantial number of ships, both sail- and steam-powered, and the long naval traditions of its constituents, especially those of Sardinia and Naples, but also suffered from some major handicaps.
Firstly, it suffered from a lack of uniformity and cohesion; the Regia Marina was a heterogenous mix of equipment, standards and practice, and even saw hostility between the officers from the various navies. These problems were compounded by the continuation of separate officer schools at
Genoa and
Naples, and not fully addressed until the opening of a unified Naval Academy at
Livorno in 1881.
Secondly, unification occurred during a period of rapid advances in naval technology and tactics, as typified by the launch of
La Gloire by France in 1858, and later by the appearance of, and battle between, the
USS Monitor and
CSS Virginia in 1862. These innovations quickly made older warships obsolete. Italy did not possess the shipyards or infrastructure to build the modern ships required, but the then Minister for the Navy, Admiral
carlo di Persano, launched a substantial programme to purchase warships from foreign yards.
Battle of Lissa
The new navy's baptism of fire came on
July 20,
1866 at the
Battle of Lissa during the
Seven Weeks War (also known as the
Third Italian War of Independence}. The battle was fought against
Austria and occurred near the
island of Vis in the
Adriatic sea. This was one of the few fleet actions of the nineteenth century, and as a major sea battle that involved
ramming, it had a profound, though with hindsight a detrimental, effect on warship design and tactics.
The Italian fleet, commanded by Admiral
Persano mustered 12
ironclad and 17 wooden-walled ships, though only one, the
Affondatore was of the most modern
turret ship design. Despite a marked advantage in numbers and equipment, superior handling by the Austrians under Admiral
Tegetthoff resulted in a severe defeat for the Italians who lost 2 armoured ships and 640 men.
Before World War 1
Following the defeat at 'Lissa' the Regia Marina made significant advances towards recovery.
★ 1881, 1882 battleships
Duilio and
Dandolo commissioned, in their time the most powerful warships in the world.
★ 1896 Circumnavigation of the globe by the corvette ''Magenta''
★ 1897 Experiments with
Guglielmo Marconi in the use of radio communications
★ 1909 First use of aircraft with the fleet
World War I
Italy built and maintained six
Dreadnought battleships (Dante Alighieri as a prototype, Giulio Cesare, Conte di Cavour and Leonardo da Vinci of Cavour class, Andrea Doria and Caio Duilio of Doria Class), but they did not participate in major naval actions in
World War I. For most of the war the Italian and Austrian navies each kept a relatively passive watch over their counterparts. The Italian fleet lost the pre-dreadnought battleship ''Benedetto Brin'' at
Brindisi (
27 September 1915) and the dreadnought
''Leonardo da Vinci'' at
Taranto (
2 August 1916) due to magazine explosion (although there were rumours about Austrian sabotage). The Regia Marina attacked with insidious weapons: ''MAS 21'' and ''MAS 15'' sank the Austro-Hungarian battleship
SMS ''Szent István'' in the
Adriatic sea on
10 June 1918; an early type of
human torpedo (''Mignatta'') entered the harbour of
Pula and sank the
Austro-Hungarian flagship ''Viribus Unitis'' on
1 November 1918. The battleship
Teggetthoff (sister of the former two) was handed over to Italy as war prize in 1919.
After World War I
The Italian government decided to enhance the Regia Marina with a view to challenging the British
Royal Navy's
Mediterranean Fleet. In order to minimize contact with the more experienced British vessels, the Regia Marina based its strategy on fast ships with long-range
artillery. Accordingly it had new guns developed which had smaller calibers but longer ranges than their British counterparts; furthermore, in order to allow higher speeds, new Italian ships had designs with thinner armour (see, for example, ''
Giovanni dalle Bande Nere'').
Spanish Civil War
Outside of assisting with deployments and patrols in support of the Italian Corps of Volunteer Troops (''
Corpo Truppe Volontarie''), approximately fifty-eight Italian Navy submarines took part in hunting operations against Republican naval forces off of Spain. These submarines were organized as the Submarine Legion (''
Sottomarini Legionari'') and complimented German
U-boat operations as part of
Operation Ursula.
World War II
Mediterranean
When Italy entered
World War II on
10 June 1940, the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') was the fourth largest navy in the world. The Italian Navy had a mix of modernised and new battleships. The Italian Navy challenged the
Allies, mostly the British
Royal Navy, for supremacy of the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian Navy's objectives were to:
★ Protect sea routes between Italy and Libya, assure uninterrupted movement of convoys between Italy and Tripoli and Benghazi; protect sea routes between Italy and Albania.
★ Provide coastal protection.
★ Anti-convoy action against the Allies.
Air support was provided by the Italian Air Force Auxiliary to the Navy (''
Aviazione Ausiliara per la Marina''), the naval air service during wartime. The Air Force Auxiliary was in charge of all land-based aircraft, shore-based hydroplanes amongst of vessel-based aircraft, and hydroplanes of Italian Navy.
Italian warships had a general reputation as well-designed and good-looking. But some Italian cruiser classes were rather deficient in armour. All Italian warships lacked
radar, although the lack of radar was partly offset by the fact that Italian warships were equipped with good
rangefinder and
fire-control systems. In addition, whereas Allied commanders at sea had discretion on how to act, Italian commanders were closely and precisely governed by Italian Naval Headquarters (''Supermarina''). This could lead to action being avoided when the Italians had a clear advantage (e.g., During "
Operation Hats"
[1]. Italian Naval Headquarters was conscious that the British could replace ships lost in the Mediterranean, whereas Italian Navy resources were limited).
In November 1940, the British attacked the Italian naval base at
Taranto. The
Battle of Taranto proved to be a very successful attack by
carrier-borne aircraft carrying
torpedoes against Italian battleships in harbor. This success provided one of the inspirations for the Japanese attack on the American fleet at
Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
The Allies gained the upper hand after several actions. A major defeat was inflicted on the Regia Marina at
Cape Matapan, where the Royal Navy and
Royal Australian Navy intercepted and destroyed three heavy cruisers (''
Zara'', ''
Pola'' and ''
Fiume''; all of the same class) and two ''Poeti'' class destroyers in a night ambush, with the loss of over 2300 seamen. The Allies had
Ultra intercepts, which predicted the Italian movements, and
radar, which enabled them to locate the ships and range their weapons at distance and at night. The better air reconnaissance skills of the
Fleet Air Arm and their close collaboration with surface units were other major causes of the Italian debacle.
The most successful attack performed by the Italian Navy involved divers planting mines on British battleships in
Alexandria harbour (
19 December 1941). HMS ''
Queen Elizabeth'' and ''
Valiant'' were sunk in shallow water, but were later raised and returned to active service almost two years later.
On the same night, ''
Force K'', comprising three cruisers and four destroyers based at
Malta, which had accounted for the destruction of some 60,000 tons of Axis shipping in 1941, became stranded in an Italian minefield off Tripoli. A cruiser,
HMS ''Neptune'' and a destroyer,
HMS ''Kandahar'' were lost, three other ships were seriously damaged, and more than 900 men died. ''
Force K'' was put out of action and Malta's offensive capabilities were reduced to a minimum.
This sudden series of Allied disasters allowed the Regia Marina to achieve naval supremacy in the central Mediterranean, her supply routes were almost untouched by the enemy for several months.
The Italian fleet also took advantage of the situation and moved onto the offensive, blocking or decimating at least three large Allied convoys bound for Malta. This led to a number of naval engagements, such as the
Second Battle of Sirte, the
Battle of Mid-June or
Operation ''Harpoon'' (plus
Operation Vigorous) and finally to
Operation Pedestal, all of them favourable to the Axis. Despite this activity, the only real success of the Italian Fleet was the aerial and surface attack on the ''Harpoon'' convoy, which sank several Allied warships and damaged others. Only two transports of the original six reached Malta. This was the only undisputed squadron-size victory for Italian surface forces in World War II.
However, this was only a brief happy time for the Axis. The oil and supplies brought to Malta, despite heavy losses, by
Operation Pedestal in August and the Allied landings in North Africa,
Operation Torch, in November, turned the fortunes of war against Italy. After years of stalemate, the Axis forces were ejected from Libya and Tunisia in just six months, their supply lines harassed day after day by the overwhelming aerial and naval supremacy of the Allies.
The Regia Marina performed well and bravely
[1] in its North African convoy duties, but remained at a technical disadvantage. The Italian ships relied on a speed advantage, but could easily be damaged by shell or torpedo, due to their relatively thin armour. The fatal and final blow to the Italian Navy was a shortage of fuel, which forced her main units to remain at anchor for most of the last year of the Italian alliance with Germany.
Atlantic
From
10 June 1940, submarines of the Italian Navy took part in the
Battle of the Atlantic alongside the
U-Boats of the German Navy (''
Kriegsmarine''). The Italian submarines were based in
Bordeaux,
France. While more suited for the
Mediterranean Sea than the
Atlantic Ocean, the 32 Italian submarines that operated in the Atlantic sank 109
Allied ships for a total of 593,864 tons.
Red Sea
From
10 June 1940, the Italian Navy's
Red Sea Flotilla, based in
Massawa,
Eritria, posed a potential threat to Allied shipping between the
Indian Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea. The threat was increased after the
Italian conquest of British Somaliland in august 1940 and disappeared only when Massawa fell in April 1941 during the
East African Campaign.
Most of the Red Sea Flotilla was destroyed during the first months of war or when Massawa fell. However, there were a few survivors. In February 1941, the colonial ship "
Eritrea" and the
auxiliary cruisers "
Ramb I" and "
Ramb II" broke out and sailed to
Kobe,
Japan. While "Ramb I" was sunk in the
Maldives, "Eritrea" and "Ramb II" made it to Kobe. As the port of Massawa was falling, four submarines -- "Guglielmo," "Gauleo Ferraras," "Perla," and "Archimede" -- sailed south from Massawa, rounded the
Cape of Good Hope and ultimately sailed to
Bordeaux,
France. One or two Italian merchant ships from the Red Sea Flotilla made it to
Madagascar.
Black Sea
At German request, in May 1942, the Italian Navy deployed four 24 ton anti-submarine motorboats (''Motoscafo Anti Sommergibile'',
MAS), six CD class submarines, five torpedo motorboats, and five explosive motorboats to the
Black Sea. The vessels were transported overland to the
River Danube at
Vienna,
Austria, and then to
Constanca,
Romania. The flotilla had an active and successful campaign, based at
Yalta and Feodonia. Eventually, they were transferred to the German Navy (''
Kriegsmarine'') and ultimately captured by Soviet forces in
Constanca in August 1944.
Lake Ladoga
The Italian Navy operated a small number of vessels on
Lake Ladoga during the
Continuation War (1941-1944). German, and Italian vessels operated against Soviet escorts and supply vessels during the
Siege of Leningrad. The Italians provided motor torpedo boats (MTBs, ''Motoscafo Armato Silurante'',
MAS) and mini-submarines. Ultimately the Italian vessels were turned over to the Finns.
Naval actions were restricted to the ice-free months. At times, the frozen ice of Lake Ladoga provided a land route to
Leningrad. Supplies were transported by trucks on what was known as the "
Road of Life."
Far East
The Italian Navy had a naval base in the
concession territory of
Tiensin in
China. The primary Italian vessels based in China were the mine-layer ''Lepanto'' and the gunboat ''Carlotto''. During
World War II, Italian supply ships, "
auxiliary cruisers," and submarines operated throughout the waters of the Far East. The Italians also utilized Japanese-controlled port facilities like
Shanghai, China, and
Kobe,
Japan.
The "auxiliary cruisers" were merchant ships equipped with guns and, while still disguised to look like merchant ships, could be used for military purposes like destroying enemy merchant ships.
The "Cappellini," the '"Giuliani," and the "Torelli" were converted by the Italians into "transport submarines" in order to exchange rare or irreplaceable trade goods with Japan.
The Armistice
In 1943, Italian dictator
Benito Mussolini was deposed and the new Italian government agreed to an
armistice with the Allies. Under the terms of this armistice, the Italian Royal Navy (''Regia Marina'') had to sail its ships to an
Allied port. Most sailed to
Malta, but a flotilla from
La Spezia headed towards
Sardinia. They were intercepted and attacked by German aircraft and the "
Roma" was sunk by two hits from
Fritz X guided glide-bombs. Among the 1600 sailors killed onboard "Roma" was the Italian Naval Commander-in-Chief,
Admiral Carlo Bergamini [2].
As vessels became available to the new Italian government, an
Italian Co-Belligerent Navy was formed to fight on the side of the Allies. Other ships were captured in port by the Germans or scuttled by their crews. Few Italian Royal Navy crews chose to fight for Mussolini's new fascist regime in northern Italy, the
Italian Social Republic (''Repubblica Sociale Italiana'', RSI). Mussolini's pro-German National Republican Navy (''Marina Nazionale Repubblicana'') hardly reached a twentieth the size attained by the co-belligerent Italian fleet.
[2]
There was little use for the surrendered Italian battleships and there was doubt about the loyalties of the crews. So these ships were interned in
Egypt. In June 1944, the less powerful battleships ("
Andrea Doria", "
Caio Duilio" and "
Giulio Cesare") were allowed to return to
Augusta harbour in
Sicily for training. The others ("
Vittorio Veneto" and "Italia" - ex "
Littorio"), remained at
Ismaïlia, in the
Suez Canal until 1947. After the war, the "Giulio Cesare" was passed to the
Soviet Union.
In the Co-belligerency period, until "VE" (Victory in Europe) Day, Italian light cruisers participated in the naval war in the
Atlantic Ocean with patrols against German raiders. Smaller naval units (mainly submarines and torpedo boats) served in the
Mediterranean Sea. In the last days of war, the issue of whether Italian battleships and cruisers should participate in the
Pacific Ocean war was debated by the Allied leaders.
Far East after the armistice
There were Italian Navy units in the Far East in 1943 when the new Italian government agreed to an armistice with the Allies. The reactions of their crews varied greatly. In general, surface units, mainly supply ships and auxiliary cruisers, either surrendered at Allied ports ("Eritrea" at
Colombo,
Ceylon) or, if in Japanese controlled ports, they were scuttled ("Conte Verde," "Lepanto," and "Carlotto" at
Shanghai, "Ramb II," in
Kobe . . . "Ramb II" was taken over by the Japanese and re-named "Calitea II" by them).
Four Italian submarines were in the Far East at the time of the armistice: "Cagni," "Cappellini," "Giuliani," and "Torelli." The crew of the "Cagni" heard of the armistice and surrendered at
Durban,
South Africa. The "Cappellini," "Giuliani," and "Torelli" and their crews were temporarily interned by the Japanese. The boats passed to German
U-boat command and, with mixed German and Italian crews, they continued to fight against the Allies.
Even after the German surrender in May 1945, about twenty Italian sailors continued to fight with the Japanese. The "Torelli" was active until
30 August 1945, when, in Japanese waters, this last Fascist Italian unit shot down a
B-25 Mitchell bomber of the
United States Air Force.
Ships
Pre-World War I
Battleships
World War I
Battleships
★ 'Duilio' class: ''Dandolo''
★ 'Re Umberto' class: ''Sardegna''
★ 'Saint Bon' class: ''Ammiraglio di Saint Bon'', ''Emanuele Filiberto''
★ 'Regina Margherita' class: ''Regina Margherita'', ''Benedetto Brin''
★ 'Regina Elena' class: ''Regina Elena'', ''Vittorio Emanuele'', ''Napoli'', ''Roma''
★ 'Dante Alighieri' class: ''
Dante Alighieri''
★ 'Cavour' class:
''Conte di Cavour'',
''Giulio Cesare'',
''Leonardo Da Vinci''
Cruisers
★ 'Garibaldi' class: ''Giuseppe Garibaldi'', ''Varese'', ''Francesco Ferruccio''
★ 'Vittor Pisani' class: ''Vittor Pisani''
★ 'Pisa' class: ''Pisa'', ''Amalfi''
★ 'San Giorgio' class: ''San Giorgio'', ''San Marco''
★ 'Piemonte' class: ''Piemonte''
★ 'Lombardia' class: ''Lombardia'', ''Liguria'', ''Elba'', ''Puglia''
★ 'Libia' class: ''Libia''
Destroyers
★ 'Lampo' class: ''Ostro'', ''Lampo'', ''Euro'', ''Strale'', ''Dardo''
★ 'Nembo' class: ''Nembo'', ''Turbine'', ''Espero'', ''Borea'', ''Aquilone'', ''Zeffiro''
★ 'Soldati Artigliere' class: ''Granatiere'', ''Bersagliere'', ''Garibaldino'', ''Corazziere'', ''Lanciere'', ''Artigliere''
★ 'Soldati Alpino' class: ''Alpino'', ''Fuciliere'', ''Pontiere'', ''Ascaro''
★ 'Indomito' class: ''Impetuoso'', ''Impavido'', ''Insidioso'', ''Irrequieto''
★ 'Ardito' class: ''Ardito'', ''Ardente''
★ 'Audace' class: ''Audace'', ''Animoso''
★ 'Pilo' class: ''Francesco Nullo''
World War II
Aircraft carriers
★
''Aquila'' (modification of the liner ''Roma'', built but never used)
★
''Sparviero'' (modification of the liner ''Augustus'', never completed)
Seaplane carriers
★ ''Giuseppe Miraglia'' (extensively converted merchant ship ''Citta de Messina'' for the seaplane carrier role, commissioned as a seaplane transport by 1940)
Battleships
★
'Cavour' class:
''Conte di Cavour'',
''Giulio Cesare'' (modernised WWI battleships)
★
'Andrea Doria' class:
''Andrea Doria'',
''Caio Duilio'' (modernised WWI battleships)
★
'Vittorio Veneto' class:
''Littorio''/''Italia'',
''Vittorio Veneto'',
''Roma'',
''Impero'' (not completed)
Heavy cruisers
★
'Trento' class:
''Trento'',
''Trieste'',
''Bolzano''
★
'Zara' class:
''Zara'',
''Fiume'',
''Pola'',
''Gorizia''
★
'San Giorgio' class:
''San Giorgio''
Light cruisers
★
'Condottieri' classes
★
★
'Di Giussano' class:
''Alberto di Giussano'',
''Alberico da Barbiano'',
''Bartolomeo Colleoni'',
''Giovanni dalle Bande Nere''
★
★ 'Cadorna' class:
''Luigi Cadorna'',
''Armando Diaz''
★
★ 'Duca d'Aosta' class:
''Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta'',
''Eugenio di Savoia''
★
★ 'Duca degli Abruzzi' class: ''
Luigi Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi'', ''
Giuseppe Garibaldi''
★
★ 'Montecuccoli' class:
''Raimondo Montecuccoli'',
''Muzio Attendolo''
★
'Capitani Romani' class:
''Attilio Regolo'',
''Giulio Germanico'',
''Pompeo Magno'',
''Scipione Africano'',
''Ulpio Traiano''
★
'Taranto' class:
''Taranto'',
''Bari''
Aviation & Transport Cruisers
★ 'Bolzano' class: ''Bolzano'' aviation & transport cruiser (as regular heavy cruiser, extensively damaged by submarine torpedoes and proposed for reconstruction to a hybrid carrier/transport design)
Destroyers
'
Leone' class: 3 vessels - 2283 t
'
Navigatori' class: 12 vessels - 2010 t, among which
''Leone Pancaldo''
'
Oriani' or 'Poeti' class: 4 vessels - 1950 t, among which
''Vittorio Alfieri'' and
''Giosué Carducci''
'
Soldati' class: 12 vessels (divided into ''First Soldati'' or ''Camicia Nera'' and ''Second soldati'' class) - 1620 t, among which
''Alpino'',
''Artigliere'',
''Ascari'',
''Aviere'',
''Bersagliere'',
''Carabiniere'' and
''Lanciere''
'
Maestrale' class: 4 vessels - 1449 t, among which
''Grecale'' and
''Scirocco''
'
Dardo' class: 4 vessels - 1450 t, among which
''Strale''
'Mirabello' class: 2 vessels - 1383 t
'
Folgore' class: 4 vessels - 1220 t
'
Borea' class: 8 vessels - 1092 t
'
Sauro' class: 4 vessels - 1058 t
'
Sella' class: 2 vessels - 935 t
Torpedo boats
★
'Spica' class: 30 vessels
★ 'R. Pilo' class: 7 vessels
★ 'Audace' class: 1 vessel
★ 'G. Sirtori' class: 4 vessels
★ 'G. La Masa' class: 7 vessels
★ 'Palestro' class: 4 vessels
★ 'Generali' class: 6 vessels
★ 'Curtatone' Class: 4 vessels
★
'Orsa' class: 4 vessels
★
'Ciclone' class 16 vessels
★
'Ariete' class 16 vessels
Corvettes
★ ''Gabbiano'' class: ? vessels - 672 t, including ''Chimera'',''Cicogna''
Submarines
★ '600-Serie ''Acciaio''' class: 13 vessels - 715 t, among which
''Bronzo'' and
''Cobalto''
★
'600-Serie ''Adua''' class: 17 vessels - 698 t, coastal submarines, among which
''Alagi'',
''Ascianghi'',
''Axum'',
''Dagabur'',
''Dessiè'', and
''Sciré''
★ '600-Serie ''Argonauta''' class: 7 vessels - 665 t, among which
''Salpa''
★ '600-Serie ''Perla''' class: 10 vessels - 700 t, among which
''Iride'' and
''Ambra''
★ '600-Serie ''Sirena''' class: 12 vessels - 701 t
★ 'Archimede' class: 2 vessels - 985 t
★ 'Argo' class: 2 vessels - 794 t
★ 'Balilla' class: 4 vessels - 1450 t, among which
''Enrico Toti''
★ 'Bandiera' class: 4 vessels - 941 t
★ 'Bragadin' class: 2 vessels - 981 t
★ 'Brin' class: 5 vessels - 1016 t
★ 'Cagni' class: 4 vessels - 1708 t
★ 'Calvi' class: 5 vessels - 1550 t
★ 'Classe R' class: 2 vessels - 2210 t
★ 'Fieramosca' class: 1 vessel - 1556 t
★ 'Flutto' - 1st series class: 8 vessels - 958 t
★ 'Flutto' - 2nd series class: 8 vessels - 958 t
★ 'Foca' class: 3 vessels - 1333 t
★ 'Glauco' class: 2 vessels - 1055 t
★ 'Liuzzi' class: 4 vessels - 1187 t, among which
''Bagnolini'',
''Tarantini''
★ 'Mameli' class: 3 vessels - 830 t
★ '
Marcello' class: 11 vessels - 1063 t, among which
''Mocenigo'',
''Dandolo'',
''Veniero'',
''Provana'',
''Marcello'',
''Nani'',
''Barbarigo'',
''Emo'',
''Morosini'',
''Cappellini'',
''Faà di Bruno''
★ '
Marconi' class: 6 vessels - 1195 t, among which
''Guglielmo Marconi'',
''Leonardo da Vinci''
★ 'Micca' class: 1 vessel - 1570 t
★ 'Pisani' class: 4 vessels - 880 t, among which
''Vettor Pisani''
★ 'Settembrini' class: 2 vessels - 953 t
★ 'Squalo' class: 4 vessels - 933 t
Auxiliary cruisers
★ 'Ramb' class: 4 vessels (only 2 converted to
auxiliary cruisers) - 3,667 t, ''
Ramb I'', ''
Ramb II''
Major events
Before World War I
Battle of Lissa (1866)
World war I
Mediterranean campaign
World War II
★
Battle of Punta Stilo (
9 July 1940), also known as the ''Battle of Calabria''.
★
Battle of Cape Spada (
19 July 1940) - ''Bartolomeo Colleoni'' sunk by torpedoes.
★ The
''Night of Taranto'' (
11 November 1940), also known as ''Operation Judgement'': Three Italian battleships out of action for several months.
★
Battle of Cape Teulada (
27 November 1940), also known as ''Battle of Cape Spartivento''.
★ Attack on the British base at
Suda Bay,
Crete by destroyers
Crispi and
Sella, both transporting explosive motor boats:
HMS ''York'' beached and abandoned and one oil tanker sunk (
26 March 1941).
★
Battle of Cape Matapan, ''Pola'', ''Zara'', ''Fiume'', ''Vittorio Alfieri'' and ''Giosué Carducci'' sunk (
27 March 1941): 2300 Italian seamen killed in action.
★
First Battle of Sirte (1941): inconclusive; British warships ran on a minefield in the aftermath, losing a cruiser and a destroyer; more than 800 seamen died in the incident.
★ Sinking of
HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' and
HMS ''Valiant'' in
Alexandria Harbor, by Italian
frogmen (
19 December 1941)
★
Second Battle of Sirte (
22 March 1942): escort battered by Italian battleship ''Littorio''; cargo ships destroyed by aircraft attack before they could unload their cargo at Malta.
★
Battle of Mid-June (1942), also known as ''Operation Harpoon'': destroyer
HMS ''Bedouin'', tanker ''Kentucky'', steamer ''Burdwan'' and merchantman ''Chant'' sunk by combined air and surface action.
★
Battle of Mid-August (1942), also known as ''Operation Pedestal'': cruiser
HMS ''Manchester'' and four merchantmen sunk by Italian
MTBs. Two other cruisers and three steamers sunk by submarine and aircraft assaults.
See also
★
Italian Mare Nostrum
★
Aviazione Ausiliara per la Marina WWII Italian Navy Air Service
★
Concessions in Tianjin
References
1. Blitzer, Wolf; Garibaldi, Luciano. ''Century of War''. pag 151. Friedman/Fairfax Publishers. New Yoyk, 2001. ISBN 1-58663-342-2
2. Page 100, "The Armed Forces of World War II", Andrew Mollo, ISBN 0-517-54478-4
External links
★
Regia Marina Italiana from www.regiamarina.net - the Regia Marina in World War II.
★ ''
Almanacco Storico Navale'' official site of the Italian Navy on the ''Regia Marina'' ships
★
Regia Marina Italiana - Plancia di Comando La Regia Marina attraverso la storia
★ ''
Trento in Cina - Database of Italian warships in World War II
★
La Regia Marina Italian Navy in World War II
★
Italian Navy from www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk - 10 pages of photos;
★
Operation ''Hats''
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