Osprey DUE 101 British Battleship vs Italian Battleshi By Mark Stille True PDF.pdf

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BRITISH BATTLESHIP

ITALIAN BATTLESHIP

The Mediterranean 1940–41

MARK STILLE

BRITISH BATTLESHIP

ITALIAN BATTLESHIP

The Mediterranean 1940–41

MARK STILLE

CONTENTS

Introduction

Chronology

Design and Development

The Strategic Situation

Technical Specifications

The Combatants

Combat

Analysis

Aftermath

Bibliography

Index

INTRODUCTION

The battle for control of the Mediterranean Sea was the longest campaign involving

naval, air and ground forces of World War II. At various stages, it involved the navies

of the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy and Germany. Although

World War II had been under way since 1 September 1939, hostilities in the

Mediterranean did not begin until Italy entered the war on 10 June 1940. Just 12 days

later, France signed an armistice with Germany and dropped out of the Allied powers

facing Germany and Italy. This left the United Kingdom to carry the fight alone

against the Axis in the Mediterranean. Initially, Italy fought largely alone in the

Mediterranean but as its fortunes waned, Germany was forced to play a greater role.

Italy’s Regia Marina (Royal Navy) was the predominant Axis naval force in the

Mediterranean until Italy signed an armistice with the Allied powers on 3 September

1943 (made public five days later) and duly defected from the Axis. Despite myth, the

Regia Marina fought hard during the naval war in the Mediterranean and on several

occasions more than held its own against the British Royal Navy.

The United Kingdom decided to contest control of the Mediterranean for several

reasons. The primary driver was the important sea lines of communications (SLOCs)

which ran through the Mediterranean Sea from the United Kingdom to its colonial

possessions in India and the Far East. If the sea lanes through the Mediterranean were

closed, the British would be forced to use the Cape of Good Hope route around

Africa, a total distance of 12,000 miles. This route quadrupled shipping requirements

compared to the Mediterranean route and had strategic implications for Allied

capabilities and plans worldwide. In reality, though, the Mediterranean was the only

place where British forces could fight against the Axis with any hope of success. The

Royal Navy entered the war as the strongest navy in Europe and considered the Regia

Marina to be a weak opponent which would be quickly crushed. Once the Regia

Marina was defeated, the British would have the option of seizing Italy’s Libya colony

or attacking anywhere along Europe’s southern periphery.

British hopes of quickly defeating the Regia Marina and seizing Libya were

frustrated by the stubborn resistance of the Italians and the intervention of the

Germans who contributed ground forces which restored the Axis position in Libya

and air forces which helped the Axis to strengthen its hold upon the Central

Mediterranean. Control of this area allowed the Axis to supply its forces in Libya and

closed off the Mediterranean to British shipping. It also made it increasingly difficult

for the British to supply the island of Malta. Even during the early stages of the naval

war in the Mediterranean, both sides focused on convoy operations in the Central

Mediterranean which served as a trigger for several large naval encounters.

Dating from the mid-1930s, this

photograph shows the Queen

Elizabeth-class battleship

Barham

after its 1931–34

modernization. (NH 63077

courtesy of the Naval History and

Heritage Command)

This view of

Conte di Cavour

Taranto in 1938 after the

completion of its rebuilding

shows the port-side 4.7in

secondary battery twin turrets

and the forward 3.9in twin turret

for anti-aircraft protection. The

device on top of the

superstructure is the main-

battery rangefinder.

(M. Brescia Collection)

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