Battle of Cape Bon

The naval Battle of Cape Bon took place on December 13 1941 during the Second World War, between two Italian light cruisers and an Allied destroyer flotilla off Cape Bon, Tunisia. The loss of the two cruisers was a serious setback for the Regia Marina.

Background

The control of the Mediterranean was disputed between the Italian Regia Marina and the British Royal Navy, supported by ships of Empire navies and other allied navies. This was critical for the supply of the Italian and German forces in north Africa and for the maintenance of Malta as a British offensive base. Without Malta, Britain could not intercept Italian convoys and thus prevent the supply of Axis armies. At times, supply was so serious that warships were used as fast transports by both sides.

When Italy declared war in June 1940, it had one of the largest navies in the world but its strength was limited to the Mediterranean, whereas the British could replace most losses by redeploying ships. This led to caution on behalf of the Italian command and a tendency to avoid battle.

The British had advantages in that they possessed radar and Italian naval codes had been broken.

The action

The Italian 4th Cruiser Division, commanded by Contrammiraglio Antonino Toscano and consisting of the two Da Giussano class light cruisers Alberto da Giussano and Alberico da Barbiano and the torpedo boat Cigno, sailed from Palermo bound for Tripoli, carrying an urgent supply of aircraft fuel (nearly 2000 tons) for Libya. The fuel was so important that fuel tanks were even put on the decks of the ships.

In the meantime, the British 4th Destroyer flotilla – four destroyers (HMS Sikh, HMS Maori, HMS Legion and the Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers) commanded by Commander G. H. Stokes – was bound for Malta.

The British flotilla was spotted by an Italian aircraft but Regia Marina HQ judged that the British would not be able to reach Cape Bon before the 4th Cruiser Division was passed. However, the British, with intercepted signals from Ultra, ordered their destroyers to intercept the Axis cruisers.

On December 13 at 03:25 the forces met. Arriving from astern in the dark and using radar, the Allies achieved surprise, launching torpedoes and opening fire. Both Italian cruisers were sunk – Alberico da Barbiano a towering inferno. The action was over quickly and the British flotilla left. Cigno rescued 500 survivors, while others reached the coast or were later saved by Italian anti-submarine motorboats (MAS). Over 900 men lost their lives, including Admiral Toscano.

External links

• Dutch destroyer Isaac Sweers
• Italian description