70th Anniversary, Battle of Cape Matapan

Tomorrow (March 28th) marks the 70th anniversary of the decisive Battle of Cape Matapan. The battle was fought between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina (Italian Navy), and resulted in the Italians ceding control of the Eastern Mediterranean to the Allies: the Italian Navy never attempted to enter it until after the capture of Crete.

The fighting involved the following major warships:

An asterisk (*) indicates that the ship was sunk before the end of the war.

Royal Navy (Adm Andrew Cunningham)
28 Ships
​

Aircraft Carriers:
HMS Formidable


Battleships:
HMS Barham*

HMS Valiant

HMS Warspite


Light Cruisers:
HMS Ajax

HMS Gloucester*

HMS Orion

HMAS Perth

HMS Carlisle

HMS Calcutta* (see above, same class as HMS Carlisle)
HMS Bonaventure*


and 17 destroyers

​

Regia Marina (Adm Angelo Iachino)
26 Ships

Battleships:
Vittorio Veneto


Heavy Cruisers:
(from the right) Fiume*, Zara*, Pola*

Trieste*

Trento*

Bolzano*


Light Cruisers:
Duca degli Abruzzi

Giuseppe Garibaldi


and 17 destroyers

In the battle, the Italian force was heavily battered. Vittorio Veneto suffered heavy damage. The Heavy Cruisers Zara, Pola and Fiume were sunk. Additionally, the destroyers Vittorio Alferi and Giosue Carducci were sent to the bottom. Italian casualties numbered over 2300 killed.

The British casualties were much lighter: the Ajax, Orion, Gloucester and Perth suffered superficial damage, and only three men were killed (when their aircraft was shot down).

Due to the Italian defeat, the Allies were able to allocate more naval resources to the North Africa theater, which was played a part in Rommel's eventual defeat.

Further Reading
Battle of Cape Matapan: World War II Italian Naval Massacre » HistoryNet
Battle of Cape Matapan - World War II Battle of Cape Matapan

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Note: I have also had to make some modifications so I could fit all the ships in one message: HMS Calcutta doesn't have a photo (see HMS Carlisle photo for reference, they are the same class), and the Fiume, Pola and Zara are combined in one photo.

 

The Zaras were fantastic cruisers.

 

Dang. The Italians got it handed to them!

 

Thanks Lou - it was just a good way to use my free time on Sunday.

 

They sure did. Even when compared to the combat record of the rest of the Italian Navy during WWII, this was particularly bad