Battle of Spartivento

The aircraft carrier Furious was to deliver several Hurricanes to the port of Tokoradi in the Gulf of Guinea in December, 1940. From there, after a long crossing of the African continent, the aircraft would reach their Egyptian bases. However, materiel and support personnel were missing, and without them these aircraft could scarcely operate. To provide for the fast deployment of this air force personnel, the British created Operation "Collar" which called for the transfer of R.A.F. specialists and materiel through the Mediterranean aboard cruisers and fast ships.

Operation "Collar" began on November 12th when the cruisers Manchester and Southampton left Great Britain along with the large motor ship New Zealand Star. At the same time, another convoy left Great Britain with the personnel carrier Franconia and the merchantmen Clan Forbes and Clan Fraser.

At Gibraltar, Manchester and Southampton embarked the 1,370 R.A.F. specialists originally aboard Franconia and then left port to rejoin Clan Forbes, Clan Fraser and New Zealand Star who had bypassed Gibraltar and passed through the Straits into the Mediterranean. The first two ships were bound for Malta, while New Zealand Star would be carrying on to Malta. The escort was reinforced by the destroyer Hotspur and the corvettes Gloxinia, Hyacinth, Peony and Salvia - the whole designated Force "F".

As the convoy entered the Mediterranean, Vice-Admiral Somerville's Force "H" - designated Force "B" for the "Collar" operation - sailed from Gibraltar. This comprised the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, with 12 Skuas, 12 Fulmars and 30 Swordfish embarked, the battlecruiser Renown, the cruisers Sheffield and Despatch and 9 destroyers. While the convoy steered a course close to the North African coast, Force "B" covered it from the northward.

Concurrently with these moves from the Western Mediterranean, operations were commenced by Admiral Cunningham's fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean.

On 23 November convoy M.W.4, comprising the transport Breconshire and the cargo ships Clan Ferguson, Clan Macaulay and Memnon, sailed for Alexandria for Malta escorted by the anti-aircraft cruisers Calcutta and Coventry and 4 destroyers of Force "D". The convoy was provided cover by Force "C" - battleships Ramillies, carrier Eagle, heavy cruiser Berwick, light cruisers Orion (flag), Ajax and Sydney of the 7th Cruiser Squadron, and 7 destroyers. West of Malta, Ramillies and Berwick were to detach and join Force "H" - Ramillies to join the Home Fleet for duties covering convoys in the Atlantic, and Berwick to join Force "K" at Freetown.

While M.W.4, Forces "C" and "D" proceeded to Malta north of Crete, Admiral Cunningham's main body of the Mediterranean Fleet - Force "A" - sailed from Alexandria on 25 November to meet Force "B" and the "Collar" convoy south of Sardinia. Cunningham had the aircraft carrier Iluustrious, battleships Warspite and Malaya, and 8 destroyers. Force "A" was joined at sea by the 3rd Cruiser Squadron - heavy cruiser York and light cruisers Glasgow and Gloucester.
Early in the morning of 26 November, Illustrious detached from Force "A" with Glasgow and Gloucester and 4 destroyers to launch an air strike against the Italian base of Portolago on the Island of Lero.

Contrary to the claims by Winston Churchill, the Italian battle fleet had not been "destroyed" by the Fleet Air Arm strike on Taranto on the night of 11-12 November, and on the 26th Vice-Admiral Camponi sailed from Naples with a powerful force of 2 battleships, 6 heavy cruisers and 14 destroyers to intercept the "Collar" convoy.

That day M.W.4 reached Malta safely, whereupon Ramillies and Berwick, joined by the light cruiser Newcastle from Malta, continued on to rendezvous with Force "H" and the Mediterranean Fleet headed back to Alexandria. It was not until the morning of the 27th that Somerville learned that an Italian battle force was at sea.

The British possessed a slight advantage in heavy firepower, with fourteen 15-inch guns in Ramillies and Renown against the nine 15-inch in Vittorio Veneto, but the latter were backed up by the ten 12.6-inch in Giulio Cesare. Moreover, the Italians had six 8-inch cruisers against one, Manchester, Sheffield and Southampton all being 6-inch cruisers.

Admiral Campioni, apparently, had already decided that eventual contact with the enemy would take place in conditions unfavourable to the Italians. They were still suffering from the shattering blow to morale inflicted by the old "Stringbags" of the Fleet Air Arm only two weeks previously, and the knowledge that the British Force had the carrier Ark Royal in its ranks caused Campioni to have serious misgivings.

Sommerville, on the other hand, had only one clear course of action. His mission was to defend the convoy, and to do that he would have to attack the incoming Italians.
At 1145 Sommerville was informed that the Italian fleet was only about 50 miles away, and 15 minutes later he ordered his ships into battle disposition.

Sheffield led Southampton, Newcastle, Manchester and Berwick; Renown followed 5 miles from the cruisers. Ark Royal, with the destroyers Jaguar and Kelvin, operated separately, and began launching the Swordfish of 810 NAS for a torpedo attack on the Italian ships.

Ramillies, able to make only 20 knots, soon fell behind, and took up a position between Rear-Admiral Holland's cruisers and the convoy. She and the destroyers Faulknor, Firedrake, Forester, Fury and Encounter were to defend the convoy against a possible torpedo attack by the Italian destroyers.

The old cruiser Despatch and the destroyers Duncan, Hotspur and Wishart and the 4 corvettes remained with the convoy.

At 1207 the Italian fleet was sighted: first the smoke, then the masts, and finally the silhouettes of the heavy cruiser Pola, Fiume and Gorizia; they were accompanied by 4 destoyers. At that stage the second group of heavy cruisers, Trento, Trieste and Bolzano, were 3 miles due west of the Pola group, with the battleships 12 miles to the east-northeast.
At this stage Campioni made a critical decision: he would not engage. Before leaving Naples he had been told that he was to seek battle only if the conditions were particularly favourable. His two battleships were the only two operational in the Italian Fleet, and they were not to be risked.
At 1207 he ordered the heavy cruisers to turn away and join the battleship group.

This order came too late for Vice-Admiral Iachino in Pola, who was already manoeuvring to engage the British cruisers.

During this phase, while Sommerville was free to organize his own forces, Campioni was exchanging radio messages with Rome asking for directions. The organizational difference between the two navies was striking.

This exchange of communications would become a fertile ground for later interpretations. Some historians, among them the much respected Admiral Fioravanzo, cited the communications as a proof of Supermarina's intent to engage the enemy. As Francesco Mattesini writes, "While Rome thought that Campioni was trying to avoid combat, Iachino was already exchanging salvos."

At 1222, heavy cruiser Fiume opened fire against the British cruisers. Soon after, all three cruisers of the 2nd Squadron opened fire; according to Italian sources, fire was opened at about 23,500 metres (12.7nm).

Pola and Fiume aimed principally at Berwick. That ship, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle aimed at the cruisers of the 3rd Division (Bolzano, Trento and Trieste), while Southampton focused on the Pola group. At 1222 Berwick was hit by an 8-inch shell on 'Y' turret, which knocked out the turret and killed 7 men. At 1235 she received another hit, this time in the officer quarters, but there were no casualties. The two hits did not diminish Berwick's fighting power; and she was engaged in a ferocious exchange with one of the Pola group for the duration of the engagement.

At 1224 the Renown entered the fray by opening fire against Trento at a distance of about 26,000 yards; six salvos completely engulfed the Italian cruiser, which, unscathed, made smoke and evaded.

During this exchange the destroyer Lanciere was hit several times, but after being temporaily imobilised managed to get under way again. Her painful withdrawal was covered by a smokescreen from her consorts, and she was later towed back to base. Her attacker, Manchester, shifted target to Zara.

Ramillies opened fire at 1226, but soon after she was out of range. Renown was the only heavy gun platform left, and targeted mostly Bolzano.

At 1230 Iachino finally received the order not to engage. He ordered speed increased to 30 knots to close the battleships more quickly.

At this point a French convoy named "F" created great confusion amongst the British ships. When the cruisers of the 3rd Division laid a smoke screen, two French passenger ships were entering the area. Once the smoke dissipated, Renown thought that the Italian battleships were entering the scene. Her big guns were quickly aimed at the two ships, but before opening fire Sommerville recognized the two ships, which were desperately trying to move away from the combat zone. A single hit from one of the British guns would have been devastating; the ships were fully loaded with French civilians and troops

The situation was now critical for the Italians. Iachino was engaging the enemy, but soon the heavy guns of Renown could have quickly tilted the balance. Fortunately, at around 1300 the battleship Vittorio Veneto was finally within range, and fired 19 shells in seven salvos. As soon as the British cruisers realized that they were under fire from 15-inch guns, they quickly withdrew under the protection of Renown.
Campioni then turned his force for home; in all, the battle had lasted but 54 minutes.

The "Collar" convoy reached Malta safely, without further incident.
Vice-Admiral Somerville was later subjected to a Naval Board of Inquiry for not pursuing the Italian force into the Bay of Naples, but was exonerated.