Battle of Cape Spartivento facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle of Cape Spartivento
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
Top: Italian heavy cruiser Bolzano during the battle. Bottom: British aircraft carrier Ark Royal straddled by enemy bombs
Date 27 November 1940 Location Mediterranean Sea, near Sardinia, Italy 38°25′39″N 8°51′57″E / 38.42750°N 8.86583°E / 38.42750; 8.86583 Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
James Somerville Lancelot Holland	Inigo Campioni Angelo Iachino
Strength
1 carrier 1 battleship 1 battlecruiser 1 heavy cruiser 5 light cruisers 1 anti-aircraft cruiser 15 destroyers 4 corvettes 3 freighters	2 battleships 6 heavy cruisers 14 destroyers
Casualties and losses
7 killed 1 heavy cruiser damaged 1 light cruiser slightly damaged	1 destroyer damaged

The Battle of Cape Spartivento (also called the Battle of Cape Teulada in Italy) was a big naval battle during World War II. It happened on November 27, 1940, in the Mediterranean Sea. The battle was between the British Royal Navy and the Italian Regia Marina (Royal Navy).

Why the Battle Happened

On November 11, 1940, the British launched a surprise air attack on the Italian fleet. This attack, known as the Battle of Taranto, badly damaged or destroyed half of Italy's battleships. The Italian ships were resting in their harbor at Taranto.

Before this, Italy kept its main warships in port. They hoped that just having the ships there would stop British ships from moving through the area. This idea is called a "fleet in being."

A few days later, on November 17, Italian battleships and other ships tried to stop two British aircraft carriers. These carriers, HMS Ark Royal and Argus, were heading to Malta. They were carrying planes to help defend the island (Operation White).

The British found out the Italians were coming. They quickly turned around and went back to Gibraltar. They launched their planes early. Sadly, one Skua plane and eight Hurricane planes were lost at sea. They ran out of fuel before reaching Malta, and seven airmen died.

Italy's success in stopping the Malta reinforcement worried the British. They had planned another convoy to supply Malta (Operation Collar). But they decided to try again, with more support. This included ships from British forces based in Gibraltar and Alexandria.

Italian spies saw the convoy. So, the Italian fleet sailed out again to stop it. On November 26, an Italian torpedo boat named Sirio saw the British convoy first. It fired two torpedoes, but they missed. Sirio then reported seeing seven enemy warships.

The Battle Begins

The British knew the Italian fleet was moving. They sent their ships north to stop the Italians before they could reach the cargo ships. At 9:45 AM on November 27, a reconnaissance plane from the Italian cruiser Bolzano spotted a British group of ships. They were about 17 nmi (31 km; 20 mi) north of Chetaïbi.

Soon after, at 9:56 AM, British Admiral James Somerville got a report from his own plane. The plane, from HMS Ark Royal, saw five cruisers and five destroyers. Somerville thought these were Italian ships getting ready to fight.

At first, the British were outnumbered because some of their ships had not arrived yet. But 15 minutes later, the missing British ships appeared. Now, the two sides were fairly even. The Italian ships had bigger guns that could shoot farther. But the British had an aircraft carrier, which had proven very powerful at Taranto.

However, the Italian Admiral Inigo Campioni had orders to avoid a big fight. He was only supposed to engage if he had a huge advantage. This meant a decisive battle was unlikely.

Admiral Somerville split his forces into two main groups. Five cruisers led by Rear Admiral Lancelot Holland were in front. Two battleships and seven destroyers followed behind. Even farther back, the Ark Royal was getting its torpedo planes ready.

The Italians had three groups of ships. Two groups had six heavy cruisers and seven destroyers. The third group had two battleships and seven more destroyers, bringing up the rear.

At 12:07 PM, Admiral Campioni learned how close the two forces were in strength. Following his orders, he told his cruiser groups to join the battleships and prepare to leave. But the lead Italian cruisers had already turned towards the British and were starting to fight.

Fighting at Sea

At 12:22 PM, the lead cruisers from both sides came into range. The Italian cruiser Fiume fired first from 23,500 metres (25,700 yd) away. Both sides fired quickly as they got closer. As the distance shortened, the Italian ships' powerful guns started to pressure the British.

The British battleship HMS Ramillies joined the fight, helping to even things out. But she was too slow to keep up and left the battle after a few shots at 12:26 PM. Four minutes later, Vice Admiral Angelo Iachino, who led the Italian cruisers, was ordered to break off the fight. Even though the battle was going slightly in their favor, they had to withdraw. Iachino increased speed to 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph), made smoke, and began to pull away.

During this time, the Italian destroyer Lanciere was hit by a shot from HMS Manchester. It was badly damaged but was later towed to port. The British heavy cruiser HMS Berwick was hit at 12:22 PM by a large shell. This hit knocked out one of its gun turrets, killed seven men, and started a fire. Another hit at 12:35 PM cut off power to the ship's back section.

Around 12:40 PM, eleven Swordfish planes from Ark Royal attacked the Italian battleship Vittorio Veneto with torpedoes. But none of them hit.

For a few minutes, the British gained an advantage. The battlecruiser HMS Renown got closer to the Italian cruisers. It fired two salvos that landed very close to the Italian cruiser Trieste. This advantage didn't last long. At 1:00 PM, Vittorio Veneto opened fire from 27,000 metres (30,000 yd) away.

Vittorio Veneto fired 19 rounds in seven salvos from a long distance. This was enough to make the British cruisers, now outgunned, turn back. Giant water-spouts appeared around Berwick and Manchester. Admiral Holland ordered smoke and his ships fled southeast to join Renown. Manchester was hit by small pieces of metal from Vittorio Veneto's shots. Both sides then pulled away. The battle lasted only 54 minutes and caused little damage to either side.

After the Battle

After the battle, Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, wanted Admiral Somerville replaced. Churchill had questioned Somerville's fighting spirit before. However, an official investigation cleared Somerville, who had strong support from other admirals.

As for Admiral Campioni, even though he was ordered to be careful, he had missed Italy's best chance to seriously hurt the British fleet. His time leading ships at sea was limited after this battle. As Admiral Iachino said, the Italian fleet was sent out mainly to show that their fighting spirit was still strong after the attack at Taranto.

Ships Involved

Here are some of the main ships that took part in the battle:

Italian Navy (Regia Marina)

• Admiral Angelo Iachino's group:

* 6 heavy cruisers: Bolzano, Fiume, Gorizia, Pola, Trieste, Trento * 7 destroyers: Ascari, Carabiniere, Lanciere (damaged), Alfredo Oriani, Vittorio Alfieri, Giosuè Carducci, Vincenzo Gioberti

• Admiral Inigo Campioni's group:

* 2 battleships: Vittorio Veneto, Giulio Cesare * 7 destroyers: Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Granatiere, Dardo, Freccia, Saetta

British Royal Navy

• Admiral Sir James Somerville's Force H (from Gibraltar):

* 1 battlecruiser: Renown * 2 light cruisers: Sheffield, Despatch (helped protect the convoy) * 1 aircraft carrier: Ark Royal (carried fighter, dive bomber, and torpedo planes) * 9 destroyers

• Admiral Andrew Cunningham's Force D (from Alexandria):

* 1 battleship: Ramillies * 3 cruisers: Berwick, Coventry (helped protect the convoy), Newcastle * 5 destroyers

• Admiral Lancelot Holland's Force F (convoy escort):

* 2 light cruisers: Manchester, Southampton * 1 destroyer: Hotspur * 4 corvettes: Gloxinia, Hyacinth, Peony, Salvia

• Convoy:

* 3 cargo ships: Clan Forbes, Clan Fraser, New Zealand Star

Images for kids

• 

  Italian heavy cruiser Bolzano during the battle.

• 

  British aircraft carrier Ark Royal straddled by enemy bombs.