Battle off Zuwarah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battle off Zuwarah
Part of the Mediterranean theatre of World War II
HMS Javelin (1941)
Date 19/20 January 1943 Location Off Zuwarah, Mediterranean Sea 32°56′N 12°05′E / 32.933°N 12.083°E / 32.933; 12.083 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Michael Townsend	Giuseppe Di Bartolo  †
Strength
2 destroyers	6 minesweepers 1 trawler 1 patrol boat 1 pump boat
Casualties and losses
7 wounded	180 killed 6 minesweepers sunk 1 trawler sunk 1 patrol boat sunk 1 pump boat sunk

The Battle off Zuwarah was a sea battle that happened at night during World War II. It took place on January 19-20, 1943, in the waters near Libya. In this battle, the British Navy fought against the Italian Navy. A group of small Italian ships, mostly minesweepers, were trying to escape from Tripoli. They were completely destroyed by two British destroyers.

What Happened Off Zuwarah?

Why This Battle Happened

Before this battle, on January 15, 1943, two British destroyers, Kelvin and HMS Nubian, were guarding the port of Tripoli in Libya. They damaged an Italian torpedo boat called Perseo, making it leave the area. They also sank a large merchant ship named D'Annunzio, which was trying to get away from Tripoli.

On the night of January 19-20, the British destroyers HMS Kelvin and Javelin were patrolling near Zuwarah, Libya. Their goal was to stop any of the last Italian ships from escaping Tripoli.

Getting Ready for Battle

That same night, the Javelin used its special radar system (called Type 271 radar) to find ships. The radar showed ships moving towards the coast of Tunisia from Tripoli. These ships were the Tripoli minesweeping group, led by Lieutenant Giuseppe Di Bartolo. They had been ordered to leave Tripoli and go to Tunisia, then to Italy, to avoid being captured.

The group of Italian ships included four small minesweeping tugs: RD 31, RD 36, RD 37, and RD 39. Two of these, RD 36 and 37, had crews from the Italian financial police. The group also had a trawler called Scorfano, which was the biggest ship. There was also a small tanker named Irma, and some auxiliary minesweepers: DM 12 Guglielmo Marconi (a sailing ship taken for military use), R 26 Angelo Musco, and R 224 Cinzia (two old fishing boats). Finally, there was a small patrol boat called V 66 Astrea and a pump boat named S. Barbara, which was being towed by Scorfano.

The Night Battle

{{United Nations map of Libya showing Tripoli and Zuawrah to the west}}

The British destroyers Javelin and Kelvin moved to stop the Italian ships. They fired special flares, called star shells, to light up the ships in the dark. The British thought these were bigger Italian supply ships, not small minesweepers.

The Italian ships were being shot at a lot. They couldn't really fight back effectively because their weapons were small (mostly 76 mm guns and machine guns). They also couldn't get away because they were much slower than the destroyers. RD 36, the leader of the Italian group, tried to protect the other ships. However, it was quickly sunk, and everyone on board was lost.

The other Italian ships tried to escape towards the coast so their crews could swim to safety. But the British destroyers sank them one by one. RD 37 and Scorfano were sunk with no survivors. Marconi caught fire, but luckily all the crew got off before it sank. The Irma was sunk with a torpedo.

What Happened After

People Lost

The Italian side suffered greatly, with 180 people dying in the battle. The few who survived either swam to shore or were rescued by other Italian boats the next day. The British had 7 wounded sailors.