First Battle of Sirte facts for kids

Quick facts for kids First Battle of Sirte
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
Italian battleship Andrea Doria, 31 December 1939
Date 17 December 1941 Location Gulf of Sidra, Mediterranean Sea Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
United Kingdom  Australia Netherlands	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Andrew Cunningham Philip Vian	Angelo Iachino Guido Porzio Giovanola
Strength
5 light cruisers 14 destroyers	4 battleships 2 heavy cruisers 3 light cruisers 13 destroyers
Casualties and losses
1 killed 2 destroyers damaged	None

The First Battle of Sirte was a naval battle during World War II. It happened on December 17, 1941. The battle was fought in the Gulf of Sidra (also called the Gulf of Sirte). This area is in the Mediterranean Sea, south-east of Malta.

The battle was between the British Royal Navy and the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy). Neither side won a clear victory. Both navies were focused on protecting their own supply ships. They did not want to get into a huge fight.

After this battle, the British navy faced more problems. Two of their battleships were damaged by Italian manned torpedoes at Alexandria. Also, some British ships hit an Italian minefield near Tripoli. By the end of December, the Italian navy had become stronger in the Mediterranean Sea.

Why the Battle Happened

During World War II, there was a big fight in North Africa. The British Eighth Army was battling Axis forces. The British had just won Operation Crusader. This operation aimed to defeat the Afrika Korps and help the city of Tobruk.

Both sides desperately needed supplies for their armies. The Axis forces wanted to send supplies to Tripoli and Benghazi. These were important ports in Libya. The British also needed to send supplies to their forces on the island of Malta. Malta was under attack and needed help.

Getting Ready for Battle

Italian Convoys M41 and M42

The Italian navy planned to send a group of eight supply ships, called M41, to Africa. This was on December 13, 1941. Just before this, two Italian ships carrying fuel had been sunk. This happened at the Battle of Cape Bon.

The M41 convoy had eight merchant ships. They were protected by five destroyers. Larger warships, including the battleships Littorio and Vittorio Veneto, also provided distant protection.

Soon after sailing, a British submarine HMS Upright attacked the convoy. Two Italian ships were sunk. Later, two other ships crashed into each other and had to go back. The battleship Vittorio Veneto was hit by a torpedo from the submarine HMS Urge. It also had to return to port.

Because of these losses, the Italian navy command, called Supermarina, ordered the remaining ships to turn back. They heard a false report that two British battleships were nearby. This "battleship force" was actually a British ship called HMS Abdiel, pretending to be battleships.

On December 16, the four remaining Italian ships, now called M42, sailed again. They picked up more escort ships along the way. This included battleships like Duilio, Littorio, Andrea Doria, and Giulio Cesare. Many cruisers and destroyers also joined them.

British Convoy

The British also planned to send supplies to Malta. They used a fast merchant ship called Breconshire. This ship was protected by cruisers and destroyers. Other British destroyers, which had been at the Cape Bon battle, were also sailing to Alexandria.

The British navy had a setback on December 14. The light cruiser HMS Galatea was sunk by a German submarine, U-557. (Interestingly, U-557 was accidentally sunk by an Italian ship less than two days later).

On December 15, Breconshire left Alexandria. It was escorted by three cruisers and eight destroyers. Rear-Admiral Philip Vian led this group on HMS Naiad. On December 16, four more destroyers left Malta. They were covered by other British cruisers and destroyers.

Both the Italian and British groups were now at sea. They were sailing towards each other. It looked like they would meet east of Malta on December 18.

The Battle Begins

On December 17, an Italian plane spotted the British ships. The plane thought the supply ship Breconshire was a battleship. At 5:42 PM, the two fleets saw each other. Admiral Angelo Iachino, who led the Italian forces, decided to move in. He wanted to protect his convoy.

Admiral Vian, leading the British, also wanted to avoid a big fight. He wanted to protect Breconshire. The British ships started to move away, and the Italians followed carefully. This made it easy for the British to avoid a full battle.

Just after sunset, Italian planes attacked the British ships. The British ships fired their anti-aircraft guns. This helped the Italian navy spot them in the fading light. Admiral Iachino brought his main battleships closer. They opened fire from about 32,000 meters (35,000 yards). This was too far for the British guns to reach.

Admiral Vian immediately created a smoke screen. This hid his ships. Breconshire moved away, protected by two destroyers. The Italian navy did not have radar and remembered a bad night battle they had fought before. So, they wanted to avoid fighting in the dark. The Italians fired for only about 15 minutes. Then, they stopped and turned back to protect their convoy M42.

During the short battle, HMS Kipling was damaged by a near-miss. One sailor was killed. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) destroyer HMAS Nizam was also damaged by near-misses.

What Happened Next

Minefield Near Tripoli

After dark, Admiral Vian and his ships turned back towards Alexandria. Other British ships took Breconshire to Malta. Breconshire and its escorts arrived safely in Malta on December 18.

The Italian force also split up. Some ships went to Tripoli, and a German supply ship went to Benghazi. The British realized the Italians had a convoy in the area. Admiral Vian searched for it but could not find it.

Later that afternoon, the British found the location of the Italian ships heading to Tripoli. British cruisers and destroyers sailed out to stop them. In the early hours of December 19, these British ships ran into a minefield. This was about 20 miles (32 km) off Tripoli. The British were surprised because the water was very deep (600 feet or 180 meters). They thought it was too deep for mines.

The cruiser HMS Neptune hit four mines and sank. The destroyer HMS Kandahar hit a mine and had to be sunk the next day. The cruisers HMS Aurora and Penelope were badly damaged. They managed to return to Malta. About 830 Allied sailors died in this disaster. Many were New Zealanders from Neptune. This greatly weakened the British naval force in Malta.

Attack on Alexandria

While Admiral Vian's ships were returning to Alexandria, the destroyer HMS Jervis attacked what it thought was a submarine. This was actually the Italian submarine Sciré. It was carrying six Italian frogmen commandos with manned torpedoes.

On the night of December 18, these Italian frogmen entered the harbor at Alexandria. They attacked the British fleet. Jervis was damaged. A large Norwegian oil tanker was also disabled. The battleships HMS Valiant and Queen Elizabeth were severely damaged. This was a big change in the war in the Mediterranean. It affected the Allies for several months.

Results of the Battle

Both sides achieved their main goals in this battle. The British successfully delivered supplies to Malta. The Axis forces got their ships through to Tripoli and Benghazi. However, Benghazi fell to the British Eighth Army just five days later, on December 24.

Ships in the Battle

Here are the ships that were present on December 17, 1941:

Italy

Admiral Angelo Iachino (on Littorio)

• Close covering force – Vice Admiral Raffaele de Courten (on Duca d'Aosta):
  • One battleship: Duilio;
  • Three light cruisers (7a Divisione Incrociatori): Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta, Muzio Attendolo, Raimondo Montecuccoli;
  • Three destroyers: Ascari, Aviere, and Camicia Nera.
• Distant covering force – Vice Admiral Angelo Parona (on Gorizia):
  • Three battleships: Andrea Doria, Giulio Cesare, and Littorio;
  • Two heavy cruisers: Gorizia, and Trento;
  • 10 destroyers: Vincenzo Gioberti, Alfredo Oriani (9a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Maestrale (10a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Carabiniere, Corazziere (12a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Granatiere (13a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Antoniotto Usodimare (16a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere).

• Close escort:
  • Six destroyers: Saetta (7a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Antonio da Noli, Ugolino Vivaldi (14a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Lanzerotto Malocello, Nicolò Zeno (15a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

Emanuele Pessagno (16a Squadriglia Cacciatorpediniere);

• One torpedo boat: Pegaso.
• M42 convoy:
  • Three motorships: Monginevro, Napoli, Vettor Pisani;
  • One freighter: Ankara (German).

Allies

• Convoy Escort – Rear-Admiral Philip Vian (on Naiad)
  • Three light cruisers: HMS Naiad, Euryalus, Carlisle;
  • Eight destroyers : HMS Jervis, Kimberley, Kingston, Kipling (damaged), HMAS Nizam (damaged), HMS Havock, Hasty and Decoy (14th Destroyer Flotilla).
• Convoy
  • One fast merchantman: Breconshire
• Force K
  • Two light cruisers: HMS Aurora, Penelope
  • Two destroyers HMS Lance, Lively
• Force B
  • One cruiser: HMS Neptune
  • Two destroyers: HMS Jaguar, Kandahar
• 4th Destroyer Flotilla
  • Four destroyers : HMS Sikh, Maori, Legion, HNLMS Isaac Sweers (4th Destroyer Flotilla).

Images for kids

• 

  Italian battleship Andrea Doria, 31 December 1939

See also

• Second Battle of Sirte