Italian Regia Marina Captain Pietro de Cristofaro, aboard the destroyer Tarigo, stood high as his
ship spearheaded the Axis convoy bound for North Africa. His mission was critical: protect the
convoy carrying over 3,000 German troops and vital supplies needed for the war effort in Tunisia.
It was April 1941, and Italians and British were fighting for the hegemony of the Mediterranean,
the sea concealing the maneuvers of each navy. Unbeknownst to Captain de Cristofaro,
danger lurked in the darkness: the British Royal Navy slowly surrounded his convoy from all sides.
Guided by the latest intelligence and driven by a fierce resolve to disrupt Axis supply lines, the
British destroyers took positions to strike, their presence yet concealed by the night’s heavy rain.
As the Tarigo forged ahead, the tension aboard escalated, every sailor acutely
aware of the mission's weight. De Cristofaro, a seasoned captain, peered into the abyss,
his instincts honed to the unseen threats. In a heartbeat, the silence was shattered,
engulfed by the thunderous roar of British naval guns, intensifying the suspense of the battle.
As cannon fire lighted up the night and torpedoes sliced through the cold
waters, Captain de Cristofaro led the crew into battle without regrets. With a warrior’s heart,
his Roman spirit did not falter. While the young captain barked orders,
an impact decimated the bridge. When Cristofaro woke up, he was on the ground:
one of his legs was gone. The pain was immense, but the captain refused to be evacuated.
The Britons were attacking his convoy, and Captain Cristofaro had to fend them off at any cost.
During the early stages of World War 2, control of the Mediterranean Sea was crucial for both
the Axis and Allied forces. This body of water was a vital artery for moving troops,
supplies, and equipment. The Allies, especially the British, depended on
these routes to support their operations in North Africa and the Middle East. Similarly,
the Axis powers, including Italy and Germany, relied on Mediterranean control to extend their
reach and supply their campaigns across North Africa, Malta, Cyprus, Crete, and later Sicily.
The strategic value of the Mediterranean extended beyond mere geography. It was a gateway to the
Middle East’s oil reserves, critical for fueling the war efforts. Furthermore,
control over this region influenced the dynamics on other fronts, including Asia,
by facilitating the movement of reinforcements and resources
essential for sustaining combat operations. Benito Mussolini, who dreamt of turning Italy
into a modern Roman Empire, had rebaptized the Mediterranean as the Mare Nostrum,
“Our Sea,” and tasked the Italian Regia Marina with defending it at all costs.
Such a decision directly obstructed the British interests in the region, for the Mediterranean
was essential for supplying its colonies in India through the Suez Canal and supporting the Greeks
fighting the Italians on their home soil. In their quest for maritime supremacy,
both parties established naval bases across the Mediterranean to bolster their influence, turning
the waters into a warzone where no ship was ever safe despite belonging to neutral nations.
In early 1941, as the North African campaign intensified, Italian forces,
facing defeats by British Commonwealth troops, sought assistance from the Wehrmacht,
leading to the formation of the "Deutsches Afrikakorps" (DAK).
Under General Erwin Rommel's leadership, the Afrika Korps arrived in Libya in February
1941 to bolster the Italian allies and prevent the Mediterranean from falling under British
control. Rommel’s arrival catalyzed a more assertive phase in the campaign,
with the Afrika Korps swiftly evolving into a significant force in desert warfare.
Concurrently, Hitler directed Mussolini and the Regia Marina to enhance their naval patrols
to ensure a continuous supply of resources and reinforcements to the frontlines in North Africa.
Chapter 2 Forces in Play While Rommel and his Afrika
Korps engaged the British forces in North Africa, the Regia Marina and the Royal Navy did their
best to protect their convoys from each other. Nonetheless, during the last days of March 1941,
the British Admiralty began growing desperate about the ongoing situation in the region,
urging the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral Andrew Cunningham, to figure out how to
get rid of the Axis at the ground and the sea. The admiralty suggested that the seasoned admiral
bombard Tripoli without hesitation to halt the Axis's shipping to Italian Libya. Still,
Cunningham noted that such an operation would only render temporary results
and expose his valuable vessels to enemy air attacks based at Sicily and Tripoli.
A secondary and more desperate suggestion comprised using HMS Centurion as a block ship.
However, it was also deemed unsatisfactory for the admiral, as he believed the old battleship would
not survive the journey from Britain to Tunisia. Growing restless about the situation,
Prime Minister Winston Churchill dispatched a directive in early April 1941 stating the
sole task of the Mediterranean Fleet was to cut off Axis supply routes from Italy
to Libya regardless of the losses. Admiral Cunningham felt insulted
and rejected sending a skeleton crew of about 1,000 sailors to an inevitable demise. Instead,
he gathered information about Axis convoys and reinforced his regional fleet, allowing them to
target isolated enemy ships without proper escort. The admiral also consolidated a Malta Striking
Force dedicated to attacking enemy shipping near the island of Malta. It comprised the
J-class destroyers HMS Jervis and Janus and the Tribal-class destroyers Nubian and Mohawk.
The Royal Navy quickly came out with the usual route taken by Italian convoys bound for Libya,
which embarked on a perilous journey, charting a course around Sicily’s rugged western coastline
and down the Tunisian shores to the ports of Tripoli, occasionally veering towards Benghazi.
Once docked at Tripoli, the precious cargo was hastily transferred to smaller coasters
destined for Libya’s scattered ports, desperate to ease the strain on the war-weary road networks.
Nonetheless, some of these vulnerable coasters sailed directly into the crosshairs of British
submarines patrolling the depths. Covering 400 nautical miles through Tunisian waters,
where air cover was scarce and the cloak of night became their only shield, these convoys,
often comprising four Italian or German vessels, sailed forth every three days.
Entrusted with carrying not just supplies but also German troops and equipment,
protection for these convoys was coordinated by the Regia Marina
On April 10, 1941, the Malta Striking Force set sail from Souda Bay, Crete, for operations on the
island that once belonged to the medieval order of the Knights Hospitaller, or Knights of Malta.
HMS Nubian and Mohawk led the task force to Malta without making contact with enemy convoys and
docked at the island successfully. Still, the crew was quickly awoken during the night when a hostile
convoy of four freighters and three torpedo boats was sighted as it set sail from Palermo.
British reconnaissance aircraft followed the convoy to Lampione Island,
35 miles east of Sfax. The entire 14th Destroyer Flotilla of the RN was ordered to attack it,
but neither the aircraft nor the ships spotted the convoy. It had simply vanished.
The Axis convoy successfully arrived on friendly shores days later, prompting
the Regia Marina to dispatch another convoy on April 15 to resupply the troops in North Africa.
Unfortunately for them, the Royal Navy was unwilling to let another convoy elude them,
and the Malta Task Force was ready to unleash hell at whatever cost.
The Italian convoy from Naples was bound for Tripoli. It comprised the
26th Sea Transport Group of Germany, including Adana, Arta, and Iserlohn,
carrying German infantrymen and the Italian ammunition ship Sabaudia.
Regia Marina escort vessels comprised Folgore-class destroyers Baleno, Lampo,
and Navigatori-class destroyer Luca Tarigo. British reconnaissance aircraft detected the Axis
convoy due to the bad weather, which delayed the convoy. Rain and low clouds engulfed the region.
Once again, the 14th Destroyer Flotilla roared to action, forming a line to intercept the enemy
convoy under the foul weather. At around 5:00 pm on April 15, the Italians sighted the British
aircraft and realized they had been spotted, leading them to request immediate fighter cover.
Despite the urgency, only one of the Italian SM.79 Sparviero aircraft bombers could take off
due to the weather. Even so, the aircraft did not spot any hostile forces in the area of operations
and returned to its home base two hours later. At around 2:00 am, the Malta Strike Force set
its sights on the Axis convoy, with HMS Jervis signaling the rest of the fleet it would attack
as soon as the Italians were within range. The British destroyers made a sharp turn to
140° at 27 knots. Minutes ticked by; at 2:02 am, an abrupt command crackled through the radio:
(QUOTE) “Tubes trained to starboard.” The destroyers veered again, now heading 210°.
This maneuver positioned the convoy squarely between them and the luminous moon, casting
the enemy silhouettes against the nocturnal glow. The stillness of the night was shattered at 2:20
am as HMS Jervis unleashed a volley of fire upon the Axis ship Baleno,
striking true from over 2,400 yards away. Moments later, HMS Janus joined the fray,
her first salvo hitting Baleno with devastating precision. The ship was set on fire, her command
structure decimated, and the commanding officers gone, forcing the remnants of the crew to ground
the wounded vessel on a nearby sandbank. HMS Nubian engaged Sabaudia elsewhere,
sparking a violent explosion with her third salvo. Flames rose to the sky
as Nubian turned her wrath towards Iserlohn and Ægina, hitting both with ruthless fury.
Three minutes later, the lookout on Nubian spotted Tarigo in the shadows,
barely 1,000 yards away. A fierce charge followed as Nubian bore down on Tarigo, her guns blazing.
As metal met metal, Tarigo managed a fleeting response before Nubian’s ally, HMS Mohawk,
rushed forward, cutting between them and altering the course of battle.
Tarigo advanced through the starboard side of the two British ships, taking severe fire from the
combined enemy fire. A shell struck the bridge, wreaking havoc among the crew and taking a leg
from Tarigo's Captain, Pietro de Cristofaro. Despite quickly losing blood due to his
injuries, Captain Cristofaro remained in command, ordering the crew to fight
like hell against the British enemy. At 2:40 am, Jervis launched a torpedo
to get rid of Tarigo before turning her focus toward the transport ships. Simultaneously,
HMS Janus engaged the transport ship Iserlohn, launching three torpedoes,
one of which struck and immobilized the vessel. Janus then fixed her guns at another prey:
ammunition ship Sabaudia. The crew carefully aimed confidently and fired mercilessly,
the shells breaking the air before a colossal explosion filled the horizon
over 600 meters above the water. Damage was such that fragments of
ammunition even landed on Jervis, who was 1,500 yards away. While this occurred, one of the Axis
merchant ships attempted to ram HMS Mohawk. The British ship barely evaded it when she
was hit by an Italian torpedo that struck the rear, blowing up the stern abruptly. Mohawk’s
crew immediately went on the offensive, firing against the Arta in retaliation. The enemy vessel
caught fire rapidly and stopped. With her superstructure gone,
Mohawk remained operational, but it was not long before another Italian torpedo found its way home,
striking Mohawk on the port side. She descended rapidly, the crew
rushing towards the deck to survive the cold waters. HMS Janus answered the call instantly
and decimated Tarigo with all her firepower. The Italian ship remained immobilized and
was finally sunk ten minutes later with the combined firepower of Janus, Nubian,
and Jervis. Captain Pietro de Cristofaro passed away moments before the vessel sunk, victim to the
wounds sustained during the initial engagement. Axis ship Adana fled the scene, surviving the
encounter and allowing the Britons to rescue themselves and return to port with victory.
The Malta Task Force, despite Mohawk’s loss, devastated the enemy convoy, earning it praise
from the top brass. As for the Germans, they reprimanded the Regia Marina for not taking the
necessary precautions to reinforce their convoys. In the aftermath of the engagement,
Captain Pietro de Cristofaro was posthumously awarded the Medaglia d'Oro,
the highest Italian military decoration. During the relief efforts, Italian divers
ventured into the tomb of HMS Mohawk. They retrieved top-secret documents with
information that would later become vital for their successful revenge against the British
during the raid on Alexandria in December 1941. During this daunting raid, Italian frogmen would
sink two British ships at their moorings with manned torpedoes.
Of the 3,000 German troops aboard the transport ships, only 1,250 survived.
The rest went to the depths alongside 300 vehicles and 3,500 long tons worth of supplies.