[Introduction]
It was a warm, summer morning, June 28, 1940. The Italian light cruisers Giovanni Delle Bande
Nere and Bartolomeo led by Admiral Casardi, had been at sea for several days. They knew Allied
patrols in the Meditteranean complicated their mission. Then, right after sunrise,
a sailor aboard the Bande Nere warned Captain Casardi. An Allied convoy was spotted close
by. Mist veiled the British ships to the north, complicating the situation. Sailors
aboard the Italian cruiser Bande Nere executed precise and coordinated actions. Klaxons blared,
signalling the call to battle stations. Swiftly, crew members navigated through narrow passageways,
their footfalls echoing off the metal bulkheads. Officers shouted commands, guiding the sailors to
their assigned posts with disciplined efficiency. The battle of Cape Spada was about to begin.
[Background]
[Text: There can be no departure from the principle that it is the prime
responsibility of the Mediterranean Fleet to sever all communication between Italy
and Africa. —Winston Churchill, letter to Admiral Cunningham, 24 April 1941]
Summer, 1940. Europe stood on the brink of war. Formally, war had been declared, yet after
Hitler’s invasion of Poland there had been limited military operations. This was about to change.
As the Allied powers assembled their troops and prepared their navies,
Germany’s Axis partner, Italy, faced a critical juncture. Mussolini's orders, relayed on May 30th,
commanded readiness for action by June 5th, a directive actualized on June 10th when hostilities
erupted. The Meditteranean theatre witnessed the deployment of a staggering 49 Italian
submarines on the first night of the conflict, a move met with scepticism due to its scale.
As naval mine warfare took centre stage, defensive barriers were swiftly laid along Italy’s coast,
totalling 54,457 mines throughout the Mediterranean by the war's end.
The Sicilian Channel, a focal point, posed technical challenges necessitating innovative
mine development. Though the initial efforts encountered setbacks, the Navy persisted.
In May 1940, the phoney war turned hot. In a Blitzkrieg campaign,
Germany overran France in 6 weeks. Following France's withdrawal from the war, the Italian
Navy found itself in a strategically improved position. With few exceptions, the French fleet
fell under Marshal Pétain's command, and French ships in British ports refused to
align with the British, remaining semi-interned in Alexandria, Egypt, a British Protectorate.
The armistice with France neutralised French bases and coastlines in the Mediterranean,
presenting an opportunity for Italy. The possibility of occupying Tunisian ports
was raised but not vigorously pursued. The lack of a comprehensive strategy by the Axis,
coupled with Hitler's focus on the Eastern Front, resulted in a missed opportunity to
control crucial points in the Mediterranean. Still, Italy’s war aims necessitated large
convoys trailing the Meditteranean, supplying their African colonies.
Italy’s critical oversight extended to the Island of Malta, strategically positioned at the heart
of its interests. Despite the Italian Navy's early recognition of the island's importance,
plans for its conquest were abandoned, banking on a short war and the efficacy
of the Italian Air Force. The repercussions were significant,
as Malta later became a linchpin in the Allied victory in the Mediterranean.
One of the Allied vessels playing a major role during these initial stages was the
modified Leander-class light cruiser HMAS Sydney commanded by Captain John Collins. A distinguished
member of the Modified Leander-class light cruisers, she boasted a formidable arsenal,
including eight 6-inch guns housed in twin turrets, four 4-inch guns,
and an array of machine guns. With a displacement of 8,940 tons at full load, Sydney's sleek
562-foot frame accommodated a revolving catapult for a Supermarine Walrus aircraft.
By July 1940, Sydney found itself embroiled in the escalating tensions. In response to the
growing Axis threat, Sydney joined the British fleet in Alexandria,
just as Italy declared war on June 10th. Fleet Admiral Andrew Cunningham swiftly dispatched the
Meditteranean fleet to confront the ambitions of Fascist Italy and protect Allied convoys.
One noteworthy episode occurred during the Battle of the Espero Convoy on June 28th,
marking the first significant surface battle between Allied and Italian fleets in the Second
World War. The Sydney, as part of a task force, intercepted a small group of Italian destroyers,
engaging in combat with the destroyer Espero. After disabling Espero's engines, the Sydney,
demonstrating its firepower, delivered a decisive blow with its 6-inch guns,
causing the Italian ship to sink rapidly.
Having demonstrated its effectiveness, Sydney briefly returned to Alexandria
for replenishment before rejoining the fleet for escort and sweeping duties.
A month later, on July 6, an Italian convoy, laden with 2,200 men, 72 tanks,
237 vehicles, and over 16,000 tons of supplies,
departed Naples for Benghazi. A critical element for Italy's impending invasion of Egypt,
the convoy was heavily guarded by the 2nd Cruiser Division, the 10th Destroyer Squadron,
and six torpedo boats. The convoy's arrival held paramount importance for Italy's naval strategy.
However, British intelligence revealed these plans. Admiral Cunningham, anticipating Italian
movements, positioned the Mediterranean Fleet strategically to intercept the suspected convoy.
The ensuing naval confrontation, the Battle of Calabria, on July 9
unfolded amidst clear skies and perfect visibility. Cunningham's impatience and
aggressive approach led to an engagement with Admiral Campioni's Italian fleet.
Despite the British fleet's superior firepower, Campioni skillfully outmanoeuvred
his opponent until an extreme-range hit tilted the balance unfavourably.
Campioni adeptly withdrew, preventing substantial losses for the Italian navy.
A few weeks later, the Sydney embarked on a submarine sweep to the north and west of Crete,
accompanied by five British destroyers. The destroyers Havock, Hyperion, Hasty,
Hero, and, belonging to the H-class, and the Ilex, belonging to the I-class,
sported a speed of 36 knots and a tonnage of around 1,360 tons,
they featured six 4.7-inch guns and accommodated a crew of about 145.
Captain John Collins, making a strategic decision, directed his ship and the HMS Havock to venture
north of Crete, close to the Greek mainland. Simultaneously, the four other destroyers
patrolled closer to the island near Cape Spada, a promontory on the northwest part of Crete.
Meanwhile, Supermarina, the Italian naval command, decided to move two light cruisers,
Bande Nere and Colleoni, to the strategic base of Leros in the Dodecanese. Departing from Tripoli
on the evening of July 17, under Rear-Admiral Fernando Casardi's command, by 0617 on July 19,
the Italian fleet entered the Aegean Sea through the Antikithera Strait, northwest of Crete. The
Italian light cruisers, both of the Condottieri class,
boasted impressive speeds of around 36 knots. With sleek designs, they weighed
approximately 7,500 tons. Armed with eight 6-inch guns, they carried a crew of about 500.
Their mission was to prepare boarding parties, anticipating the tanker convoy, but to their
surprise, they encountered the 2nd Flotilla just ten miles away. Sydney and the British
destroyer Havock were cruising independently forty miles to the northeast in the Gulf of Athens.
[Battle sequence] Upon spotting enemy cruisers,
the 2nd Flotilla swiftly changed course to the northeast. Casardi, suspecting a
larger force, pursued at thirty knots. Within 10 minutes, he opened fire from
nineteen thousand yards. The destroyers replied at 0632, but their salvos fell short. This led
to an exchange of gunfire, with the Bande Nere and Colleoni pursuing the British destroyers.
The situation was further complicated by mist to the north, concealing the British ships.
Collins received the enemy report around that time and turned his ships south toward the contact,
maintaining radio silence. Unaware of Collins' exact position, Captain Nicolson, aboard the Ilex,
led the destroyers. They fled under a deliberate long-range bombardment. Rough seas limited the
cruisers to thirty-two knots, while smoke trails from the destroyers confused Italian
range finders. Casardi suspended fire at 0648 and turned east minutes later to close the distance.
Misjudging the situation, Admiral Casardi believed his cruisers were facing heavily
armoured adversaries, prompting him to engage rather than retreat. He continued following
the cruisers for an hour, unable to properly discern them in the mist.
At 0730, an orange glare lit a fog bank north of the Italian cruisers. It revealed the arrival
of Sydney and Havock, as shells splashed in the water around Casardi’s ships. The Italian
cruisers turned ninety degrees to starboard and opened fire. Despite difficulties in
distinguishing enemy ships due to mist and sun, Collins reported several hits. Sydney hit Bande
Nere at 0735, causing eight casualties. Nicolson brought his destroyers around
for a torpedo attack at 0738. Casardi turned southwest and made smoke at 0746, believing
he faced two cruisers similar to Sydney. He decided to retreat past the Cretan coast to
prevent being trapped. Collins followed, and a stern chase ensued, with both sides trading
fire from roughly eighteen thousand yards. The heavy northwest wind made gunlaying difficult,
but Sydney's gunfire proved accurate. As Nicolson's destroyers caught up to Sydney,
the Allied ships advanced in line abreast, periodically swerving to fire broadsides. An
hour after the engagement began, a 6-inch round hit Colleoni, damaging her significantly. Fires
erupted, and with the cruiser losing way, the British closed in. Colleoni attempted to resist
with her secondary guns. Three torpedoes fired by the Hyperion missed the ship, and Ilex’s
follow-up salvo struck the cruiser. Hyperion fired another torpedo, scoring a direct hit.
The surviving cruiser, Bande Nere, circled but decided
against intervention as Colleoni appeared lost. The Bande Nere persisted in the unequal contest,
as Sydney, Hero and Hasty pursued the vessel. The Italians retaliated with a direct hit on the
Sydney. Still, the Allied ships scored multiple direct hits against them as well. Damaged,
the British cruiser withdrew, revealing later that it was low on ammunition. The
remaining ships continued the pursuit but were unable to catch up with the Italians.
After the engagement, the Bande Nere made its way to Bengasi.
To the rear, at around 9 a.m., Colleoni capsized and sank six miles off Cape Spada.
The Allied destroyers began the rescue of its 750-strong crew. They dispatched their vessels,
sailing towards the Italians who, according to an eyewitness,
were “floating around in a mess of oil and debris.”
Then, the sailors heard a rumbling noise. The Italian bombers finally arrived,
much too late to take part in the battle. However, due to bad communication and reconnaissance,
the bombers were unaware of the sinking Italian vessel and its drowning crew.
Noticing the Allied destroyers, the aircraft set their crosshair against
them. For the next several hours, they bombed the Allied vessels and even their own men.
In the chaotic battle’s aftermath, the Allied destroyers rescued 545 of Colleoni's crew,
but 121 men, including the captain, perished.
In total, the Italian cruisers fired five hundred shells without hitting
the destroyers and scored only one hit on Sydney over three hours. Sydney expended
thirteen hundred shells, achieving five long-range hits in two hours.
[Aftermath]
While the British emerged victorious, the encounter raised questions about
Italian reconnaissance and the delay in bomber support. Bombers arrived late,
attacking the British ships while they rescued survivors from the Colleoni. The
aftermath saw the abandonment of many Italian seamen in the water.
While the Italian fleet faced criticism for perceived hesitancy, the British, too, grappled
with challenges in achieving a decisive victory. Both sides displayed a resilient determination,
each learning from encounters at sea. The Battle of Cape Spada was but one chapter in
a prolonged struggle for dominance. Despite the varying outcomes and lessons drawn, both parties
continued vying for control of the Mediterranean, recognizing that the war was far from over.