The record that follows is an extract from my fathers diary, chief petty officer watkins, and is his own personal interpretation of the battle and his feelings whilst on board the famous australian destroyer hmas stuart during the battle of matapan. The battle of cape matapan 27th29th march 1941 from. But the british were thereby left free to pass the convoy through. A copy of stations manned and ready, 2nd edition, is. A scenario set for the battle of cape matapan, 28th march 1941. The naval battle of matapan took place on 19 july 1717 off the cape matapan, on the coast of the mani peninsula in southern greece, between the armada grossa of the republic of venice, supported by a mixed squadron of allied ships from portugal, the papal states and malta, and the ottoman fleet, under kapudan pasha egribozlu ibrahim pasha. This was the case for radar shortly after the battle, for code breaking during the seventies, and for the evidence collected by mattesini in il giallo di matapan, revisione di giudizi the matapan mystery. The royal navy battleships of dday were also elderly veterans. Datasets available include lcsh, bibframe, lc name authorities, lc classification, marc codes, premis vocabularies, iso language codes, and more. The naval battle of matapan took place on 19 july 1717 off the cape matapan, on the coast of the mani peninsula in southern greece, between the combined naval forces of venice, portugal, the papal states and malta and the ottoman fleet, under. This is a very interesting revisiting of the battle of cape matapan. World of warships the battle of cape matapan duration. Harrold, university of plymouth press, farnham, uk, 2012.
Thus the battle of cape matapan was a decisive victory for the royal navy and gave it control of the eastern mediterranean until the fall of crete in june. In february 1941 the british forced italian troops out of british somalia, italian somalia and ethiopia. East african campaign battle of cape matapan siege of tobruk greece campaign iraq and habbaniya operation brevity battle for crete hms hood sunk by bismarck bismarck sunk syrian campaign. Infobox military conflict conflictbattle of cape matapan partofthe mediterranean theater of world war ii caption vittorio veneto after the torpedo hit at matapan datemarch 27 march 29, 1941 placemediterranean sea off cape matapan, greece. Resources feedback report a problem faq quizzes for your site. In the battle the british lost three airmen the crew of one torpedo bomber, while the italians lost three heavy cruisers, 2 destroyers and over 2,400 dead. Orders of battle battle of cape matapan battles of the. World war 2 prince philip breaks his 70year silence on how he helped sink italian ships in dramatic naval battle philip, 90, has described his.
The cabinet papers battle of cape matapan, east africa. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. The battle of cape matapan is a wargame simulation on the naval action that occurred near crete during world war ii. The battle of cape matapan, the first in a series of books about some of the great naval actions and campaigns of the war.
The battle of cape matapan was a battle fought from march 27 march 29, 1941 during world war ii off the peloponnesus coast in the mediterranean. It separates the messenian gulf in the west from the laconian gulf in the east. He again commanded the italian battle fleet in the battle of cape matapan 2629 march 1941, which resulted in the biggest defeat ever suffered by the regia marina. During the march 28, 1941, battle of cape matapan, british admiral andrew b. This set provides the necessary ship data sheets to fight the above battle. The battle of cape matapan was fought during world war ii on march 2729, 1941, before america entered the war. On july 19, at the battle of cape spada, the australian cruiser hmas sydney, along with five. Contains the wartime british and italian documents that were once subject to restrictions under the official secrets act. The shadow of matapan would forever haunt iachino individually and the regia marina as a whole. Cape matapan also known as cape tainaron is a small landmass at the end of the mani peninsula in greece this southern tip of the mainland separates the eastern laconian gulf from the messenian. Can you name the ships involved in the battle of cape matapan. Pack 1968, book, illustrated at the best online prices at ebay. Description of the encounter in 1941 between the royal navy and the.
Stations manned and ready 2nd edition battle of cape. Media in category battle of cape matapan the following 6 files are in this category, out of 6 total. Various shots of italian prisoners of war mostly sailors in. Battle of cape matapan news, views, gossip, pictures. Products go orange triviacon mobile apps alexa skill octoquiz. Read dark seas by je harrold for free with a 30 day free trial. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The royal navy attacked the italian fleet at the battle of cape matapan on 28 march 1941, sinking three heavy cruisers east africa. The battle of cape matapan was a naval battle between british and italian ships in the mediterranean theater of world war ii, which took place on march 28, 1941. The british victory at the battle of cape matapan was a resounding success. A victory of cape matapan for the fleet under admiral cunningham, prompts a look back at what the italian navy used to be. Successful results for british at battle of cape matapan aka akra tainaron, greece.
The atlantic and mediterranean battle synopses is an original publication created by west point graduate and tsm partner john czarzasty. The game design is and highly playable, yet one that portrays the historical challenges facing the combatants. The linked data service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the library of congress. For the cost of one fighter aircraft and three crew, the british had destroyed three heavy cruisers, two destroyers, caused over 2,000 casualties and captured over 1,000 prisoners. It was from this aircraft that flight lieutenant a lywood, reported the italian fleet movements leading to the battle of cape matapan, while flying out of scaramanga on 2728 march 1941. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. The british light cruisers hmas perth, hms ajax and hms orion at the battle of cape matapan, 29 march 1941. The consequences of the battle if matapan can be called that were heavy in terms of losses, but heavier still in psychological terms.
The next year, on march 1, 1942, hmas perth was torpedoed and sunk by the imperial japanese navy at the battle of sunda strait. The allied force was the british mediterranean fleet, consisting of the aircraft carrier hms formidable and the battleships hms barham, valiant and warspite. Ships involved in the battle of cape matapan 1941 quiz. This article is brought to you for free and open access by the journals at u. Cunningham decided once and for all who would be master of the mediterranean. Photographed in the ionian sea at the time of the battle of cape matapan, british warships are seen from the air. He then slowly dissects the battle in handy blocks of time including a section on the taranto raid which sets much of the tone.
In march 1941, there were signs of increased italian naval activity around cape matapan, southern greece. As a summary, it eschewed any examination of the broader questions. The battle of cape matapan march 2729, 1941 mediterranean fury. Thus began the battle of cape matapan, which might have given control of the mediterranean to hitler and mussoliniand ended up becoming a crushing defeat for the italian navy. Duke of edinburgh opens up about battle of matapan telegraph. The battle of cape matapan, 29 march 1941 imperial war.
Object details category photographs related period second world war production, second world war content materials. This includes data values and the controlled vocabularies that house them. During the battle british naval forces defeated those of italy sinking five warships. Royal australian navy gun plot hmas stuart ww2 battle of. Hitherto, italobritish naval hostilities in the mediterranean area since june 1940 had comprised only one. Duke of edinburgh opens up about battle of matapan. The battle of cape matapan naval historical society of. The cape is on the southwest coast of the peloponnesian peninsula of greece.
The eldest was the heroic hms warsipte commissioned in 1915 and a veteran of the battle of jutland and numerous actions during the second world war including the slaughter of the german destroyers at narvik, the battle of cape matapan and the invasion of sicily and italy. The mediterranean sea had been a battleground since june 1940. Cape taenarum in classical antiquity was the site of the city of taenarum, ancient greek. The battle of matapan s w c pack account of the first major sea battle of world war ii, in which the british defeated the italian fleet off the coast of greece in 1941. Dark seas is a reprint of a british admiralty battle summary monograph originally published in 1950 intended for the private use of serving officers b.
This is an updated version of the original publication that we sent out to our original kickstarter participants. My objective was to hold on for 8 turns without losing a ship. Battle of cape matapan the battle of cape matapan greek. Revised judgments, which belies or in any case sheds a different light on admirals iachinos and fioravanzos writings, in the eighties. The attack at taranto us naval war college digital commons. In the 1930s, italy inaugurated a shipbuilding program that created a fleet of swift battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and motor torpedo boats that. Postage and packing free the only publication to have a firsthand account of the battle of cape matapan by hrh prince philip. Cape matapan is the southernmost point of mainland greece, and the second southernmost point in mainland europe. The author clearly places both navies in their contemporary contexts, and explains what they hoped and intended to achieve. The main fleet was accompanied by two flotillas of destroy. The trafalgar of the mediterranean simmons, mark on. Cunningham decided once and for all who would be master of the. The scenario we chose was a part of the greater battle of cape matapan.
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