history · 16 April 1941 · 83 years ago
British destroyers HMS Jervis, HMS Janus, HMS Nubian, and HMS Mohawk, aided by Ultra intercepts of German communications, ambushed an Axis convoy on the Tunisian coast after sundown. 4 German troopships and 1 Italian ammunition ship (carrying German 15th Panzer Division less its tanks) as well as Italian destroyers Luca Tarigo, Baleno, and Lampo; 1,800 were killed, 1,200 survived. Luca Tarigo was able to fire two torpedoes at HMS Mohawk, which hit and killed 43 men; HMS Mohawk would soon be scuttled in a hurry, leaving behind secret documents outlining Alexandria, Egypt defenses for Italian divers to capture shortly after.
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