Italian cruisers attacked the...

history · 15 June 1942 · 82 years ago

Italian cruisers attacked the Allied Harpoon convoy in the Strait of Sicily at 0539 hours, damaging British cruiser HMS Cairo (2 were killed), damaging destroyer HMS Partridge, and disabling destroyer HMS Bedouin (under the command of Commander B. G. Scurfield; 28 were killed, 213 captured; later sunk by Italian aircraft); British return fire damaged Italian destroyer Vivaldi. In concert, German aircraft attacked freighters of the Harpoon convoy, seriously damaging freighter Burdwan, freighter Chant, and tanker Kentucky (all three abandoned and later sunk by Italian warships). The Harpoon convoy reached Malta after sundown, but the ships ran into a new minefield in the Grand Harbour, sinking Polish destroyer Kujawiak (13 were killed, 20 were wounded), damaging British destroyer Badsworth (9 were killed), damaging destroyer HMS Matchless, and damaging freighter Orari. From the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, the Allied Vigorous convoy also sailed for Malta. At dawn, British Beaufort torpedo bombers from Malta attacked the Italian fleet moving to intercept the convoy, disabling Italian cruiser Trento at 0515 hours; she would be sunk by submarine HMS Umbra at 0910 hours, over 360 were killed. The detection of this Italian fleet turned back the entire Vigorous convoy. En route back to Alexandria, Egypt, Axis aircraft sank British destroyer HMS Airedale (44 were killed, 133 survived) and damaged British cruiser HMS Birmingham and Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor. In Germany, Adolf Hitler postponed Operation Herkules, the planned invasion of Malta. 

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