Battle of the Cigno Convoy

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Battle of the Cigno Convoy Part of the Mediterranean Theater of World War II RM torpedo boat Cassiopea. Date April 16, 1943 Location Mediterranean off Marettimo Island Result Italian victory Belligerents United Kingdom Italy Commanders unknown unknown Strength 2 destroyers 2 torpedo boats 1 transport ship Casualties and losses 1 destroyer sunk 1 destroyer damaged 10 dead 1 torpedo boat sunk 1 torpedo boat damaged 100-120 dead

v • d • e Battle of the Mediterranean Espero¹² – Mers-el-Kébir – Calabria¹² – Spada – Cape Passero¹ – Taranto – Spartivento¹ – Excess¹ – Abstention – Matapan – Tarigo² – Crete – Substance¹ – Halberd¹ – Duisburg² – Bon² – 1st Sirte¹² – Alexandria raid – 2nd Sirte¹ – Harpoon¹ – Vigorous¹ – Pedestal¹ – Agreement – Torch – Stone Age¹ – Toulon – Skerki² – Cigno² – Sicily – Sinking of Roma ¹ - Involved an Allied convoy • ² - Involved an Axis convoy

The Battle of the Cigno Convoy was a naval engagement between two Royal Navy destroyers and two Regia Marina torpedo boats which took place southeast of Marettimo island, on the early hours of April 16, 1943. The Italian units were escorting the transport ship Belluno, of 4,200 tons.

[edit] Background

The battle was part of the daily aerial, naval and submarine campaign mounted by the Allies against Axis forces, on the spring of 1943, in order to achieve a complete naval and air supremacy around North Africa and Sicily. Their aim was to isolate and defeat the bulk of the Afrika Corps and the Italian Army in Tunis. The struggle was so fiercely contested that the maritime area between Italy and Africa was dubbed the "route of death".^[1] By April, merchant ship losses reached a 3.3 ratio each day.^[2] The huge extension of minefields planted by both sides, made surface trips against Axis shipping more unlikely than during the Libyan campaign.^[3] The supply route for the Italian Navy was also shorter, but the Allied air supremacy made almost impossible to assemble large convoys. This, along with a sharp shortage of fuel, forced the Italians to use small and fast destroyers or torpedo boats to escort their cargo ships heading to Africa.^[4]

[edit] The action

The Belluno (former Fort de France) in a pre-war photo

One of these small convoys, comprising two Italian torpedo-boats, the Cigno and the Cassiopea escorting a 4,200 ton former French transport, the Belluno, sailed from Naples bound for Tunis on April 15. A similar convoy was scheduled to depart a couple of hours later. On 2:38 AM of the 16th, the escort spotted two British destroyers approaching. These were the P class destroyers HMS Pakenham and HMS Paladin. This was one of the few night engagements in the Mediterranean in which the British failed to take their opponents by surprise. This circumstance was decisive to the outcome of the battle. However, the fire power of Pakenham and Paladin was fairly superior to that of the Italian side. In fact, they were armed with five 4" guns against three 3.9" of the Italians. The armour protection also favoured the Royal Navy ships. The first vessel to suffer the effects of gunfire was the Cigno, which was almost immediately knocked out. The Italian unit continued to fire on the British ships until a torpedo sank her. Around 100 seamen went down with the ship. Nevertheless, the Cassiopea, albeit also struck by several rounds, was able to counter attack by launching a torpedo at Paladin and raking Pakenham with gunfire. The port side of the latter was hit at least six times and the engine room was seriously damaged. Several of her crew were scalded by the explosion of a boiler. Nine men were killed, another died of his wounds two days later.^[5] Paladin was also damaged by shell splinters. During the clash, the Belluno managed to slip towards the north, where the second convoy was in advance, still unaware of the events. Meanwhile, the British ceased fire and withdrew. The Cassiopea, almost disabled, was assisted by the Climene, one of the torpedo boats in the second convoy. After trying to reach Malta with an auxiliary engine, Pakenham broke down off Sicily and the Paladin, unable to take her in tow, scuttled her sister ship with a torpedo. The Belluno reached her destination safely some hours later.^[6][7][8]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Bragadin, Marc'Antonio: The Italian Navy in World War II, United States Naval Institute, Annapolis, 1957. ISBN 0405130317.

• Sadkovich, James: The Italian Navy in World War II, Greenwood Press, Westport, 1994. ISBN 031328797X.