This is the second part of an article on the enormous tonnage losses of the Axis Powers by units operating from Malta between May and November 1941. Read part one.

————————————————– —–

Ciano’s concern

Seven days after this episode (September 25), the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and son-in-law of Il Duce Benito Mussolini, Count Galeazzo Ciano, wrote in his diary of the heavy losses suffered by Italy in terms of merchant shipping in the Mediterranean. , probably referring to the episode above. He wrote:

“…. In fact, the Mediterranean situation is grim and will become even more so with the continued loss of merchant ships. Commander Bigliardi, who is in the know and is a reliable person, says that in responsible naval circles they are seriously starting to question whether we should not decide to abandon Libya, rather than wait until we are there. constrained by the total lack of freighters…. “

On October 1, he continued:

“A conference with Admiral Ferreri. He is worried about the fate of Libya, especially if the sinking of our merchant ships continue to be as heavy as in September. Whereas in the past the percentage of lost vessels had reached a maximum of five percent, in September it rose to 18 percent… ”

Malta’s strategic importance to Churchill

In his six-volume memoir, British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill also referred to the heavy losses suffered by the Axis during this period. It clearly shows the importance of Malta to the Allied cause, where “in the three months ending in September, 43 Axis ships weighing 150,000 tons, in addition to 64 smaller craft, were sunk in the sea. African route by British planes, submarines and destroyers, acting from Malta. In October, more than 60 percent of Rommel’s supplies were sunk in the passage ”.

Churchill also said that during this period the German admiral serving with the Italian high command stated that “… now, as always, the British fleet dominates the Mediterranean … The Italian fleet had been unable to prevent the operations of enemy naval forces but, in cooperation with the Italian Air Force, it made it possible to prevent the Mediterranean route from being used for the regular traffic of British convoys… The most dangerous British weapon is the sub -marines, especially those operating from Malta. During the period covered, there were 36 submarine attacks; out of these 19 have succeeded…. Due to the weakness of the Italian Air Force in Sicily, the threat from Malta on the German-Italian sea route to North Africa has increased in recent weeks… ”

Axis tonnage losses from June to October 1941 are said to have exceeded production. Across the Mediterranean, this amounted to some 270,000 tonnes. On the Italy-North Africa supply route alone, 40 ships totaling 178,577 tons were lost, mainly during the period August to October 1941.

Churchill knew that Malta was at the center of the Allies’ final victory in the Mediterranean. Apart from this, the island’s geographic position was vital in intercepting Axis convoys to Libya, which was essential for the British and Commonwealth armies to win the war in North Africa.

Churchill stressed that “… for us, resupplying Malta was vital. The loss of Crete deprived Admiral Cunningham’s fleet of a supply base close enough to activate our protective sea power. The possibilities of a sea assault on Malta from Italy or Sicily increased although, as we now know, it was not until 1942 that Hitler and Mussolini approved such a plan. Enemy air bases in both Crete and Cyrenaica threatened the convoy route from Alexandria to Malta so seriously that we had to depend entirely on the West for the passage of supplies… ”

In his book Engage the enemy more closelyBritish military historian Correlli Barnett commented: “… Until then, the task of attacking Italian convoys fell to the submarines of the Royal Navy and the RAF. From June to October, the RAF sank 24 merchant ships totaling 74,694 tons and the submarines 14 merchant and personnel carriers of 74,694 tons. In the clear overseas waters of the Mediterranean, between submarines and escorts played the same game of hunting and being chased as in the Battle of the Atlantic, but with reversed roles – with British submarines putting in scene these scenes of scanning in periscopes or of silent listening to the thunder of the enemy depth charges… ”

Arrival of Force K

By the summer of 1941, the British and Axis armies were stranded in a dead end east of Tobruk, and the British were very keen to ban Italian convoys from Italy to Libya. This could be best done from Malta, from where submarines and planes were already attacking Italian convoys. On August 25, at Churchill’s insistence, the British Admiralty decided to send a small force to Malta consisting of cruisers and destroyers. This squadron, known as Force K, arrived in Malta from Gibraltar on October 21, 1941. It was made up of the HMS cruisers. Dawn and HMS Penelope and HMS destroyers Spear and HMS Animated. The mere presence of Force K in Malta immediately caused difficulties for the Italian war machine because on October 22, all maritime traffic through the central Mediterranean was temporarily postponed pending the organization of adequate protection of the cruisers. to convoys.

K-Force’s Biggest Win

The convoy included two German ships, Duisburg and St. Mark and three Italians, the Married, Sagitta and Rina corrado. Between them, these freighters carried 389 vehicles, 34,473 tons of ammunition, fuel in barrels and their associated crew and troops for the Italian and German forces in Libya. Carrying 17,281 tonnes of fuel, including gasoline for German planes, were the Tale of Misurata and Minatitlan. The convoy was protected by a close escort and a distant escort.

On the night of November 8-9, the British discovered through “Ultra” intelligence that the Axis was about to send a large convoy to Libya. The presence of the convoy was confirmed by a Martin Maryland on aerial reconnaissance from Malta. Force K left Malta to intercept the convoy. The encounter became known as the Battle of the Duisburg Convoy.

British artillery was directed by radar and fired at a range of up to 5,500 meters. Greek was hit by HMS Dawn‘s first three rounds and was left dead in the water, with a fire on board. Fulminates attacked the British force but was hit by both HMS Spear and HMS Penelope and, as a result, capsized and sank.

During the battle, the British moved closer to the convoy which took no evasive action and finished them off with cannons and torpedoes. After the destruction of the whole convoy, Force K retreated to Malta at high speed with an ineffective pursuit by the covering force. In total, Force K sank some 39,800 tonnes of Axis ships.

German U-Boots come to the rescue

However, the presence of German submarines began to leave its impact. Two heavy losses occurred on November 13, when U-81 torpedoed the aircraft carrier HMS Royal arch, However, the heaviest naval loss was the sinking of HMS Barham in the Eastern Mediterranean on November 25, by U-331. The battleship was sunk and the escort destroyers recovered 450 survivors. However, 55 officers and 806 men were lost, including 19 Maltese sailors of the 36 on board serving as cooks and stewards.

Concluded. Part one of this article was published on November 8.