Mattesini, Francesco L'agguato di Matapan

Errori, omisssioni e menzogne di una famosa battaglia navale

This publication contains numerous updates and is intended to commemorate the 2,308 sailors of all ranks of the Regia Marina who lost their lives in this battle. It was fought in two phases, with a long-range artillery duel on 28 March 1941 south of the island of Gaudo (Crete) and then during the night at the western end of the Peloponnese (Greece) with a close-range attack by the British Mediterranean Fleet. Thanks to reports from its Ultra code-breaking organisation, which reported the exact day on which the Italian fleet would set sail for an operation in the eastern Mediterranean, the British fleet came into contact with the Italian ships. However, the decisive factor was the effectiveness of the attacks by the Albacore torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier Formidable. They first hit the battleship Vittorio Veneto, slowing it down, and then, in a night attack, put the cruiser Pola out of action, allowing the enemy to attack the cruisers of the 1st Marine Group, which had rushed to its aid and had not expected such a surprise at that hour. The cruisers Zara and Fiume and the destroyers Alfieri and Gioberti were sunk before the Pola was dealt the coup de grâce. This incident is of particular significance for Italian naval strategy, as the Supermarina, the operational arm of the Regia Marina General Staff, received permission from Benito Mussolini to no longer allow its ships to operate outside the protection of escort destroyers and thus within a radius of 100 miles from their land bases, which was later reduced to 85 miles. This cautious behaviour allowed the British fleet to operate throughout the Mediterranean, and when Italian ships were confronted with an enemy that appeared to be inferior in terms of naval forces and artillery potential, the results were unfortunately almost always inadequate.