FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1941
1941 - 0827.PDF
APRIL IOTH, 1941. 267 War in The Air The Great Navat Victory: R.A.F. and F.A.A. Combine : More Cities Taken : The Latest Bombs LATER news of the great sea fight. in the Ionian Sea, the Battle of-^ Cape Matapan seems to be the accepted name for it, has emphasised still more clearly the important part played in it by British aircraft, both iiaval and R.A.F. Class for class, the Italian warships are faster than the British, and on all previous occasions on which something like contact has been made, the Italians have used their speed to escape from British clutches. That does not imply cowardice on the part of our enemy. An Italian fleet in being, so long as it remained in being, contained a large part of the whole British Navy in the Mediterranean, and thereby gave a more or less free hand to the naval forces of other members of the Axis in other waters. Japan, for example, may well have thought that Singapore was hers for the cost of one naval action, while the Gneisenau and. the Scharnhorst felt the less anxiety for their own safety as they preyed on British shipping in the Atlantic through the knowledge that so much of the British Navy was tied up in the Mediterranean. In fact, survival was the most important strategic object. of the Italian Navy, as it obviously entertained no hopes of being able to outfight and sink the British Mediter- ranean Battle Fleet. At Matapan the speed of the Italian ships might once more have carried -'lem to safety had it net been that the T.S.R.s of H.M.S. Formidable were still faster. The type used has not been officially stated, but we may presume that Albacores were among them. On the historic March 28th no less than five torpedo attacks were made by the T.S.R.s. The first was made at 11.30 a.m., when a possible hit was claimed on the battleship which was afterwards known to be the Vittorio Venelo. Very shortly afterwards the second attack was made on the same vessel, and one hit was claimed. The third attack was made in the early afternoon, and this time three hits were claimed on the Vittorio Veneto. Then at 3 p.m. Blenheims of the R.A.F. attacked one of the enemy squadrons with bombs and between that hour and 5 p.m. they claimed two direct hits on one cruiser, one direct hit on a destroyer, and two probable hits on another cruiser. At dusk the last two torpedo attacks were made by the T.S.R.s, and one enemy WELL ARMED. Among the aircraft types in the Yugoslav Air Force are Blenheims and Hurricanes. The markings are as shown in this Flight photograph of one of the Yugoslav Hurricanes. cruiser was definitely hit. At 4 p.m. Admiral Cunningham had received a report from aircraft that the speed of the Vittorio Veneto had been dras- tically reduced by the air attacks. The Ministry of Information re- marked in its narrative : '' These highly successful engagements in the Mediterranean can be accounted his- toric for two reasons. It is the first occasion in history in which skilful co- ordination of naval operations with attacks launched by aircraft has re- sulted in the enemy's speed being reduced and our main units being able to force action on a reluctant enemy. It is also the first occasion in naval history in which such severe losses have been imposed upon the enemy while our own forces were completely! unscathed." The only British losses in the battle were two naval aircraft. On the "Formidable" A TELEGRAM from the British ^* United Press correspondent who was on board the Formidable during the action gives the following account of the part played by the ship's aircraft: "Our torpedo-bombing attacks against the enemy began at 11.45 a.m. At this time the Vittono Veneto was firing her i^in. guns at our cruisers. She was hit by one torpedo from an aeroplane and was forced to turn away. This attack was 50 miles south- west of Crete. The Vittorio Veneto was then 100 miles west of the British Battle Fleet. At 12.15 P-m. the Formidable turned out of the battle line to fly off a second striking force and fly on the first. Soon after rejoin- ing the Fleet we were unsuccessfully attacked by three torpedo-bombers (Italian). '' The second striking force re- mained in the vicinity of the Fleet until 2 p.m., when it was ordered to attack. It attacked at 2.30 p.m. Our aircraft got down low without being observed, when a destroyer in the screen opened fire. This destroyer was shot up by two of our 'planes. The Vittorio Veneto started to turn away, but one aeroplane got in its attack just as she turned and scored a hit with its torpedo. The second flight fired two torpedoes from a perfect position, and one was observed to hit. It is believed possible that the other also hit the battleship, but it could not be observed, as the aircraft turned sharply away to avoid anti-aircraft fire. After the attack, the Vittorio Veneto's speed was reduced to 10 or 12 knots. "All the aircraft came back from their first successful search for the Italian Fleet in the morning, and were immediately rearmed and sent out again. The second striking force returned at 3.44 p.m. Reconnaissance aircraft returned at 4.14 p.m., and reported that the Vittorio Veneto was then making a speed of only eight knots. At dusk a third striking force flew oft, which kept the enemy fleet in sight until the light began to fade, when the force began its attack. But the barrage was so fierce that they turned back for a short time, then attacked singly from widely different positions. One cruiser (subsequently proved to have been the Pola) was hit by a torpedo, but darkness prevented them from observing other hits."
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
