A Deadly Trap - The Italian Navy Massacre at the Battle of Cape Matapan
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- Опубликовано: 17 дек 2021
- The Italians knew that the British were coming after them. They knew it all too well. But the thought of backing down was humiliating.
If they went the easy way, the Germans would mock them. The Regia Marina had to prove to the Kriegsmarine that it could handle itself in combat.
What the Italian sailors did not know, however, was that the British had read the Italian naval Enigma and were following their every move.
Then, at 8:12am on March 28, 1941, Admiral Angelo Iachino's task force spotted several Royal Navy warships off Cape Matapan in Greece and went after them.
Little did the Italians know that they were being lured into a lethal trap…
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Sinking a warship and then picking up the survivors while letting the enemy high command know where their ship went down is the most british thing ever.
As good old Captain Mainwaring would say "We're not savages, we're British"
The Germans did it too. Hans Langsdorff of the Admiral Graf Spee would even send up distress rockets on behalf of ships he had just sunk. I was also very moved by the actions of F. K. Paul, a German officer serving on a destroyer during the raid on Saint Nazaire during Operation Chariot. After witnessing a single commando, Tom Durrant, taking on a destroyer using a twin Lewis Gun mounted on a tiny wooden boat until he passed out from blood loss after taking 16 hits from machine gun fire, he took the time to find the most senior British officer and make sure he was recommended for the George Cross.
@@FloatingOnAZephyr If im not mistaken Langdoff had a street named after him in east Canada for that reason
while shooting fighter pilots after bailing out and hanging on parachute is the most usa thing ever
@@FloatingOnAZephyr The Germans treated the English humanely. They were hoping for some kind of treaty.
Other nationalities they mowed down unarmed in cold blood or turned them into factory workers under inhumane conditions where many died and replaced by others.
My Father was there on Warspite. Thanks.🇬🇧🏴
My Father was there also on port side 6" secondary. Respect.
@@nemosis9449 My Dad was a cpo engine room. Respect to your Father. She was a lucky ship.
Your dad’s the man then! Heartbreaking that Warspite went to the breakers, she’d have been an incredible museum ship..:
They were brave men on those ships. Very brave and hard fighting navy men.
God bless your father and prince phillip
My father was in the Merchant Marine during WWII and told me that the Italian Navy had some of the most beautiful looking ships he ever saw.
Damn they were beautiful indeed. Look at the brutalism of the British navy designs and the modernity of the German ones, purely from an aesthetic point the Italian ships wins
From Wikipedia, "As a further deception, Admiral Cunningham made a surreptitious exit after dark from a golf club in Alexandria to avoid being seen boarding his flagship, the battleship HMS Warspite. He had made a point of arriving at the club the same afternoon with his suitcase as if for an overnight stay, and spent some time on the golf course within sight of the Japanese consul. An evening party on his flagship was advertised for that night but was never meant to take place."
The British have always been adept at clever deception and mind games. As our forces have shrunk over the years we have had to employ these more and more.
My great uncle was one of the survivors of the above battle on the italian side. For many months he complained to his then girlfriend that his superiors including members of the admiralty were mainly put there because of nepotism, that often failed at giving basic nautical orders and some had even issues remembering their first officers names.
People were advanced because of membership to the fascist party, and usually saw those who complained about the failings of leadership as troublemakers who were never advanced and often publicly humiliated.
The sad and ugly thing is that most officers were staunch fascists, and most sailors just wanted to send some money home. He said that while returning to the coast, his first officer cried, spat, and cursed fascism and the Royal navy both.
The tragic thing about the Italian military in both world wars is that the soldiers and sailors were brave and perfectly capable, but their leaders were the biggest fucking morons in Europe. Cadorna threw away hundreds of thousands of young Italians, but it wasn't the soldiers' problem - give them a decent leader like Diaz and they managed to beat the Austrians and Germans. Then the Fascists took this stupidity and turned it up to 11.
Italians would've been wiser to not use the German enigma machine, Polish underground had already compromised it by 1940
This is so sad
isnt that what Italy is still like? I heard the captain of the Concordia is like a text book example of what you just stated? Even more the naval officer who was the hero of the story of bringing The captain to answer for his cowardice became an Italian hero only to be passed over for promotion because of the naval high command jealousy of his popularity with the italian public . Bottom line Whats changed in italy since those times? It could fairly convincingly argued NOTHING
@@robertrichard6107
weren't the Original Plans to Enigma based on Polish mathematicians' calculations?
Two other cool facts…The young midshipman and future Prince Phillip was aboard the Valiant, and the contribution of the Royal Australian Navy often gets overlooked in the Mediterranean campaign 😎🤘
The duke of Edinburgh was a search light operator
And he directed his searchlight right on the spot, indeed.
@@ianashby6294 not really an operator lol, he had command of the searchlight crews
Oh that's interesting
@@ianashby6294 Phil the Greek was Mentioned in Despatches for his role in that action.
Both my grandfathers fought the Italians and Germans through North Africa and into Italy. Then one was called back ready for the liberation of France while the other continued the offensive in Italy. They both served the full length of WW2 obtaining many medals. I’m very proud of them. It’s sad that they needed to go through this at all, but I’m very proud to know that they both tried very hard to win. One grandfather was 1 of 8 brothers. Only 2 returned.
Respect my friend. Just another tragedy for all sides 🏴
6 died! it makes saving private ryan a little pathetic , which it wasn't of course!
Even though sometimes it's a necessary evil (sadly), war is nobody's friend.
Go italy go 🇮🇹
@@heartbreakkyle273 ....to the bottom of the sea.... 💀
Can we all be agree that the Italians ship builders was really skillful at making beautiful warships?
I think we can all agree that the Italians build beautiful things. Period... Cars, aircraft, ships, buildings - you name it, they are always beautiful!
Italians also made great wines, coffee, and good-looking women -- all of which they were more interested in than warships.
Maybe just change that to ships.
I thought the idea of a warship was to sink and kill the enemy…not look good on a catwalk !!.
A mention of Cunningham's insistence on considerable night gunnery practice by the Royal Navy vessels under his command would have been a welcome addition to an otherwise fine video on this naval battle.
And the role of the future Duke of Edinburgh as a searchlight officer.
As the British task force sneaked up to the Italian fleet, HMS Formidable was still in the battle line (Where else were they going to put it since it had no escorts of its own?). And once firing opened up, it was so close that, allegedly, the HMS Formidable was the first and only aircraft carrier in history to have shot at an enemy ship with its guns, before being promptly told to get out of the battle line lol
On 25 Oct 1944, during the Battle off Samar, the Escort Carriers of Taffy 3 used their aft 5/38s to fire into the formation of the IJN Center Force, with the USS St. Lo scoring 3 hits on a Tone class cruiser.
What a chad!
HMS Formidable also accompanied the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse to the Indian Ocean in late 1941. She ran aground off Ceylon and thus wasn't present when both surface ships were sunk on December 10th near Singapore
That’s why the USN built the Midway class carriers they were called battle carriers and they were able to provide their own cover and even engage smaller ships if they absolutely had to
@@tomdolan9761 That was HMS Indomitable.
I've always admired the British. When things are their darkest, the Brits are at their best. After rescuing what they could, it was honorable for the British fleet to inform the Italian High Command where their sailors were instead of abandoning them at sea.
I want to know exactly how many shots the aircraft carrier shot at ships?
Don't be silly
Philip was already a prince, of both the Greek and Danish royal families.
@@ffrederickskitty214 Not known for his intellect.
@@larryzigler6812you don't need intellect when you are born into royalty
Cunningham was a remarkable man. Some time after the battle he paid a visit to Bletchley to thank the codebreakers for their support.
He certainly disobeyed Churchill and saved my dad at Crete, who was rescued by a tiny ship called Ajax. Crurchill wanted to abandon the men at Crete for his vengence against the Germans, in getting every ship involved with his plan to "Sink the Bismarck". Cunningham was the exact opposite to Churchill.
@Alfred Wedmore I know. Had Churchill had his way, I would not have been born, and our family would have been wiped out. Churchill depised us New Zealanders almost as much as he HATED the German people. In my opinion, and having studied newspapers of the time, he caused WW1 and was a major influence in starting and prolonging WW2.
@@peace-now how did Churchill cause WW1?
@@bw6524 Just read the English newspapers of the time. He was the main one calling for war against the Germans.
@@peace-now have read several articles by Churchill predating WW1, nowhere have I seen him advocating war against Germany. At best, he comments on tensions between Turkey and Russia, the squabbles between the Balkan states and the consequent divides, alliances and side choosing of the rest of Europe as a result.
Contrary to your claim, Churchill was hoping for reduced tensions in Europe. His numerous proposals for a 'naval holiday' as means of keeping peace were laughed at by the Kaiser and his promotion of 'a conference of sovereigns ' fell on deaf ears.
Churchill did not cause or start WW1.
As for your assertion that Churchill also influenced the star of WW2, again you are wrong.
Churchill was a political backbencher in the lead up to war, his warnings of a quickly re-arming Germany with obvious expansist desires were ignored continuously by Parliament and by most members of his own party. He had no leverage with the decision making of the government and his influence among MPs was practically nil up until 1939.
Churchill had given warnings about Germanys ambitions for a few years yet even though Germany re-mliitarised the Rhineland (March 1936), forced Anschluss with Austria, took posession of the Sudetanland and later invading the rest of Czechoslovakia (March 1939) Britain did nothing until Germany invaded Poland. The above incidents over a 3 year timescale with Churchills numerous (ignored) warnings demonstrate that he had zero influence on the start of WW2.
Great video. The British truly show themselves to be ruthless in battle but by collecting survivors and radioing positions how utterly merciful they are. Bravo.
They didn't do the same for the German sailors...that's for sure. Peace be unto you.
@@martinwarner1178 after the sinking of Bismarck the RN hove to and picked up survivers, that was, until they spied a periscope, then they did the right thing and scarpered.
@@davidthompson4662 that was their excuse. In actuality, there was a U-boat in that area but too far away to have been a threat. The British were making a token rescue effort but then took off to punish the crew of the Bismarck for the sinking of the HMS Hood.
Mio padre classe 1920, Girardini Giovanni ha combattuto in questa battaglia Navale, decorato con Croce al Valore, sempre orgoglioso di lui
My father was a Torpedo Gunner's Mate in HMS Formidable and he fought at Matapan. Much of the battle took place at night and they had a hairy moment when Warspite lit them up with her battle searchlights, apparently not knowing which ship they were. Formidable was an extraordinarily lucky ship: during the Battle of Crete she disappeared behind fountains of bomb explosions and the other ships thought she'd been sunk until she emerged on the other side of the falling water. She also survived being hit by a kamikaze in 1945, which merely left a minor dent in the armoured flight deck.
The survivability of British aircraft carrier flight decks was well documented throughout WW2. The simple answer was armoured flight decks, resulting from a different design philosophy than the US navy, namely a belief that they would fight most of their engagements within range of enemy air cover, and could not guarantee air superiority. While the US navy went for unarmoured, or only lightly armoured flight decks, because that gave you space for more aircraft, and the US industrial machine was capable of more easily building replacement aircraft carriers, and aircraft to fill those larger hangers.
In fact, every single British aircraft carrier that operated in the Pacific theatre was hit by, and survived kamikaze attacks without having to return to a home harbour for repairs.
The Americans used the British carriers to "soften up" Island on the island hopping campaign..I read after a hit on deck only hours were required to get operating again.. go the commonwealth...
And sadly unlike countries like the US where they keep their memorable ships that have amazing stories, the UK simply sold her for scrap less than 10 years after the war! She'd have made an amazing museum ship
@@DawleyDude because we had to rebuild the majority of our cities and industry that had been bombed to crap along with losing a good chunk of population plus those that lost their lives in military service. We owed a kings ransom to the US, we had food rationing still in force in the early 1950s. Damn right those ships were sold as scrap, just look at the state USS Texas was in when it got towed to dry dock last year. If a Country with the money and military pride as the USA can let a Museum ship get that bad, how would any of the RN ships would have faired? Warspite's hull was mostly concrete by D-Day, full of hasty patch jobs, and work arounds. They would have just degraded to the point where it would have been impossible to recover, ending the ships existence in the most disrespectful way possible.
Is it a shame that a number of the RN's WW1 and 2 "Hero" ships were scrapped, but I doubt you'll find many people that lived though the aftermath of WW2 that would have been happy for the Government diverting funds, materials and manpower to preserving those ships when the country had so little of all three.
Although the British battleships were already showing their age before the war begun, the British crews were expertly trained, especially in gunnery. Added to the leadership and togetherness of the command structure, they must have been a scary prospect to face in actual naval combat.
It didn't matter how old the Queen Elizabeths were in this battle. 24 15-inch guns at that range would ruin anyone's day.
That was what was left of the Italian Fleet after the premier British carrier attack on November 11th, 1940 on the Italian Naval base at Taranto where 21 of the obsolete Swordfish biplanes launched the first modified torpedos that functioned in a shallow harbor rendering three Italian Battleships as un-seaworthy. Some Imperial Japanese Naval Admirals and aircrew commanders were paying attention. The US Navy brass apparently was not.
"proto carrier"?? whats Proto about HMS Illustrious?
her design was well proved by surviving the shit-kicking she survived at Malta
@@farmerned6 The attack itself was a first. First carrier attack by torpedo of a fleet at anchor or docked in a shallow harbor. Pearl Harbor was the second.
@@areyou0k98 We broke diplomatic codes prior to the attack but that didn't reveal where attacks were planned. I'd say we dropped the ball in not assuming worst case scenario and that's typical of anyone underestimating a rival. If the Japanese had attacked when we were ready for it we would have gotten a war authorization from Congress just the same. What you've got is an assumptive theory without any solid proof to back it up. Don't underestimate the stupidity of either military brass or politicos . . . There is plenty of evidence and proof in recorded history for that. How smart was the military junta of Japan to bet the farm on a short war with us for instance?
If only japanese had the same precision the gentlemens had....
@@protesialbanese They would have done a lot more round of damage to ships other than sinking the battleships they did two or three times over, And they still would have missed out on the carriers. A lot of our destroyers were on convoy duty in the Atlantic before 12/7/41.
Great video sir, very well done!!! Thank you for taking the time.
The sign of a good channel is that it's worth spending as long reading the comments as it is watching the video. And I've learned a while lot more from reading the comments
My Uncle, long since past, was a pilot during the battle. I remember him saying the flew out of the sun and the Italian fleet which lacked radar, had little notice they were coming. I believe it was his only major battle while in the Fleet Air Arm.
Sunset was about 5PM local time, the attack occurred at 10pm local time. No sun to come out of.
@@nicklappos so sunset was at 5pm in March 1941, but the sun currently sets at 8:50pm in March 2022?
Also, if you actually bothered to watch the video, starting around 6:28 it talks about the 3 air attacks. One launched at 9:38am (sun was up), the second at 3pm (sun was up), the third at 7:30pm (sun was up).
Not a single thing you said was remotely close to factually accurate.
Not even the British had naval radar until May of 1941, first use was against the Bismarck... but air cover? The Italians shoulda had that for sure
@@bwolosI mixed up my dates, you are right!
@@2345allthebest without the radar the British would never have been able to find the cruiser Pola stationary in the middle of the sea at night. just as the Italians did not see the British fleet, the British would not see the Italians. it was the battleship HMS valiant that identified the pola, and she did so thanks to the radar on board her, the only ship in the British squadron to be equipped with this system. as regards air support for the Italians, not only was it lacking on that occasion, but they never had it for the whole course of the war. starting from 1925 the naval engineer Giuseppe Rota began to present projects for the construction of aircraft carriers for the Regia Marina. several were presented over the years, the last one in 1936, but these were always rejected by the high command of the navy, because they believed that italy itself was a natural aircraft carrier. moreover, the Italian air force and navy did not communicate with each other, on the contrary, they were in competition to grab the available funds. in a war that saw the advent of aircraft, that alone is enough to create the perfect recipe for disaster. in the few times that the Italian and German aviation provided air support to the Italian naval squadrons, they did more damage than good. During the battle of Punta Stilo, the Italians asked for air support, but these arrived very late and once they arrived, they bombarded the battleship Giulio Cesare, mistaking it for an English ship. these events were repeated so many times that the Italians were forced to paint the bows of the ships with red and white stripes, so as to allow the aviators to recognize friendly ships. after the night at Cape Matapan, the high command ordered the construction of 2 aircraft carriers, AQUILA and SPARVIERO, but they were not completed in time. another curious fact is that in 1936, the engineer Ugo Tiberio presented his new EC1 radiolocator (radar) to the high command of the navy. this new device allows ships and planes to be located at a much greater distance and can also be done with stormy seas and above all at night. but those high command brains didn't care, preferring to invest more resources in the classic rangefinder. also in this case, after the night of Matapan, resources were diverted to radar, this led to the development of the EC3 GUFO radar, but the first ship received it only in 1943. in February 1943, the Italian cruiser Scipio, equipped with the new EC3 radar, was returning to base at night, located 5 British torpedo boats and attacked. that was the first battle started by the Italians at night and also the first to be won. Italy made huge miscalculations before the war even started and it took major disasters to wake them up. sifting through the old documentation, it turns out that the country already had all the technologies it needed, I'm not saying to win, but to conduct a more balanced war, but these were totally ignored and when it was decided to implement them it was already too late
Respect to the Royal Navy from Chile.
Chile deploys a British-influenced navy that is the ablest navy in South America. Chile has a looooong coastline to defend.
Italian navy was active after Matapan; the 2 battles of Sirte, and the battles of June and August 1942.
Well made & very informative. I knew little about this British / Italian naval battle. Thank You!!
One of the best channels on RUclips. Thank you.
As an Italian, I think that the English naval experience was superior to the Italian one, and finally the lack of radar and air coverage made a difference. Mussolini presumptuously said that "Italy did not need to prune aircraft, since the Italian peninsula was already an aircraft carrier ... !!!" Finally I would like to add, that our ships could sail and fight, due to the lack of fuel ... The lack of radar, planes and fuel, made our Navy lose, even before fighting ... !!! Another absurd thing was that our commanders were not free to command in the battle, as the power of choice was in the "naval command that was in Rome ... !!! I would like to say, then, one last thing, which I have heard in the stories of people on board our ships: The English, after having sunk part of the fleet, exposed themselves more than once, to rescue the Italian sailors who survived at sea ... !!! Honor to our opponent, for this gesture, as a true man of the sea ... !!! Sorry for my rusty English...
Well honestly, the lack of carriers is completely justified. Mediterraean aint the pacific my friend, the range italian airports could reach was enough, making Mussolini's statement true. Navy commands came from Rome as dispatches regarding positions to defend and movements of the enemies, ship's commanders had to coordinate with their fleet for what regards movement. Italian and British experience over the sea was roughly equal, while for what regards incursions and raids italy held a primate.
The UK's navy is probably the most skilled there is.
@@quentin8585 that's not entirely true for the Italian part.
While the utility of aircraft carriers on Italy's side is debatable, it is undoubted that Italian naval commanders were more tactically restricted than the ones from pretty much any other belligerant faction.
Supermarina (The Regia Marina's general headquarters) did NOT leave commanders freedom of strategical choices, leaving at their decision only the tactical development of combat that could ensue while pursuing Supermarina's orders.
Not a retreat, not an attack, not a bait could be thrown without consulting Rome, and this required time, which you don't get very often amidst a war.
This matter, along with the fleet un being conception of the Navy by Italy's top Navy generals, proved to be a lethal combination for a nonetheless well equipped Italian Navy.
@@caporosso7478 There is a difference between limitations regarding naval positioning and movement and what the original comment stated. Considering the overrall defensive strategy of the r.m. it was normal for orders to be appointed by the high command in Rome, an operation that did yes take time but was not planned to be used in an aggressive context. Battles (or should we say traps?) like this were rare in the Mediterraean theatre which was mostly made out of raids and schirmishes rather than Sea battles like its asian counterpart
@@quentin8585 I was only stating that, even if a commander wanted to take a more pro-active stance in a battle, he simply could not.
This, along with the fact that the Royal Navy and the RN were more or less of equal might by sheer numbers in the Mediterranean in 1940, could have l'ex to a different course of history, at least regarding the first part of the Mediterranean Sea.
It had to have been one hell of a surprise when Admiral Cunningham's Flagship HMS Warspite, along with her 2 sister ships, Valiant and Barham, opened fire with their 15inch cannons on the heavy cruisers Fiume and Zara, as well as 2 other destroyers at point blank range. HMS Warspite was a real monster, taking part in the most battles/conflicts then any other Royal Navy warship, and had to have made Cunningham the most proud man alive at the time.
The narrative of this video is worthy of a Pulitzer … well said, colorful, just enough historical date. An Excellent job, sir.
Except he says the German army was invisible instead of invincible…..but otherwise well done
Uh, let's give this guy an Emmy or maybe a Grammy. Save the Pulitzer for something better than this.
No, I had to switch off after a couple of minutes. Turgid drivel.
My dad was a gunner on one of the port side 6" gun's when the battle started so didn't see much at first until near the end when the firing stopped. He said it was a sad sight as the Italian ships sank and the sea was on fire with hundreds of sailors in the water.
you know your in trouble when warspite sets sail, the germans lived that horror show in the fjords
Well pronounced and good job pointing out the problems the Italians had to deal with such as lack of fuel, no radar and compromised intelligence. A lesson for future military strategists.
and only reverse gears lol
I was a full time cav in Aus Army. It's a funny joke but it was a battle strategy that worked well, sometimes!. It was 2 man tankettets's without a cannon vs British and American heavy tanks. It was bait the enemy, withdraw to an blind point and ambush while the fools follow. The Vietnamese did the same to us all and we still never learned. @@fpvDRE
@@fpvDRE Lame and immature comment. The Italian sailors were not cowards. It's not their fault they had abysmal commanders and lacked in technological advantages.
I'm finally used to that narrator's quick, breathless voice and slushy pronunciation. These are excellent videos.
So well presented and researched. Thanks for this.
“We are having shock after shock out here. The damage to the battleships at this time is a disaster… One cannot but admire the cold-blooded bravery and enterprise of these Italians.”
-Adm. Sir Andrew Cunningham, commander in chief Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet
It is a wildly held belief that the Italians were not good fighters.I was brought up on a housing estate were there were many men who had been in the second world war. British,German and Italians and the British and Germans said the Italians were brave and tough just poorly lead. Carlo Meffey, Patrus Salamo and Mr Amatto, Italians, Willy Rader, Alfie Growman ,Germans lived close to us and it was not wise to try to be rude to them as they fitted in and used to have allotments along side my Dads and he said there is no hate between warriors.
Good on them for saving the sailors they could. Huge respect for the British.
Law of the sea.
The Rules of war dictate that you have an obligation to treat captured combatants in a manner befitting human beings.
Not all militaries abide by these rules.
Sailors and seamen have been abandoned by the allies, to the sea when fear of an enemy being nearby was great enough.
But if you were those sailors who went into the water after losing your vessel wouldn’t you want help from any ship no matter the Nationality?
I am a Merchant Marine and I know I’d rather take my chances as a dry prisoner than a cold wet survivor of a shipwreck, any day.
@@Sean-wp7st Nazis and Japanese, however, were a law unto themselves.
@@georgebronte840 They are Germans, not Nazis. Try not being racist for once.
@@peace-now What a pathetic comment, They went to war under the swastika the NAZI flag , There ideology was a NAZI one until the end of the war, I don't know how you can change history in your little mind , they wasn't just Germans there was other nations also.
Wonderful documentary thank you for making it and thank you for sharing it.
I enjoyed this. Not over complicated and focused on the event rather than a truck load of distracting details.
When a nation tries to live up to its past relying on its history and patriotism only, its doomed to fail. I've read lots of books about this event. The Italians were not bad sailors, just hamstrung by ignorant fascists that didn't arm properly (and went up against the Royal navy, for goodness sake!) Doomed!
For D.S I watch all your vids and the style of your narration adds tension and excitement, but mostly cant understand as you speak too quick.
On this you have slowed your speech and lost none of the suspense.
Bring on more like this. ( i finally subscribed as i don't need subtitles anymore 🙂)
You can always slow down the video in Settings (cog symbol), Playback Speed 👍
Once again, as always, great work!!
This battle opened up the Mediterranean to the allies. Whom were then able to cut supplies to Rommel. Forcing Rommel to flee and tens of thousands of Italians and Germans to surrender in North Africa.
Yeah not because he was losing on the battlefield..
@@CyBerCat6410 After the second El Aleman. Rommel was in retreat constantly. He tried a couple of offenses. But was solidly beaten. Rommel fled and left 134.000 German troops to fend for themselves.
@@charleslloyd4253 my comment was sarcastic.
Another great video
Thank you
Thank you. I'm enjoying this part of history.
please when discussing the speed of ships use " Knots "
Nuts to that.
Great video. You should do a follow up video on how a few Italian Frogmen raided the a British fleet anchored in Alexandria later that same year.
The fact that the Axis hadn’t figured out that the Allies were reading the coded messages was insane.
Italians figured out that and stopped using Enigma, the efficiency of S.I.M. (Servizio Informazioni Militare) is one of the causes of X° Mas success
@@DvD1303 wow, the Italians had the intelligence and did not share it with their axis cohorts?
Or the Germans were just not going to listen to the Italians?
@@ianstradian Well, germans never doubted about Enigma, they also thought that informations leaks were due italian's chatty nature
@@DvD1303 did not know any of this.
Thanks dude.
or still most people don't know germans cracked the British codes cause of the US typing memos back to Washington not corectly encoded. Germans got the idea since enigma was updated so much but to the extent of messages of everything being read made every operation a nightmare. Especially for higher up in command knowing you couldn't act on everything as if you did axis would know codes were being read
My father was a Desert Rat and involved in the battle of El Alamein. The maintenance of British naval control of the Med had a crucial part to play in the success of that battle. The guns of the Royal Navy being one side of the pincer. So Matapan paved the way for Alamein. And Alamein was the turning point of the desert war. ('The End of the Beginning' that Churchill famously spoke of.)
Rommel tried to stay away from the Mediterranean Coast because he feared a Briish cruiser might drop a bomb on his staff car.
*IT´S A TRAP!*
- Admiral Ackbarini, Regia Marina -
Nice
THEY CAME FROM BEHIND!
The Duke of Edinburgh (19 year old Prince Philip of Greece at the time) was responsible for concentrating the battleship HMS Valiant's searchlights on the Italian ships, for which he received a mention in dispatches.
Well put together. Thanks.
My father a Petty officer RN fought at Matapan. Thank you for this.
For the British Admiral Cunningham at the battle of Cape Matapan, it must have felt like he had massacred the Italian Navy. He exposed his fleet twice after the battle to rescue Italian survivors in the sea. Once when he stopped to pick up as much Italian survivors as his ships could carry, exposing his fleet to possible German and Italian submarine attack. The second time he risked his fleet to counter attack was when he radioed the Italian Navy the location of the remaining Italian survivors in the water. The “Ruthless” British Admiral Cunningham must have felt like he was “Clubbing Baby Seals” as he massacred the Italian Navy at the battle of Cape Matapan and it must have weighted heavy on his soul for him to risk his fleet twice to save Italian survivors in the sea. After the sinking of the Bismarck the British ships picked up 110 German sailors and had to leave hundreds more for fear of a U-Boat might be in the area. For the amount of Italian sailors saved, the fleet must have stayed a considerable amount of time. The chances of a successful U-Boat attack in the rough North Atlantic waves were considerable less then in the calm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The after action report by German U-Boat U-74 near the sinking of the Bismarck; “U-74 heard sinking sounds but Kentrat (Captain of U-74) could not determine whether it was Bismarck or a British ship. He came to periscope depth and saw battleships and cruisers directly in front of him. He tried to maneuver into an attack position, but the weather was too bad and the seas too high to remain at periscope depth or to fire a torpedo. Wreckage and yellow life-jackets were visible…After the British ships left, Kentrat surfaced amid debris and dead bodies. The sounds they had heard that morning was Bismarck's destruction. They searched but they could find no one alive until that evening when they came across a raft carrying three sailors, Georg Herzog, Otto Höntzsch, and Herbert Manthey. U-74 searched for another day but found no one else alive and was ordered to return to Lorient. On the return trip, the three survivors recovered from their shock and gave the first statements of Bismarck's loss…”
Regardless of nationality we're all sailors. Sailors help sailors
Without a doubt, over 1000!
@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire Mike Crossley's book mentions something similar regarding aircrew. At first, the British and Italians quietly radioed each other the positions of ditched pilots. When they got involved the Germans put a stop to it. Pilots take time to train and experienced ones were in short supply. The recovered ditched enemy pilot might turn out the victor next time around, best to leave him in the sea. Logical but ruthless.
There was a reported sighting of a periscope and we know from subsequent German information that they were in the area.
Radar in WW2 was nowhere near the precise machine we're familiar with today, and torpedoes were far from the accurate weapons of today. There was a reason submarines rarely participated in surface actions in WW2, they were incredibly fragile and not that accurate. Additionally, before Germany got involved in the North Africa campaign, they had little interest in the Mediterranean and focussed their U-boats in the Atlantic. Italian submarines were limited in number and capability (particularly speed). There was almost zero chance of a submarine getting into range of either fleet unless they happened to be right there before the battle. While there were reports of submarines in the area, those submarines would have been hunting merchantmen, and avoiding any warships as best they could. It was only following this battle, and the Bismarck's sinking that both Italy and Germany withdrew from surface engagements, that submarines began in specific circumstances to target warships.
If you consider the all the submarine kills throughout the war, you will notice that the vast majority are merchant ships, and the majority of those killed from stealth, because even an armed merchantman could best a surfaced submarine in a gun battle. Submarines were too valuable, and too fragile to risk mixing it up with surface warships in a regular engagement.
Also, even the British radar would have had real trouble getting anything close to an accurate position plot of a warship at sea from one short transmission, so basically the Italians had nothing to go on if they had wanted to triangulate Cunningham's fleet.
Dam brother that was some really impressive narration on the groups of Italian ships? Wonder how many takes it took? Your a pro..the best part about your vids is they make you feel strange and odd.. highly engaging and digestible ….you figured out a pretty sweet angle well done
They make me feel like a just ran the marathon
Very informative and entertaining video. Great work!
Excellent video! Keep up the great work.
After this naval battle ,there were also others between Regia Marina and Royal Navy ,the Battle of Mid-June and Mid-August ,where Royal lost some ships
Battling for control of the Mediterranean Sea were the British with their older and slower ships against the Italians’ newer and faster line of ships. The Italian navy did not have adequate fuel supply, radar, or air cover. For the Italians, they lost the battle as soon as they began chasing the decoy battleships. The British played the oldest battle plan in the book; using apparently easy targets to lure your enemy deep into your trap. The saddest part was that the Italian Admiral knew that it was a trap, but because of his pride he thought that he could at least inflect some damage on the British before escaping the trap. Instead, the Italian Admiral killed his sailors for his pride in a losing battle he knew he couldn’t win. The Italian Admiral's limited battle tactic was to use his newer and faster ships to hit and run before the British’s older and slower ships could get in firing range and spring the trap. The mistakes he made: 1) he didn’t scout the port of Alexandria to see if the British fleet had left the harbor, so he didn’t calculate how much time and distance he had before he had to abandon the attack and run; 2) even after his scout float-plane located the British fleet closing in, he still attacked hoping to inflect some damage before abandoning the attack and running home and getting air cover; 3) even after knowing the older and slower British fleet was getting close, when the British ships turned around, he slowed his speed for the British ships to get closer to attack them again, allowing the older and slower British ships to catch up and get their obsolete bi-plane within range; 4) he didn’t take into account that the British’s obsolete bi-plane on the British carrier would delay his fleet by having his fleet dodge the torpedoes or being hit by the torpedoes and losing his speed advantage; 5) he didn’t break off the attack early and got caught in darkness, where he would be at a disadvantage because he didn’t have radar. The Italian sailors died because the Italian Admiral didn’t want to lose face because of his pride.
The Queen Elizabeth class was not second rate
@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire The British Navy was larger then those of Germany and Italy but the Axis navies had much more modern and technologically advanced ships.
In a one to one fight they were more than a match than anything the British could throw at them.
Remember how easily the Bismarck destroyed the Hood.
Had the Italians equipped their ships with radar the battle could have turned out much differently.
You’re probably right. The pride of the Italian admirals was immense! You have to understand them. Facing the Royal Navy was the best! The tradition of the Italian royal navy was rather low. In the war of 1866 they had lost in Vis against the Austrians.... You known where Austria is SITUATED, Isn't it? In the First World War there were no war actions for the Italian navy. The only victories achieved by the anti-submarine speedboats.
@@williamegler8771 correct but the British ships were not second rate
How dare anyone call Warspite "second rate"!?
My great grand father, was CPORN of the Destroyer HMS Tartar, involved in this battle as well as the battle of the Bismark
I hate to ask what CPORN is -- surely not "Chief Pornographer"!
Great video, this is my first dip into "Dark Seas"! The potted history at the beginning is very useful and sets the scene nicely. It's worth remembering that the Royal Navy suffered a significant number of losses throughout the war in the Mediterranean but never lost control of the sea to the Axis. I've read eye witness accounts of this battle and they're pretty horrific, especially as the Italians were engaged at basically point blank range by battleships packing 15" main battery guns......
thank you Andy
To be fair the nazis had NO CHANCE in the sea.
@@historyZZ Not really true when they could cover that sea with aircraft
@@historyZZ unfortunately the U boats sank a huge amount of merchant ships up and down the east coast of the US
@@historyZZ That's right. Nazi-Germany had a few (very good) ships, but no fleet! And the Ilalian Navy had no money, no radar and not enough oil. Most of their capital ships were modernized Ships from WW1 and in addition, because of their construction, they were very vulnerable against underwater attacks (Torpedos or Mines). By the way: the sinking and capsized Battleship in the video was not an Italian. It was the Austro-Hungarian Battleship "Szent Iztvan", wich was torpedoed and sunk by an italian(!) Torpedovessel in 1918.
Thank you for the presentation, much enjoyed. However it is probably incorrect to say that the Italian Navy did not carry out any further offensive operations during the War. This may be true of their surface fleet, but they did perform operationally against the Allies and the British in particular. One such raid or attack involved the Maiale (PIG), manned torpedo, took place in October 1942, when three Italian crews, dispatched from the merchant ship Dlterra, sank three British merchant ships in Gibraltar waters. All told Italian frogmen sent 42,000 tons of Allied shipping to the bottom in the area of Gibraltar. In September of 1943, Italy formally surrendered to the Allies. These Navy frogmen were known as Gamma Men and part of the Elite Naval Unit - Decima Flottiglia MAS. Thank you once again.
What about operation harpoon and the Italian 7th cruiser division
trying to remember but weren`t the frogmen operating ilegaly from a neutral port so the brittish couldn`t touch them
@@davidgraham5242 A liqisearch produced the following: Italian Frogmen Raids 1940-1943
Known as the "Floating Trojan Horse of Gibraltar", Decima Flottiglia MAS, an Italian commando frogman unit created during the Fascist government engaged in numerous attacks against the harbour at Gibraltar.
Gibraltar was a very tempting target for the Italians, who saw it as a refuge for British warships and allied merchant shipping. The Italian frogmen originally used a Spanish villa (Villa Carmela) located two miles (3 km) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino. Their base was shifted later to the Italian tanker SS Olterra, interned in Algeciras.
@@joey8062 Good point.
@@PowerPlay1 thanks good memory knew they operating illegaly from a neutral port
My Great-Grandfather was serving as an Officer on HMS Warspite.
His role was equivalent to Senior/Head Quartermaster of the ship, and his combat duty was to support the hull mounted encasement battery outside his office.
She was great ship!
Out classed and out gunned!
Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up
Guns are not in the equation when you are outclassed. Peashooters sink battleships when you are outclassed.
The British with guns of all sizes continued to rule the Mediterranean waves.
appreciated sir 🙏
The radar play an important role beside the breaking of enigma code.
Royal Navy was second to none. Absolutely first class
Always has been, always will be
@@Peoples_Republic_of_Devonshire A shame that all of our fleet of new destroyers are in dock right now with that engine problem.
Prince of Wales and Repulse, the
Battle off Endau, First & Second Battles of Java Sea, the Battle of Ceylon, etc. I don’t think the Imperial Japanese Navy had much problem dealing with the Royal Navy for most of the war.
@@orcinus6802 for every loss there's a victory somewhere else. The RN maintained sea superiority which prevented invasion of the UK, they destroyed the Italian fleet, maintained the Atlantic Inc sinking German battleships and even sank the French fleet to prevent the Germans getting the ships after their surrender. The US was bigger in the Pacific no doubt but the RN ships were also more heavily armoured and didn't get damaged as much from kamikazes etc.
World Class navy that showed the French, the Japanese, the Italians and even the Americans how to build winning navies.
Great footage of the Italian navy...never seen it before... :)
Thanks for posting this historical vid.....
I have read that the second-in-command of the cruiser "Pola", which was taken prisoner by the British (the Pola was out of action because it was torpedoed and its engines were stopped;, It was destroyed only after the massacre), was literally stunned when he read incidentally, on board the ship (Warspite? Valiant?) where he was being held, Cunningham's agenda of three days before, in which the action of Cape Matapan was foreseen.The victory was due to Enigma, radars and torpedo bombers, and the Italians' inability to coordinate aviation and Navy. Better the way...not for the poor dead sailors.
Seeing as the Italians were fighting with the Nazis, why didn't they share the radar technology? Could have really helped the Italians in this case.
@@GaaGaaGaaGaaGaaGaa2 I agree. This just illustrates one of the major issues the Axis Powers shared. None of the Axis Powers coordinated their war effects with the others. Germany did their own thing, as did Japan and Italy. Idk if it was mutual distrust of each other; or more of each country thought that they were the ' alpha ' power; or a combination of both. They may have just had different aims but by not cooperating they blew whatever chance they had of winning. Germany and Japan could have caused the Soviet Union to fight a two-front war. That would have devastated the Soviet Union and maybe knocked them out of the war. We will never know.
@@GaaGaaGaaGaaGaaGaa2 Nazi's didn't have the tech until 1943. Interestingly it was an Italian by the name of G. Marconi who invented the radar, but because it was the study of something invisible and not tangible the Italian and German command could not understand it and rejected it as voodoo! How ironic!! Even Goring refused to bomb the extremely large radar installs in Britain and kept asking "What are they".!!
Italians were totally Inefficient.
@@GaaGaaGaaGaaGaaGaa2 The germans used a different wavelength as I recall, less useful for detecting ships and useless for detecting submarines, the alies used centimetric radar which allowed long range bombers to detect subs far out to sea, the Germans took ages to work out why their subs were vanishing, because they just didn't think an aircraft radar could spot a U Boat in amongst the clutter of the sea, theres a book by RV jones called Most Secret War that describes many of the scientific developments made during WW2 when he was an advisor, all sorts of weird things, I remember in the book that when the allies worked out how to confuse German Radar by the simple expedient of dropping foil strips of a specific length the Germans accused them of chemical warfare, the metal strips it turned out had been painted with I think an Arsenic based paint and some had been eaten by cows grazing in the fields with fatal results
Rather a good video pointing out our sailors were no weenies but no matter how brave soldier you are, if under a bad commander you'll always end up dead. And the highest and more stupid he is, the worst and sillier you die. But how bad can be a naval battle?
To quote one i knew back in 1983 and was on Roma battleship when sunk: "We had to keep doors sealed on our mates to try keep ship afloat as long as possible and heard them die calling for help... Still have nightimares 40 years later..."
And his eyes were two glass balls full of tears, fixing what only he could see...
Dear God, what a terrible memory.
This is crazy, thank you !
Gripping narrative. Love the archival naval footage. 5 Stars.
Just a correction but otherwise good vid. The littorio class battleships were engeneering masterpieces, they had a system that prevented moderate high seas to impact the firing gun range system, although this was not enough to compensate the rather poor dispersion. The drawback was due to the fact that the regia marina explicitly request ships capable of extremely long firing range( roma for example was reported to be capable of firing 44km)
Another aspect was inconsistent shells due to poor quality control in their manufacture. Their guns had the potential to be among the if not the most accurate of the time until radar was better refined but their shells let them down.
Check out a channel called Drachinifel. He has a video that goes into detail of the Littorio. The section just going through the many different range finders carried aboard is probably 10mins long on it's own 😂
@@MoA-Reload... Drachenfel is definitely worth following up on this.
Great. I just stepped off a BF ME 110 Destroyer, over @ Skies. Good stuff as always. TY.
I've been with Dark since the no narration days of Dark 5. I'm so glad they got a narrator and branched out. Now I can listen at work without watching. These keep getting better.
Oh yeah! I love dark day when his new video come out
@@WideLoad405 yes bro playlisting that ishhh
Ditto!
Interesting. Learned more. Thanks for sharing. 👉✊
2 videos was enough to convince me to suscribe!
Libyan oil was first was discovered in 1938 but the facilities to exploit the discovery was not been built before WW2. In 1958/9 the commercial oil fields were discovered in the country.
Like at Trafalgar, the French like the Italians had newer ships but inadequately trained commanders and crews.
The same result though with British Victories.
British naval commanders followed Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson's battle strategy of always being on the Offensive in any battle..
Which most times paid off, but occasionally, (not mentioning any names, David Beatty), did not. The calibre of Italian crews is an oft- repeated myth. What really let them down was lack of radar, and particularly the truly appalling quality of their ordnance, which meant that try as they might, they couldn't hit a bloody thing, and if they did, it generally didn't go off.
@@phaasch
Beatty was an Idiot. But what is noted at the Battle of Jutland was despite the heavy British losses, Jellicole did not lose the British Grand Fleet,
which maintained the North Sea blockade of food for Germany. The German Fleet never ventured out again to do battle and the starvation of German civilians sparked riots in their cities and helped start the surrender of Germany in WW1.
Basically a tactical defeat but a Strategic Victory for Britain.
For years after, Beatty maintained a successful propaganda campaign that if Jellicole had followed up his disastrous charge of British cruisers, Britain would have won that battle.
They may had won the battle had Beatty actually told Jellicoe where the Germans were lol
@@thundercactus
And had Beatty used his superior range to harass the HSF until the Grand Fleet showed up.
I enjoyed thanks for sharing
Excellent stuff bro
If we just had a decent dive bomber none of those ships would have survived.
And America determined the dive bomber was obsolete because of guided rockets by 1943. What a world.
I do have to say the Italian navy ships were absolutely beautiful.
God, what a beautiful-looking navy. Props to Il Duce.
Great documentary, thanks
Thank-You, Gr8 Film.
Really like this channel. Keep the videos coming. Mussolini made a huge mistake entering the war. My grandparents are from Italy and remembered when Mussolini went to war in 1935. After that my grandparents knew Mussolini was going to ruin Italy.
Mussolini was a huge tragedy for Italy - beautiful country, wonderful people - how thy suffered because of his folly!
Whenever I mentioned his name to my grandma, she would pretend spit. He led many on the Eastern Front to death.
Well he had supporters like Hitler he couldn't do what he did on his own 🤷🏽♂️
@@CyBerCat6410 Without the help from Hitler, he would have been beaten very quickly in Lybia and Greece and the war would have endet earlier for Italy. He admired Hitler's successes and wanted the same for his country, ignoring, that the italian army, navy and air force wasn't prepared for a modern war. This decision costed the life of thousands italian soldiers, sailors and civilians. At the end, he was only a puppet on the string for Hitler.
@@arnddegenhard2278 i worded it wrong what i mean is like hitler Mussolini had supporters he couldnt have risen to power without support from Italians.
Italians are some of the nicest people on earth and that evil Mussolini got them into a war few really wanted. Without radar, these Italian ships were "sitting ducks" and the British picked them off. I am glad we are friends and allies once again with the Italians.
You act like the Italians didn't conquer and enslave most of Europe for what 1000 years?
And once they conquered your army and took you prisoner they would parade you in cages like cattle when they did parades for successful generals. Really shows how hardcore Rome was.
@@knmo2642 read the comment young one. It says ARE some of the nicest, not were. Take your poisonous hatred elsewhere junior
Definitely, love the Italian people. 3 nations in the world everyone loves, The Irish, The Italians, The Australians.
Yes, I’ve spent quite a few holidays in Italy and I love the country and the people.
Nice Job on the Video! JJ
Excellent video ✅
Honourable
The British navy allowed the Italian hospital ships to come and rescue the sailors.
could you ever imagine China ever allowing that kind of thing ?
@@psycronizer nope never they will most likely kill all survivors and then would say nobody survived the wreck
@@psycronizer even american wouldnt allowed any rescue lol. Remember their attack to 'possible terrorist' at middle east?
@@abdielabraar910 true but the world wars and wars back than seem much more honorable than current wars
@@hypnosis5660 nahhh. Back then, human rights wasnt anything like nowadays. US is so powerful that they can avoid war crime sanctions
The Italian flagship was a magnificent beast!
Only a aricraft torpedo could sunk that ship.
@@saveriocannata3447
Na...Warspite would have destroyed it.....beautiful ship though.
@@saveriocannata3447 Not exactly, Littorio class was a first class BB. Those wonderful warships were considered at least till 1942 the best ships ever built together with the Bismarck class. She was torpedoed took that hit and though she was listing at the stern, in less than 2 hours still capable to sail at a speed of 20 knots. The problem for italian Navy weren't the ships but I'd say the officers and admirals. Only the Vanguard class in the Royal Navy was probably superior to Littorio class.
Well documentary and narration. Almost riveting!
This is a really fantastic documentary.
Ruthless Admiral A.B. Cunningham??????? Try. MASTER TACTICIAN! !!!!!!!!!!!!
What a stupid comment 'ruthless'? TowGOD, spot on.
@@BrianWMay Cheers
My uncle on my mother's side served aboard the Italin navy. While they were defeated they still accepted battle rather than run due to their pride. I served aboard American destroyers of DesRon6 Norfolk, VA. I honor my Italian relatives who even though knowing defeat lurked stood and fought rather than cravenly slinking away like a frightened jackal. Many big mouths today speak of their bravery and lack of fear and hide and live through the Valor of others. If God help us we ever do get into a shooting war I only hope there are those with the fortitude to back their bravado.
My late father served on a light cruiser (Coventry) fighting at the battle of Cape Spartivento. As both sides disengaged, one ancient destroyer left the Italian line and sailed between the two combatant fleets laying down a smokescreen. Cunningham signalled the British ships “Leave that man alone, he’s bloody brave”, and all ships ceased firing at the destroyer. There was more respect between the opponents than the Italians are ever given credit for.
Always awesome by this world class historian!!
My Grandfather was a Midshipman in HMS VALIANT. He always ruefully said Matapan was not a ‘battle’ but a ‘massacre’.
Lovers not fighters😆
Nice looking cruisers lit 🔥 Warspite was Beast. Pretty good video from Dark seas👍
The Italian warships were actually very impressive and the latter battleships were probably better than their British counterpart. The Italian Navy on paper looked really good and able to challenge the British in the Mediterranean if they were dealing with multiple navies simultaneously across the globe.
But the Italian navy lacked fuel to really be able to be effective and engage the British in large numbers. The Italians were also very disorganized while the British seem to win the majority of their naval engagements with much better intelligence and co-ordination.
If the Italians had better leadership and coordination tactics the fight for Africa might have come out a lot differently. In WW1 the Italian Navy performed superbly.
Italy had built a BEAUTIFUL navy. There was just a better navy in the neighborhood. Italian admirals knew it.
@Yesindeed126 "obliterated"
@Yesindeed126 hope you realize the lack of resources is quite important in a war or battle
@Yesindeed126 Yep, that and you had America or you KNOW, Britain would have lost.
"Long the butt of jokes, the Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) of World War II had capable professional officers, gallant sailors, and beautiful fast ships designed by gifted engineers. What it didn’t have was petroleum, and that was fatal. As British Foreign Secretary Lord Curzon observed at the end of World War I, the Allies “floated to victory on a sea of oil.”
@@spaniardsrmoors6817 and they didn't have radar but Germany did have at the time so why Italy could not obtain or develop it handicapped them but also the enigma being deciphered was another huge blow.
Thank you for this video; I had heard of Tarranto (sp?) but not Matapan...
Good narration and tone of narration.
One of your best yet.
RULE BRITTANIA, BRITTANIA RULE THE WAVES.
This was horribly inaccurate in terms of the motivations of all involved and what led to this battle, and how it influenced the rest of the war. For a real analysis of Cape Matapan I suggest you watch Drach, Dr. Clark or Military History Visualized who actually do a graduate level of research of the events, rather this 6th grade book report
They did until late WW2.
@@KittyCat10945 Yes, I know. Now we Yanks rule the waves.
Prince Philip was in the thick of it .your country lost a gem of a man in his recent passing . a yank
@@ronalddevine9587 it's a moving feast,the Chinese will overtake the US Navy soon
The Drachinifel film on this action is very good for more detail.
BTW, The night action itself lasted about as long as this film.
In the early 60's I used to take a shortcut on my bike across some farmland. I got to know a group of ex Italian prisoners of war farmworkers who with their families decided to make England their home. We became quite close friends, they often gave me huge spuds to take home. They, like us, didn't want to fight. There was no animosity at all, it was all in the past. It must never be forgotten, just forgiven.
Excellent presentation.