Battle of the Ligurian Sea

The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was a naval surface action of the Second World War fought on 18 March 1945, in the Gulf of Genoa in the Mediterranean Sea. A '' Kriegsmarine'' flotilla of two torpedo boats and one destroyer was conducting an offensive mine laying operation at night when it was intercepted by two Royal Navy destroyers; and . The British destroyers sank two of the German ships and severely damaged the third; it was the last German naval surface action of the war.

Background

At the Malta Conference (30 January – 3 February 1945), it was decided to transfer air force and army units from Italy to the Western Front in France and Belgium in Operation Goldflake. In February and March 1945, the I Canadian Corps was moved from Italy to the French port of Marseilles. Escorts for the troopships were provided by Flank Force (Admiral Robert Jaujard) British, French and US ships, with air cover from the Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force (MACAF).

Prelude

On the night of 17 March 1945, the last three operational ships of the German 10th Flotilla ( Korvettenkapitän Franz Burkart) conducted an offensive mine-laying operation north-east of Corsica. After sailing from Genoa, s (ex-Italian ''Arturo'') and (ex-Italian ''Eridano'') laid 56 mines south of Gorgona Island, while the destroyer '' TA32'' (a '' Torpedoboot Ausland'', the ex-Yugoslavian ''Dubrovnik'') placed 76 mines north of Cap Corse. The flotilla rendezvoused for the return to Genoa and was about north of Cape Corse, when they were detected by an Allied shore radar at Livorno. Four Allied destroyers of the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla were patrolling in the area; the French and the ; the British s and .

In the early hours of 18 March, all but ''Meteor'' received the radar report from Livorno. Captain André Léon Jean Marie Morazzani, the senior officer aboard ''Tempête'', ordered the British ships to intercept the intruders, while he led the older and slower French destroyers south-east, in case the Germans doubled back to intercept a convoy near Cape Corse. ''Lookout''s commander, Derick Hetherington, coordinated with ''Meteor'' via Talk Between Ships (TBS) and the British ships went on separate courses north-east at full speed. By the time Morazzani was sure that the German ships were no threat to the convoy, he was too far away to join the action.

Action

''Lookout'' established radar contact with the Germans at 03:00 on 18 March, sailing at just west of north. ''Lookout'' approached at high speed from ahead and opened fire at about . Minutes later she swung around, moving parallel to the Germans and launched torpedoes. The Germans were surprised and ''Lookout''s radar-directed guns quickly scored hits on ''TA24'' and ''TA29''. ''TA29'' dropped out of formation while the other two ships retreated north. ''Lookout'' let them go to concentrate on the crippled ''TA29'' and circled it, firing continuously with its six 4.7-inch guns from as close as . ''TA29'' replied, her gunners almost hitting ''Lookout'' several times. One burst of 20 mm shells hit some smoke floats and started a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

''Lookout'' continued to fire at ''TA29'' until just after 04:00; after more than 40 hits, ''TA29'' caught fire and sank. She lost only 20 men despite ''Lookout''s intense and accurate salvos. ''Meteor'' altered course to intercept the other German ships and about the time that ''Lookout'' engaged ''TA29'', ''Meteor'' made radar contact at with the two German ships retreating north. ''Meteor'' opened fire at and hit ''TA24'' almost immediately. Seeing the hit in the dark, she launched a salvo of torpedoes a few minutes later, one of which struck ''TA24''. ''Meteor''s commander, Richard Pankhurst, saw a "geyser of flame and metal" and ''TA24'' sank just after 04:00, losing thirty men in 13 minutes.

Aftermath

The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was the last surface action fought by of the Second World War. The British destroyers ended any possibility of German deep water offensive operations in the Ligurian Sea, let alone anywhere else in the Mediterranean. The engagement was also the last surface naval action the British fought in the western theatre and the last substantial surface action fought on the Mediterranean Sea. ''TA32'' was damaged but managed to escape; she was scuttled by her crew in Genoa on 25 April 1945. The British destroyers rescued 244 survivors, including Franz Burkart, in rafts and boats from ''TA24'' and ''TA29'' and took them prisoner. In 2011, Spencer Tucker wrote that "the British destroyers achieved decisive results against a German unit... and their victory effectively ended the Kriegsmarine's ability to undertake deep water offensive operations".

References

Bibliography

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Further reading

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External links

''HMS Lookout (G 32)'' – U-Boat.net



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March 1945 events in Europe
1945 in France
1945 in Italy