Red Sea Flotilla

The Red Sea Flotilla () was part of the (Italian Royal Navy) based at Massawa in the colony of Italian Eritrea, part of Italian East Africa. During the Second World War, the Red Sea Flotilla fought the East Indies Station of the Royal Navy from the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941.

The flotilla was isolated from the main Italian bases in the Mediterranean by distance and British dispositions. Without an overland route (via Sudan) or via the Suez Canal, supply was virtually impossible. The submarines in the flotilla suffered from faulty air conditioning, that poisoned crews when submerged, causing several losses. Attempts to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf had meagre results and British intelligence successes caused the loss of several ships.

Rear Admiral Mario Bonetti ordered the harbour facilities to be denied to the British by the scuttling of more than thirty vessels in the harbour approaches. Bonetti directed the harbour workers to destroy their machine tools, two floating dry docks and a floating crane. The capture of Massawa and other Italian ports in the region brought the to an end in April 1941.

Background

After the (evasion fleet) intended for the Indian Ocean, based in the ports of Italian Somaliland proved to be too expensive, Rear Admiral Carlo Balsamo di Specchia-Normandia, the commander of the East African naval squadron, based a smaller force at Massawa. On 10 June 1940, the Red Sea Flotilla had seven destroyers in two squadrons, a squadron of five MAS ( motor torpedo boats) and eight submarines in two squadrons. The main base was at Massawa, with other bases at Assab (also in Eritrea) and Kismayu, in southern Italian Somaliland. The Red Sea Flotilla would have to operated cautiously because its finite stock of fuel and ammunition.

The base at Massawa and the smaller base at Assab on the Eritrean coast, was convenient for attacks on convoys sailing from the Gulf of Aden through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, which became much more important after the Mediterranean was closed to Allied merchant ships, forcing them to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. A strategy of a fleet-in-being and the denial of the Red Sea to British shipping was the only practical strategy open to the Italians, using submarines offensively for a war of six months' duration. Because of the Flotilla, the US government declared the Red Sea a war zone and out of bounds to American ships, depriving the British of an important source of tonnage to supply the British forces in Egypt.

1940

Early operations

Italy declared war on 10 June 1940 and the Flotilla tried to attack Royal Navy ships and Allied convoys from Massawa but the British had suspended sailings to the Red Sea on 24 May 1940. On 7 June, the ''Ostia'' laid 470 mines in eight barrages and the destroyer , laid two barrages with 110 mines off Assab. Leakage of chloromethane refrigerants into the Italian submarines while submerged caused central nervous system poisoning; ran aground while the crew was incapacitated by the gas and was wrecked on 15 June. The next day, sank the Norwegian freighter ''James Stove'' (8,215 GRT) off Djibouti. On 19 June, when the submarine engaged the armed trawler ''Moonstone'', all the officers except a midshipman were killed in two shell explosions and the vessel was captured, along with its operational orders and taken to Aden on the same day.

The British sent the sloop to find in the Persian Gulf, where it had sunk the sloop . ''Galvani'' was sunk on 24 June and ''Torricelli'', en route to take over from , after another chloromethane poisoning incident off Djibouti, was damaged by British ships on 21 June and forced to turn back. ''Torricelli'' was spotted on 23 June near Massawa by the destroyers , , and the , aided by aircraft from Aden. ''Shoreham'' was damaged by ''Torricelli'' before it was sunk and ''Khartoum'' was sunk soon afterwards by an internal explosion. , and sailed from 19 to 21 June, ''Perla'' running aground on 26 June and being severely damaged on a shoal, then recovered.

From 26 to 31 July, ''Guglielmotti'' searched and failed to find two Greek ships heading south from Suez. On an offensive sweep, the torpedo boats and also found nothing. From 21 to 25 August, ''Guglielmotti'' and ''Ferraris'', the torpedo boats ''Nullo'' and from 24 to 25 August, ''Battisti'' and from 30 to 31 August, ''Pantera'' and from 28 to 29 August searched for ships reported by spies and reconnaissance aircraft, with no result. On the night of 5/6 September, ''Battisti'', ''Manin'' and ''Sauro'' and over the night of 6/7 September, and ''Tigre'' with ''Battisti'' and ''Sauro'' tried to intercept Convoy BN 4, that had been spotted by air reconnaissance but failed to find it; ''Ferraris'' and ''Guglielmotti'', further to the north, also failed to make contact but ''Guglielmotti'' sank the Greek tanker ''Atlas'' (4,009 GRT) on 6 September at 15°50'N, 41°50'E. From 19 to 21 September, ''Leone'' and ''Pantera'', ''Battisti'' and ''Manin'' with the submarines ''Archimede'' and ''Guglielmotti'', searched for Convoy BN 5 but failed to find it; ''Bhima'' (5,280 GRT) was bombed, ran aground and towed back to Aden.

Attack on Convoy BN 7

The Italian destroyers sailed on 20 October, the destroyers operating in pairs, Section I comprising the faster ''Sauro'' (Commander Moretti degli Adimari) and ''Francesco Nullo'' (Lieutenant Commander Costantino Borsini). Section II, the slower, better armed ''Pantera'' and ''Leone'' were to divert the escorts and then attack the convoy with torpedoes. The convoy was about north-north-west of Jabal al-Tair Island at 02:19 on 21 October, when the New Zealand cruiser, ''Leander'', sighted two patches of smoke bearing north. ''Pantera'' fired over ''Yarra'' at the convoy, inflicting some splinter damage to a lifeboat on the convoy commodore's ship. ''Auckland'' opened fire and the Italian ships separated and turned away at full speed west-south-west, towards Massawa, firing their aft guns. ''Pantera'' fired two torpedoes at 23:31 and another pair at 23:34. Observers in ''Yarra'' thought that the leading enemy vessel was hit by their fourth or fifth salvo.

''Sauro'' fired a torpedo at ''Leander'' which missed and made another ineffective torpedo attack at 02:07. ''Nullo'' was not able to attack after its rudder jammed for several minutes and it went round in circles, losing contact with ''Sauro''. Borsini ordered ''Nullo'' towards the Italian batteries on Harmil, an island off Massawa. When the gunfire ceased, ''Leander'' altered course to the north-west to intercept the ships at the South Massawa Channel (the Harmil Passage) and at 02:45, opened fire; the range was increasing and the ship was lost to sight after the first salvos. At 02:20 ''Leander'' damaged ''Nullo''s gyrocompass and gunnery director then lost contact in the haze. ''Nullo'' headed toward Harmil with ''Leander'' in pursuit and at 03:00, ''Leander'' challenged a destroyer which turned out to be ''Kimberley'', also in pursuit. After five minutes, the cruiser altered course east to rejoin the convoy, since the Italian ship was drawing away at the rate of and the convoy was still vulnerable.

Action off Harmil

At 05:40, off Harmil, lookouts on ''Kimberley'' and ''Nullo'' spotted each other at . When ''Kimberley'' opened fire at 05:53, ''Nullo'' was taken by surprise, having mistakenly identified the British ship as Italian. ''Kimberley'' closed to and at 06:20, ''Nullo'' scraped a reef, damaging a propeller and springing a leak. As ''Nullo'' rounded Harmil at about 06:25, it was hit several times. ''Nullo'' lost all power and Borsini gave the order to abandon ship, trying to run ''Nullo'' aground on Harmil. ''Nullo'' was then hit by a torpedo at 06:35, breaking in two.

At 06:15 the four naval guns on Harmil engaged ''Kimberley'' and hit it in the engine-room. While adrift from the shore battery, ''Kimberley'' silenced two of the guns. ''Kimberley'' managed to get under way, its speed reduced to and the shore battery ceased fire when ''Kimberley'' was distant. ''Leander'' left the convoy and at 06:54 increased speed to . At about 10:00, ''Leander'' arrived and took ''Kimberley'' in tow.

December 1940

From 3 to 5 December, ''Tigre'', ''Leone'', ''Manin'' and ''Sauro'' sortied with ''Ferraris'' in another abortive attempt to find a convoy. From 12 to 22 December, ''Archimede'' conducted two more sorties with no result and from 23 to 30 December ''Ferraris'' lay off Port Sudan.

1941

February 1941

Attack on Convoy BN 14

On the night of 1941, the Italian destroyers ''Pantera'', ''Tigre'' and ''Sauro'' sailed from Massawa to intercept Convoy BN 14, consisting of 39 merchant ships, escorted by the cruiser , the destroyer ''Kingston'' and the sloops and ''Shoreham''. ''Sauro'' sighted the convoy, got off a sighting report and fired three torpedoes, then fired again at a ship seen in a cloud of smoke, before turning away at high speed. The two other ships did not receive the sighting report from ''Sauro'' but ten minutes later, ''Pantera'' saw the ships and fired torpedoes, hearing explosions and claiming probables on two merchantmen; ''Tigre'' failed to find the convoy. In the South Massawa Channel, ''Sauro'' ran into ''Kingston'' but had no torpedoes left. Fearful that the British were trying to spring ambush, the other Italian ships converged on ''Sauro'' and called by wireless for air cover at dawn, reaching port unharmed. Local Italian press reports claimed that two ships had been hit but this report was mistaken.

Operation Composition

On 14 February, in Operation Composition, 14 Albacore bombers from attacked Massawa, sinking ''Moncaliere'' (5,723 GRT) and damaging other ships and freighters. On 21 February another seven Albacores dive-bombed the ships.

Action of 27 February 1941

(3,667 GRT) (Lieutenant commander ) was a refrigerated merchant ship (reefer) built for the (RAMB, the Royal Banana Monopoly Company) in 1933. The ship was adapted for naval service as an armed merchant cruiser. ''Ramb'' I had departed Suez on 10 June 1940 for Massawa, from where the ship made short cruises along the coast of Eritrea but was mainly used for anti-aircraft defence of the port. In January 1941, the colonial ship ''Eritrea'', the auxiliary cruisers, ''Ramb'' I and , were to operate as commerce raiders. As British troops neared the port, ''Ramb'' I and ''Coburg'' (7,400 GRT), a German freighter, escaped from Massawa on the night of 20/21 February 1941 and passed into the Gulf of Aden. At on 27 February, west of the Maldives, the New Zealand cruiser sighted a merchant resembling an Italian ''Ramb''-class fruit carrier (''Ramb'' I). Soon after the ship hoisted the Italian merchant flag and trained its guns on ''Leander''.

The cruiser was broad on the beam of ''Ramb'' I and at was an easy target for its guns and torpedoes. At the Italian ship opened fire and thirty seconds later, ''Leander'' replied. The Italian fire was inaccurate and it was estimated that only about three shells were fired from each gun. ''Leander'' fired five salvos in a minute and hit the ship several times. A fire spread and an Italian officer in the water called out to a boarding party that they should not approach the ship, as it was burning and laden with ammunition. The boarding party laid off and as the fire spread, a big explosion before the bridge shot flames and smoke high into the sky, the ship settling bow first. As the fire burned, there was another explosion and five minutes later the ship sank under a cloud of black smoke. ''Leander'' recovered the boarding party and the Italian lifeboats, while edging away.

March 1941

On 1 March five Albacores raided Massawa again but caused little damage. As the Italians depleted their fuel at Massawa, the offensive capability of the Red Sea Flotilla declined and it returned to a strategy of a fleet-in-being. On 23 March the German ''Oder'' (8,516 GRT) and the Italian ''India'' (6,366 GRT) sailed from Massawa but ''Oder'' was intercepted by ''Shoreham'' at the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and scuttled; ''India'' docked at Assab. On 29 March ''Bertram Rickmers'' (4,188 GRT) sailed and was scuttled on 1 April when intercepted by ''Kandahar''. ''Piave'' tried to break the blockade on 30 March and got as far as Assab and ''Lichtenfels'' sailed on 1 April but was turned back. On 31 March 1941, ''Pantera'', ''Tigre'' and ''Leone'', attempted a night attack on Suez but ''Leone'' ran aground off Massawa and had to be scuttled by gunfire, the delay causing the operation to be cancelled. The two remaining ships joined ''Sauro'', ''Battisti'' and ''Daniele Manin'' on a final raid against Port Sudan on 2 April. Engine trouble kept ''Battisti'' in port and it was scuttled off the coat of Arabia on 3 April. The Italian ships were spotted by aircraft about off the port and came under attack from the Swordfish bombers of flying from the Port Sudan airfield that sank ''Manin'' and ''Sauro''. ''Pantera'' and ''Tigre'' were scuttled on the Arabian coast.

Massawa, April 1941

The defenders of Massawa managed to resist several attacks but the main British effort began on 6 April. The light cruiser was torpedoed by the motor torpedo boat MAS 213 off Massawa and was towed to Port Sudan by the sloop for repairs. Attacks on land, combined with air and sea bombardments led the defences to crumble by 8 April. MAS 213, ''Orsini'', MAS 204, 206, 210 and 216 and other ships were scuttled as the British troops entered the town. More than thirty vessels, including eleven Italian and six German, were scuttled in the harbour approaches, including large commercial ships, smaller coastal steamers, tugs and several naval vessels to a total of 89,870 GRT. The Italian harbour workers were to destroy their machine tools, two floating dry docks and a floating crane. The four remaining submarines were ordered to join the flotilla at Bordeaux and evaded British attempts to intercept them.

On 8 April Massawa fell, five ships were sunk at Harmil (38,125 GRT) where two ships bombed earlier lay and three ships of 23,765 GRT were sunk at Assab. British efforts to bring the harbour back to service were frustrated by the extreme heat and humidity. Commander Joseph Stenhouse was able to re-float one oil tanker before he was killed at sea. On 11 April, President Roosevelt announced that the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden we no longer war zones, allowing US ships to sail in them. A British civilian contractor was hired but he and his team failed to float any scuttled vessels. Edward Ellsberg, a commander in the U.S. Navy arrived in April 1942 and began systematically to restore the harbour facilities. His staff repaired the largest dry dock and pieced together enough machine tool parts to restore machinist operations. By August 1942, after re-floating several ships, Ellsberg opened access to the harbour sufficiently to enable British warships such as (19 August 1942) to be dry-docked and serviced. Assab, the last Italian-held port on the Red Sea, was attacked in Operation Chronometer on 10 June and occupied.

order of battle

Destroyers

File:RCT Nullo USMM X.jpg, The Italian destroyer
File:Destroyer Pantera.JPG, The Italian destroyer in 1935

MAS (Motor torpedo boats)

File:SA-kuva 114392.jpg, MAS leaves its moorings
File:MAScamo.jpg,

VIII Submarine Group

File:Italian Submarine Galileo Galilei.jpg, towed by
File:RSMG Adua.jpg,

Other naval vessels

File:RAMB II in Adriatic.jpg, in 1937
File:ITALIAN WARSHIP SURRENDERS AT COLOMBO. 14 SEPTEMBER 1943. THE ITALIAN COLONIAL SLOOP ERITREA A 2170 TONS, ESCORT VESSEL WITH A SPEED OF 20 KNOTS, ENTERED COLOMBO HARBOUR RECENTLY TO SURRENDER. A19586.jpg, surrendering, 14 September 1943

Merchant ships (Massawa)

Merchant ships (Dahlak Kebir)

See also

* Action of 8 May 1941
* Italian Royal Navy
* List of Italian destroyers

Notes

Footnotes

References

Books

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Further reading

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External links

The Royal Italian Navy in the Red Sea Cristiano D'Adamo

{{World War II

History of the Red Sea
Red Sea
Red Sea
Red Sea
Red Sea
Red Sea
East African campaign (World War II)
Military history of the Indian Ocean