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Battle
of Cape Teulada
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Balance of Power Chessboard is ready Ballistic Contact |
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Balance of Power |
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The British battleships had five 381mm guns
more than the Italians who, on the other hand, could rely on the
Cesare's 320mm. The
Italian cruisers, of which most were on the “Washington”, or
“heavy” ," outgunned the British who could, on the other
hand, rely on the aircraft of the Ark Royal. In all, the two fleets
were balanced and the only possible tilting factor, the Regia
Aeronautica, never materialized. |
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The Italians had a ballistic advantage; their guns could be used up to 30,000 meters (30 km or slightly less than 18 miles ) while the British ones were limited to 24-26,000 meters (24 km or 15 miles. The weight of the largest projectile was similar, 880 Kg for the Italians and 800 Kg for the British. It should be noted that, as reported by Iachino, the British cruisers did not jointly concentrate fire on a single target. According to Sommerville, this was caused by lack of joint training amongst the various units. The British had the incredible advantage of the Ark Royal. Naturally, knowing the results of the engagement, one might wonder about the true value of this card, but at the time it was enormous. The Italians had not quite recovered from Taranto where a few old biplanes had crippled their fleet. The same planes, though from a different and less trained squadron, were once again in the sky. The Italians could have counteracted using the Regia Aeronautica, although once again the only result were many "holes" in the water. |
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Chessboard is ready |
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The chessboard was ready and Campioni
made a critical decision; he would not engage. Before
leaving Naples he had received precise orders to this
effect. He was only authorized to seek battle if conditions
were particularly favorable. The two battleships assigned to
his battle group were the only available for service; the
risk was too high. At 12:07 Campioni ordered the cruisers to
change route and converge towards the battleships. The order
was too late for Adm. Iachino, who was already maneuvering
to engage the enemy. During this phase, while the British
commander at sea was free to organize his own forces,
Campioni was exchanging radio messages with Rome asking for
directions. The organizational difference between the two
navies was striking. |
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This exchange of communications would become a fertile ground for later interpretations. Some historians, among them the much respected Adm. Fioravanzo, cited the communications as a proof of Supermarina’s intent to engage the enemy. As Francesco Mattesini writes, “while Rome thought that Campioni was trying to avoid combat, Iachino was already exchanging salvos.” |
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Ballistic Contact |
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At 12:22, Adm. Matteucci aboard the
cruiser Fiume opened fire against the enemy fleet. Soon
after, all the cruisers of the 2nd Squadron opened fire
very rapidly using explosive projectiles. According to
Italian sources, fire was opened at about 23,500 meters
and then the distance between the two formations
decreased to 22,000 and , later on, to 14,000. |
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The Pola and Fiume aimed
principally at the heavy Cruiser Berwick. This ship, the
Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle aimed at the
cruisers of the 3rd Division, while the Southampton
focused on the ones of the 1st division. At 12.24 the
Renown entered the frenzy by opening fire against the
Trento at a distance of about 23,800 meters; six salvos
completely engulfed the Italian cruiser, which,
unscathed, made smoke and evaded. It should be noted
that due to miscommunication, the Trento (and not the
Trieste) was leading the formation, speed was 25 knots
and part of the escort was delayed due to a temporary
failure aboard the destroyer Lanciere. |
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The Ramillies opened fire at 12:26,
but soon after she was out of range. The Renown was the
only heavy gun platform left and targeted mostly the
Bolzano. At 12:30 Iachino received orders not to engage!
He commanded speed increase to 30 knots while the two
battleships would get closer. These five minutes were
the most dangerous for the Italian forces; British
salvos were getting dangerously close and the evading
maneuver clearly exposed them. One more time, the
difference between Italian and British gunnery was
clearly demonstrated; Italian telemetry was far
superior, but Italian salvos were dispersed. British
salvos were beautifully grouped, but often "short". |
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During this exchange the Lanciere was hit several times. The ship was literally devastated by several perfect hits but was able to fire up the boiler and continue moving; later it would be towed back to base. The other destroyers laid a smoke screen, which forced the attacking ship (Manchester) to change target pointing her guns at the Zaras. |
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