List of Allied ships lost to Italian surface vessels in the Mediterranean (1940–1943)

The following is a list of Allied ships sunk, wrecked or captured at sea by surface vessels of the Regia Marina during the battle of the Mediterranean. The list includes vessels lost to the combined action of surface warships and airpower.

List of ships

Cruisers

Name and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes HMS YorkSouda Bay, Crete26 March 1941MTM motor boatsDestroyers and (motherships)Explosive chargesSunk in shallow watersFurther damaged by Luftwaffe aircraftSalvage operations cancelled on 28 April 1941 HMS ManchesterOperation PedestalCape Bon13 August 1942Motor Torpedo BoatsMS 16 and MS 22TorpedoScuttled by her own crew

Destroyers Name and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes HMS MohawkTarigo ConvoyKerkennah Islands16 April 1941Destroyer TorpedoSunk and capsized in low sea bed with only her forecastle sticking out of the water, which was hit by HMS Jervis for it to go completely under the water.Admiralty Historical Section 2002b, p. 91; Brice, pp. 189–190; English, pp. 36–37; O'Hara, p. 111 HMS KingstonSecond Battle of SirteSoutheast of Malta22 March 1942Battleship LittorioNaval gunfireLimped to Malta badly hit, laid up in drydockFurther damaged by Luftwaffe aircraftDeclared a total loss on 11 April 1942 HMS BedouinOperation HarpoonSouth of Pantelleria15 June 1942CruisersMontecuccoli and Eugenio di SavoiaNaval gunfireDisabled in battle and taken in tow by destroyer HMS PartridgeTow slipped when Italian cruisers reappearedFinished off by a S.M.79 torpedo bomber HMS EridgeEl Daba, Egypt29 August 1942Motor Torpedo Boat MTSM 228TorpedoDisabled, towed to Alexandria by destroyer HMS AldenhamDeclared a constructive total loss HMS PakenhamCigno ConvoySouthwest of Sicily16 April 1943Torpedo boats and Naval gunfireDisabled in battle and eventually scuttled by HMS Paladin

Motor Torpedo Boats Name and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes MTB 639Kelibia, Tunisia28 April 1943Torpedo boat Naval gunfireAlso strafed by Axis aircraftScuttled by MTB 637 MTB 316Operation ScyllaStrait of Messina17 July 1943Cruiser Naval gunfireLost with all hands

Merchant ships Name and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes Athinai, 2,897 tonStrait of Messina20 October 1940Torpedo boatSeized at seaConfiscated, renamed PalermoSunk by Allied aircraft while under German control in 1944 Desmoulea, 8,120 ton Between Avgo and CreteConvoy AN 1431 January 1941Torpedo boats and TorpedoDisabled, beached at Souda BayTowed to Port SaidFurther damaged by Luftwaffe aircraftSpent the rest of the war as a harbor ship in Bombay Pericles, 8,400 tonSouda Bay, Crete26 March 1941MTM motor boatsDestroyers Crispi and Sella (motherships)Explosive chargesSunk in shallow waters, disabled, eventually refloatedLost in a gale while towed to Alexandria on 14 April 1941 Kentucky, 9,308 tonOperation HarpoonSouth of Pantelleria15 June 1942CruisersMontecuccoli and Eugenio di SavoiaDestroyers and Naval gunfireTorpedoPreviously crippled by Axis airstrikesAbandoned by her crew and escortswhen the Italian squadron approached them Burdwan, 6,069 tonOperation HarpoonSouth of Panteleria15 June 1942CruisersMontecuccoli and Eugenio di SavoiaDestroyersAscari and OrianiNaval gunfire Torpedo Previously crippled by Axis airstrikesAbandoned by her crew and escortswhen the Italian squadron approached them Glenorchy, 8,982 tonWoodman (2000), pp. 424-25Thomas (1999), p. 176Operation PedestalCape Bon13 August 1942Motor Torpedo Boat MS 31Torpedo Wairangi, 12,400 tonWoodman (2000), p. 427Operation PedestalCape Bon13 August 1942Motor Torpedo BoatsMAS 552 and MAS 554Torpedo Almeria Lykes, 7,773 tonGreene & Massignani (1998), p. 254Operation PedestalCape Bon13 August 1942Motor Torpedo Boat MAS 554Torpedo Santa Elisa, 8,379 tonWodman (2000), 430 Operation PedestalCape Bon13 August 1942Motor Torpedo BoatsMAS 557 and MAS 564TorpedoMachine gun fire

Submarines Name and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes HMS Odin14 June 1940Destroyer StraleDepth chargesRamming HMS Grampus16 June 1940Torpedo boat Depth charges Naval gunfire HMS Orpheus19 June 1940Destroyer Depth charges HMS Phoenix16 July 1940Torpedo boat AlbatrosDepth charges HMS Oswald1 August 1940Destroyer Ramming HMS Rainbow4 October 1940Cargo shipAntonietta CostaRamming Proteus29 December 1940Torpedo boat Ramming HMS Union20 July 1941Torpedo boat Depth charges HMS Cachalot30 July 1941Torpedo boat Ramming HMS Tempest12 February 1942Torpedo boat Depth chargesNaval gunfireCaptured, sank while in tow HMS P3823 February 1942Torpedo boat Depth chargesNaval gunfireAlso strafed by Italian aircraft HMS Upholder14 April 1942Torpedo boat Depth charges HMS Thorn7 August 1942Torpedo boat Depth charges HMS P22212 December 1942Torpedo boat Depth charges HMS P4825 December 1942Torpedo boats and Depth charges HMS Turbulent6 March 1943Torpedo boat Depth charges HMS Thunderbolt14 March 1943Corvette CicognaDepth charges HMS Sahib24 April 1943Torpedo boat Corvette GabbianoDepth chargesAlso bombed by Luftwaffe aircraft HMS Saracen14 August 1943Corvettes Euterpe and MinervaDepth chargesAlso strafed by Italian aircraft

Minor auxiliary units Type and date of loss Italian unit(s) involved Type of weapon Notes Sailing yachtAegean Sea31 July 1941Minelayer AzioSeized at seaDuring a mission to support Greek resistance in the Peloponnese Sailing yacht Uraniaoff Corfu15 May 1942Destroyer SaettaSeized at seaCaptured when heading for MaltaCernuschi (2022), p. 40 Several minorlanding craftOperation AgreementTobruk14 September 1942Torpedo boats and armed tug Vega4 motorbargesSeized at seaAt least two powerboats manned by Royal Marines were rounded up at sea by the Italian squadron while attempting to sail back to Alexandria MotorsailerAghios Dimitrosoff Simi15 March 1943Motor Torpedo BoatsMAS 545 and MAS 549Seized at seaPreviously commandeered by a British boarding party and a Greek naval officer from the Greek submarine Papanicolis while en route from Pireus to Rhodes and diverted to Turkish waters. The Allied personnel were taken prisoner.Cernuschi (2022), p. 76 Two motorsailersStraits of Artemisium22 April 1943Turbine Seized at seaTwo British liaison officers captured MotorsailerStraits of Artemisium25 April 1943TurbineNaval gunfireSunk with military equipment for Greek partisans

Ships sunk by manned torpedoes from Olterra Name and date of loss Type of ship Aftermath Camerata4,875 tonGibraltar8 May 1943SteamerHull refloated in 1947Sold to a Spanish company, rebuilt as Campo Grande Pat Harrison7,000 tonGibraltar8 May 1943Liberty shipConstructive total loss Thorshøvdi9,900 tonGibraltar4 August 1943TankerBroken in two. Aft and fore sections towed to Britain, rebuilt in 1947 as Giert Torgersen Harrison Grey Otis 7,700 tonGibraltar4 August 1943Liberty shipConstructive total loss

See also

List of ships sunk by the Imperial Japanese Navy List of wrecked or lost ships of the Ottoman steam navy

Footnotes

References