Battle of Cape Matapan

Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of Second World War

Map of the battle

Date	27–29 March 1941
Location	Mediterranean Sea off Cape Matapan, Greece
Result	Allied victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

Australia

Italy

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Andrew Cunningham

Angelo Iachino

Strength

1 aircraft carrier
3 battleships
7 light cruisers
17 destroyers

1 battleship
6 heavy cruisers
2 light cruisers
17 destroyers
2 Junkers Ju 88s

Casualties and losses

4 light cruisers lightly damaged
2 torpedo bombers shot down
3 killed

1 battleship damaged
3 heavy cruisers sunk
2 destroyers sunk
1 destroyer heavily damaged
1 Ju 88 shot down
2,300+ killed
1,015 POW

The Battle of Cape Matapan (Greek: Ναυμαχία του Ταίναρου) was a Second World War naval engagement fought from 27–29 March 1941. The cape is on the south-west coast of the Peloponnesian peninsula of Greece. Following the interception of Italian signals by the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park, ships of the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, under the command of Admiral Andrew Cunningham, intercepted and sank or severely damaged several ships of the Italian Regia Marina under Squadron-Vice-Admiral Angelo Iachino. The opening actions of the battle are also known in Italy as the Battle of Gaudo.

In late March 1941, as British ships of the Mediterranean Fleet covered troop movements to Greece, Mavis Batey, a cryptographer at Bletchley Park, made a breakthrough, reading the Italian naval Enigma for the first time. The first message, the cryptic "Today’s the day minus three," was followed three days later by a second message reporting the sailing of an Italian battle fleet comprising one battleship, six heavy and two light cruisers, plus destroyers to attack the merchant convoys supplying British forces. As always with Enigma, the intelligence breakthrough was concealed from the Italians by ensuring there was a plausible reason for the Allies to have detected and intercepted their fleet. In this case, it was a carefully directed reconnaissance plane.

...
Wikipedia