Battle of Cape Spada
| Battle of Cape Spada | |||||||
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| Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II | |||||||
 Bartolomeo Colleoni sinking |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Australia United Kingdom
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 Italy
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 John Collins
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Ferdinando Casardi
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 light cruiser 5 destroyers |
2 light cruisers | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 wounded 1 light cruiser damaged |
121 killed 555 captured 1 light cruiser sunk |
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The Battle of Cape Spada was a naval battle during the Battle of the Mediterranean in Second World War. It took place on 19 July 1940 in the Mediterranean Sea off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete.
The battle occurred when an Allied squadron patrolling the Aegean encountered two Italian cruisers transferring from Tripoli to Leros, at that time an Italian colony in the Dodecanese Islands. The Allied squadron was commanded by the Australian Captain John Collins aboard the light cruiser HMAS Sydney and included the British H class destroyers HMS Havock, Hyperion, Hasty, Hero and the similar I class destroyer Ilex. The Italian 2nd Cruiser Division was commanded by Vice AdmiralFerdinando Casardi and consisted of the high-speed light cruisers Giovanni dalle Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni.
When the Italians encountered the Allied destroyers at about 07:30, Sydney and Havock were 40 mi (35 nmi; 64 km) to the north on a sweep for submarines. The other destroyers led the Italian cruisers on a chase northwards to give Sydney time to come to the rescue. Sydney sighted the Italians at 08:26, opening fire at 08:29, and the Italian cruisers turned away to the southwest.
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