Battle off Ist

Part of the Adriatic Campaign of World War II

Free French destroyer Le Terrible in 1941

Date	29 February 1944
Location	off Ist, in the Adriatic Sea
Result	French victory

Belligerents

Free France

Germany

Commanders and leaders

Pierre Lancelot

Jürgen Von Kleist

Strength

2 heavy destroyers

2 torpedo boats
2 corvettes
3 minesweepers
1 freighter (6,311 tons)

Casualties and losses

None

1 corvette sunk,
1 freighter sunk,
1 torpedo boat severely damaged,
150 killed or wounded

The Battle of Ist was a naval engagement in Adriatic Sea, between the islands of Škarda and Molat off Ist on 29 February 1944. The engagement was fought between Free French navy destroyers and a Kriegsmarine force of two corvettes, two torpedo boats and three minesweepers. The German flotilla had been deployed to escort a freighter. In the ensuing engagement the French managed to destroy the German freighter and a corvette in return for no loss before withdrawing.

In 1944 for operations in the Adriatic Sea, the Royal Navy formed the 24th Destroyer flotilla at Bari; ten ships overall which included three French Heavy or Super Le Fantasque-class destroyers; Le Fantasque, Le Terrible and Le Malin. The French under Captain Pierre Lancelot would operate in the Northern part of the Adriatic, while the British would do the same but further South. The speed of the French destroyers, being the fastest in the world at the time, allowed them to react swiftly both on intelligence and to strike at targets.

On 29 February the French departed Manfredonia fifty miles North of Bari and headed up the Adriatic. At the same time a German convoy had departed from Pola consisting of a strong escort: the torpedo boats TA36 & TA37, actually the former Italian Ariete-class Stella Polare and Gladio; the submarine chasers UJ201 and UJ205, actually the former Italian Gabbiano-class corvettes Egeria and Colubrina; and three small minesweepers. They were escorting a freighter of 6,311 tons, the Kapitan Diederichsen. The German escorts had only been recently commissioned and were only on their second operation. The two were heading towards each other in the dark of the night with very little moonlight.

...
Wikipedia