Operation Halberd

Operation Halberd
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
An Italian torpedo bomber on fire and crashing during Operation Halberd, just beyond is HMS Ark Royal
Date 27 September 1941 Location Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Calabria Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom Netherlands Poland	Italy
Commanders and leaders
James Somerville	Angelo Iachino
Units involved
Force H	Regia Marina Regia Aeronautica
Strength
1 aircraft carrier 12 bombers 54 fighters 3 battleships 5 cruisers 18 destroyers 8 submarines 9 transport ships	62 bombers 68 fighters 2 battleships 5 cruisers 14 destroyers 11 submarines 8 torpedo boats
Casualties and losses
1 merchant scuttled 4 aircraft	1 submarine 21 aircraft

Operation Halberd was a British naval operation that took place on 27 September 1941, during the Second World War. The British were attempting to deliver a convoy from Gibraltar to Malta. The convoy was escorted by several battleships and an aircraft carrier, to deter interference from the Italian surface fleet, while a close escort of cruisers and destroyers provided an anti-aircraft screen.

The Italian fleet sortied after the convoy was detected, but turned back after learning the strength of the escorting force. Air attacks by Italian bombers and fighters damaged several ships, and forced one of the merchant vessels to be scuttled. The rest of the convoy arrived at Malta and discharged their cargo.

Operation Halberd was at the time the largest Malta resupply effort of the war. Nine merchant ships carrying 81,000 tons of military equipment and supplies sailed from Liverpool on 16 September and from the Clyde on 17 September as part of convoy WS (Winston Specials) 11X, passing Gibraltar on 24 September 1941, with a close escort under the command of Rear-Admiral Harold Burrough. The nine ships were:

Force H, under the command of Admiral James Somerville, accompanied the convoy as defense against Italian surface ships. Force H consisted of the battleships HMS Nelson, Rodney and Prince of Wales with the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal operating 12 Fairey Swordfish and 27 Fairey Fulmars of 807 and 808 Naval Air Squadrons. Force H included cruisers HMS Kenya, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Euryalus and Hermione, and was screened by destroyers HNLMS Isaac Sweers, ORP Garland and ORP Piorun, and HMS Duncan, Farndale, Foresight, Forester, Fury, Heythrop, Laforey, Lance, Legion, Lightning, Lively, Oribi, Cossack, Gurkha and Zulu. Submarines HMS Ursula and Unbeaten patrolled south of the Strait of Messina while HMS Upright and Utmost patrolled north of the Strait. The Polish submarine ORP Sokół patrolled north of Sicily with HMS Urge and Upholder while the Dutch submarine HNLMS O 21 patrolled south of Sardinia. Malta had recently received 27 long-range fighters (22 Bristol Beaufighters and 5 Bristol Blenheims), which had been bombing and strafing Italian airfields on Sicily and Sardinia, and would provide air cover for the convoy after Force H retired before reaching the Sicilian narrows.

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Wikipedia