Hello All,
After enjoying Mr Ceruschi's invention of heroic activities in a propaganda format 70 years too late for the Italian papers, but which was still regrettably published recently, and apparently uncritically endorsed by Antonio above, here is an Australian equivalent from 1941:
From the Northern Star (Australian Newspaper) published Darwin 4th April 1941
OLD DESTROYER TACKLED
MODERN CRUISERS
Alexandria, April 2.
According to the report of Ian Fichert, official war correspondent in the Middle East, one of Australia’s oldest destroyers H.M.A.S. Stuart is the hero of last week’s Ionian Sea action, in which the Italians suffered heavy losses.
This 23-year-old destroyer fought three modern enemy cruisers, each seven times her size and a modern destroyer.
She crippled the destroyer and left the cruisers blazing and helpless.
“One salvo blew away the bridge of the Italian destroyer "Vittorio Alfieri and hit her at the bow and stern.”
Another Australian ship the cruiser, Perth, was also in the action and it is reported, did useful work. The Stuart, was among the first destroyers to contact the enemy cruisers.
“One was burning, the other steaming' slowly. The Stuart sent a" torpedo into the less damaged ship.”
After dealing with the Vittorio Alfieri, the Stuart contacted the two cruisers once more. Though her guns were not big enough to send them to the bottom she left them blazing from stem to stern.
According to the Admiralty, the Italian losses were the" 10,000 ton cruisers Zara, Fiume and Pola, and the destroyers Vincenzo Gioberti (1,729 tons) and Maestrale (1,449 tons). The cruiser Giovanni Della Bande Nera (1,449 tons) and destroyer Vittorio Alfieri were reported as probably sunk, and a battleship of the Littorio class (35,000 tons) as badly damaged.”
Note the complete absence of any reference to "Pommie" battleships' presence (perhaps they had all withdrawn prematurely
) but particularly the Admiralty's lack of accurate information on Italian losses. Note the internal briefing referenced earlier in the thread and the external public release here are exactly the same, no propaganda distortion. No need really
This action happened so quickly, remember Barham's doctor wasn't even at his action station when X turret opened fire, that I doubt whether there were any "distribution of fire" orders from ABC (which he would have included in his account, surely). The confusion over which targets were where is probably irresolvable, but the Italian accounts must be correct on squadron order, and since there was a delay before target number 3 (Alfieri) was assaulted with gunfire, I suspect that all three battleships engaged the two cruisers initially.
That the Italian Navy considered main battery operation at night so unlikely as to not be worth even training for, is undoubtedly inexcusable, but for three 35,000 battleships, an aircraft carrier and their escorts to not apparently even be sighted before they opened fire at 3.5 km, is beyond belief! Italian eyeballs and Italian binoculars are no less effective than British. The lookouts were at least supposed to be looking out for Pola during this salvage mission, but without even a radar contact to divert their attention, there can be no excuses. None of the Italian accounts referenced so far suggest there was any indication of British ships being spotted by anybody at all, until the first salvos were fired.
The British shortcomings at night at Jutland, including challenge procedures/ unwillingness to open fire even on crippled German battlecruisers, inability to seize the initiative without a superior's permission, bitter lessons cruelly learned in 1916, had been eradicated. No professionally competent officer class should have allowed these lessons not to be learned within their own Navies in the twenties and thirties. At Guadalcanal, maybe Allied over-reliance on radar gave Japanese lookouts the edge in a similar situation.
Over 2000 Italian sailors killed at Matapan, in what even their opponents were prepared to agree was just a slaughter, would have a different definition of what constituted "shameful" behaviour by those in authority, and some different nominees, than some of those suggested on this site. Those picked up and taken prisoner were lucky men indeed to escape the risks inherent in serving in such a ramshackle disorganisation.
There is no doubting the bravery, patriotism and professionalism of many individuals in the Italian Navy of WWII, but the organisation from top down suffered all the inherant ills of Fascist totalitarian domination, the defeat of which in 1943, liberated a people too civilised to truly believe in such a hateful agenda.
All the best
wadinga