Red Sea Flotilla

The Red Sea Flotilla was a unit of the Italian Royal Navy ("Regia Marina") based in Massawa, Eritria, when Massawa was part of Italian East Africa. During the early stages of World War II, the Red Sea Flotilla was active against the British Royal Navy's Eastern Fleet. This opposition lasted from Italy's declaration of war on 10 June 1940 to the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941.

Purpose and organization

While in general the Red Sea Flotilla was not used aggressively by the Italians, the British viewed it as a potential threat to Allied convoys traveling in the Horn of Africa area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The Red Sea Flotilla was especially well situated to attack convoys headed from the Gulf of Aden through the Red Sea and to the Suez Canal, forcing Allied ships to take a much longer passage around the Cape of Good Hope.

On 10 June 1940, the day Italy declared war, the Italian Red Sea Flotilla had seven destroyers organized into two squadrons, a squadron of five Motor Torpedo Boats ("Motoscafo Armato Silurante", or MAS), and eight submarines organized into two squadrons.

The home port for the Red Sea Flotilla was the port of Massawa in Eritrea. Initially several attempts were made to stage offensive actions against vessels of the British Royal Navy from there. But, as Italian fuel supplies in Massawa dwindled, so did the offensive capability of the Red Sea Flotilla. Ultimately, the vessels of the flotilla became what is known as a "fleet in being" and rarely left port.

On 8 April 1941, Massawa fell and, after a "do or die" mission which accomplished almost nothing, the Red Sea Flotilla ceased to exist for all intents and purposes. Few vessels of the flotilla survived the East African Campaign. All seven destroyers, all five MAS, and all but four submarines were lost during the course of the campaign.

Destroyers, motor torpedo boats, and submarines

The seven destroyers (four Sauro class and three Leone class) [ Porch, "The Path to Victory", p. 129.] were organized as follows:
* 3rd Destroyer Squadron
**"Francesco Nullo" (1,058/1,600 tons displacement) - Lost 22 November 1940
**"Nazario Sauro" (1,058/1,600 tons displacement) - Sunk by RAF 3 April 1941
**"Cesare Battisti" (1,058/1,600 tons displacement) - scuttled 3 April 1941
**"Daniele Manin" (1,058/1,600 tons displacement) - Sunk by RAF 3 April 1941
* 5th Destroyer Squadron
**"Pantera" (1,743/2,648 tons displacement) - Scuttled 3 April 1941
**"Tigre" (1,743/2,648 tons displacement) - Scuttled 3 April 1941
**"Leone" (1,743/2,648 tons displacement) - Run aground and scuttled 1 April 1941

The five MTBs were organized as follows:
* 21st MAS Squadron
** MAS 204 - Lost due to mechanical difficulty
** MAS 206 - Lost due to mechanical difficulty
** MAS 210 - Lost due to mechanical difficulty
** MAS 213 - Scuttled 8 April 1941
** MAS 216 - Lost due to mechanical difficulty

The eight submarines were organized in the 8th Submarine Group as follows:
*81st Submarine Squadron
**"Guglielmotti" (896/1,265 tons displacement) - Sailed to Bordeaux, France
**"Galileo Ferraris" (880/1,230 tons displacement) - Sailed to Bordeaux, France
**"Galileo Gallilei" (880/1,230 tons displacement) - Captured 19 June 1940
**"Luigi Galvani" (896/1,265 tons displacement) - Lost 24 June 1940
*82nd Submarine Squadron
**"Perla" (620/855 tons displacement) - Sailed to Bordeaux, France
**"Macallè" (620/855 tons displacement) - Lost 15 June 1940
**"Archimede" (880/1,230 tons displacement) - Sailed to Bordeaux, France
**"Evangelista Toricelli" (880/1,230 tons displacement) - Lost 23 June 1940

Other vessels

* Colonial ship "Eritrea" (2,170 tons displacement) - Sailed to Kobe, Japan, and surrendered to the Allies in Columbo, Ceylon, when Italy quit the war
* Torpedo boat "Vincenzo Giordano Orsini" (670 tons displacement) - Scuttled 8 April 1941
* Torpedo boat "Giovanni Acerbi" (670 tons displacement) - Scuttled in the mouth of the harbor at Massawa as a blockship
* Gun boat "G. Biglieri" (620 tons displacement) - Lost
* Gun boat "Porto Corsini" (290 tons displacement) - Lost
* Minelayer "Ostia" (620 tons displacement) - Sunk by British Royal Air Force attack within the harbor at Massawa; all mines still racked
* Auxiliary cruiser "Ramb I" (3,667 tons displacement) - Lost 27 February 1941
* Auxiliary cruiser "Ramb II" (3,667 tons displacement) - Sailed to Kobe, Japan, and placed into the service of the Imperial Japanese Navy when Italy quit the war
* Hospital ship "Aquileia" - former "Ramb IV" - Lost and placed into the service of the British Royal Navy

References

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Footnotes

ee also

* Italian Royal Navy
* List of Italian destroyers