Battle of the Ligurian Sea
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The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was a naval surface action of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
fought on 18 March 1945, in the
Gulf of Genoa The Gulf of Genoa (''Golfo di Genova'') is the northernmost part of the Ligurian Sea. This Italian gulf is about wide from the city of Imperia in the west to La Spezia in the east. The largest city on its coast is Genoa, which has an important p ...
in the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. A ''
Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
'' flotilla of two torpedo boats and one destroyer was conducting an offensive mine laying operation at night when it was intercepted by two
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
destroyers; and . The British destroyers sank two of the German ships and severely damaged the third; it was the last German naval surface action of the war.


Background

At the Malta Conference (30 January – 3 February 1945), it was decided to transfer air force and army units from Italy to the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
in France and Belgium in
Operation Goldflake Operation Goldflake was the administrative move of I Canadian Corps (in essence, all Canadian combatant units) and the British 5th Infantry Division from Italy to Northwestern Europe during the Second World War. British-led forces had been fightin ...
. In February and March 1945, the I Canadian Corps was moved from Italy to the French port of
Marseilles Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. Escorts for the troopships were provided by Flank Force (Admiral
Robert Jaujard The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
) British, French and US ships, with air cover from the Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force (MACAF).


Prelude

On the night of 17 March 1945, the last three operational ships of the German 10th Flotilla (
Korvettenkapitän () is the lowest ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer rank () in the German Navy. Address The offici ...
Franz Burkart) conducted an offensive mine-laying operation north-east of Corsica. After sailing from
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
, s (ex-Italian ''Arturo'') and (ex-Italian ''Eridano'') laid 56 mines south of Gorgona Island, while the destroyer '' TA32'' (a ''
Torpedoboot Ausland The ''Torpedoboot Ausland'' ("foreign torpedo boats") were small destroyers or large torpedo boats captured by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Kriegsmarine. They were assigned a number beginning with TA. Ex-French ships *Former French s, ...
'', the ex-
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
n ''Dubrovnik'') placed 76 mines north of
Cap Corse Cap Corse (; co, Capicorsu, ; it, Capo Corso, ), a geographical area of Corsica, is a long peninsula located at the northern tip of the island. At the base of it is the second largest city in Corsica, Bastia. Cap Corse is also a Communauté ...
. The flotilla rendezvoused for the return to Genoa and was about north of Cape Corse, when they were detected by an Allied shore
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
at
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
. Four
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
destroyers of the
3rd Destroyer Flotilla The British 3rd Destroyer Flotilla, also styled as Third Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from 1909 to 1939 and again from 1945 to 1951. History In 1907 the Channel Fleet had a large Channel Flotilla of destroyers in Fe ...
were patrolling in the area; the French and the ; the British s and . In the early hours of 18 March, all but ''Meteor'' received the radar report from Livorno. Captain André Léon Jean Marie Morazzani, the senior officer aboard ''Tempête'', ordered the British ships to intercept the intruders, while he led the older and slower French destroyers south-east, in case the Germans doubled back to intercept a convoy near Cape Corse. ''Lookout''s commander,
Derick Hetherington Rear Admiral Derick Henry Fellowes Hetherington CB DSC & Bar (27 June 1911 – 23 November 1992) was a Royal Navy officer who became Flag Officer, Malta. Early life and education Hetherington was born on 27 June 1911, and educated at St Neot's ...
, coordinated with ''Meteor'' via Talk Between Ships (TBS) and the British ships went on separate courses north-east at full speed. By the time Morazzani was sure that the German ships were no threat to the convoy, he was too far away to join the action.


Action

''Lookout'' established radar contact with the Germans at 03:00 on 18 March, sailing at just west of north. ''Lookout'' approached at high speed from ahead and opened fire at about . Minutes later she swung around, moving parallel to the Germans and launched
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es. The Germans were surprised and ''Lookout''s radar-directed guns quickly scored hits on ''TA24'' and ''TA29''. ''TA29'' dropped out of formation while the other two ships retreated north. ''Lookout'' let them go to concentrate on the crippled ''TA29'' and circled it, firing continuously with its six 4.7-inch guns from as close as . ''TA29'' replied, her gunners almost hitting ''Lookout'' several times. One burst of 20 mm shells hit some smoke floats and started a small fire that was quickly extinguished. ''Lookout'' continued to fire at ''TA29'' until just after 04:00; after more than 40 hits, ''TA29'' caught fire and sank. She lost only 20 men despite ''Lookout''s intense and accurate salvos. ''Meteor'' altered course to intercept the other German ships and about the time that ''Lookout'' engaged ''TA29'', ''Meteor'' made radar contact at with the two German ships retreating north. ''Meteor'' opened fire at and hit ''TA24'' almost immediately. Seeing the hit in the dark, she launched a
salvo A salvo is the simultaneous discharge of artillery or firearms including the firing of guns either to hit a target or to perform a salute. As a tactic in warfare, the intent is to cripple an enemy in one blow and prevent them from fighting b ...
of torpedoes a few minutes later, one of which struck ''TA24''. ''Meteor''s commander, Richard Pankhurst, saw a "geyser of flame and metal" and ''TA24'' sank just after 04:00, losing thirty men in 13 minutes.


Aftermath

The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was the last surface action fought by of the Second World War. The British destroyers ended any possibility of German deep water offensive operations in the Ligurian Sea, let alone anywhere else in the Mediterranean. The engagement was also the last surface naval action the British fought in the western theatre and the last substantial surface action fought on the Mediterranean Sea. ''TA32'' was damaged but managed to escape; she was
scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...
by her crew in Genoa on 25 April 1945. The British destroyers rescued 244 survivors, including Franz Burkart, in rafts and boats from ''TA24'' and ''TA29'' and took them prisoner. In 2011, Spencer Tucker wrote that "the British destroyers achieved decisive results against a German unit... and their victory effectively ended the Kriegsmarine's ability to undertake deep water offensive operations".


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

* *


External links


''HMS Lookout (G 32)'' – U-Boat.net


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligurian Sea
Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...
Battle of the Ligurian Sea The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was a naval surface action of the Second World War fought on 18 March 1945, in the Gulf of Genoa in the Mediterranean Sea. A '' Kriegsmarine'' flotilla of two torpedo boats and one destroyer was conducting an offensi ...
Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...
Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...
Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...
Ligurian Sea The Ligurian Sea ( it, Mar Ligure; french: Mer Ligurienne; lij, Mâ Ligure) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica. The sea is thought to have been named after the ancient L ...
March 1945 events in Europe 1945 in France 1945 in Italy