Red Sea Flotilla

Red Sea Flotilla (Flottiglia del mar rosso)

Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, with modern boundaries

Active| to June 1940
Disbanded| April 1941
Country| Italy
Branch| Regia Marina
Size|

* 7 destroyers
* 8 submarines
* 5 Motoscafo armato silurante (motor torpedo boat)
* 9 auxiliary ships

Commanders
contrammiraglio| Carlo Balsamo di Specchia-Normandia (1939 – December 1940)
contrammiraglio| Mario Bonetti (December 1940 – April 1941)

Military unit

* v
* t
* e

East African campaign of World War II

* Sudan
* British Somaliland (1940)
* Tug Argan
* French Somaliland
* Convoy BN 7
* Agordat
* British Somaliland (1941)
* Keren
* Saïo
* Amba Alagi
* Culqualber
* Gondar
* Guerrilla war

* * *

Associated articles

* Gideon Force
* Arbegnoch
* Red Sea Flotilla
* Desert Air Force
* East Indies Station
* East Africa Force
* Order of battle

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The Red Sea Flotilla (Flottiglia del mar rosso) was part of the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy) based at Massawa in the colony of Italian Eritrea, part of Italian East Africa. During the Second World War, the Red Sea Flotilla fought the East Indies Station of the Royal Navy from the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941.

The flotilla was isolated from the main Italian bases in the Mediterranean by distance and British dispositions. Without an overland route (via Sudan) or of the Suez Canal, supply was virtually impossible. The submarines in the flotilla suffered from faulty air conditioning which caused severe problems and poisoned crews when submerged causing several losses. Attempts to attack ships in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf had meagre results and British intelligence successes caused the loss of several ships.

Rear Admiral Mario Bonetti ordered the harbour facilities to be denied to the British by the scuttling of more than thirty vessels in the harbour approaches. Bonetti directed the harbour workers to destroy their machine tools, two floating dry docks and a floating crane. The capture of Massawa and other Italian ports in the region brought the Flottiglia del mar rosso to an end in April 1941.

## Background

[edit]

Main article: East African Campaign

Map of the Bab el Mandeb strait

On 10 June 1940, the Red Sea Flotilla had seven destroyers in two squadrons, a squadron of five MAS (Motoscafo Armato Silurante motor torpedo boats) and eight submarines in two squadrons. The main base was at Massawa, with other bases at Assab (also in Eritrea) and Kismayu, in southern Italian Somaliland.[1] The Red Sea Flotilla was not used aggressively by the Italians, but the British viewed it as a potential threat to Allied convoys travelling East African waters between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Because of the Flotilla's presence, the neutral US Merchant Marine declared the Red Sea a war zone and out of bounds, limiting the ships which could be used to supply the vital route for British forces operating from Egypt.[2] The Red Sea Flotilla was especially well situated to attack convoys headed from the Gulf of Aden through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, after the Mediterranean was closed to Allied merchant ships, which had to take passage around the Cape of Good Hope.[citation needed]

## 10 June 1940 – April 1941

[edit]

See also: Action of 27 February 1941 and Action of 8 May 1941

Several attempts were made to stage offensive actions against the British Royal Navy and Allied convoys from Massawa. Some of the earliest failed when submarine air conditioning systems, intended to cool the submarines in the warm water of the Red Sea proved dangerous under wartime operating conditions. Leakage of chloromethane refrigerants in the circulating air while submerged caused central nervous system poisoning and about twelve sailors died aboard Archimede.[3][a] The submarines Perla and Macallé ran aground while their crews were intoxicated by chloromethane and the latter could not be salvaged.[3] The submarines Galileo Galilei, Torricelli and Galvani struck early; Galileo Galilei sank the Norwegian freighter James Stove off Djibouti, before British counter-measures forced the submarines to depart the area.[citation needed]

HMS Capetown was disabled by the motor torpedo boat MAS 213

Torricelli was spotted on 23 June, while approaching Massawa and an intensive search was conducted by four warships aided by aircraft from Aden. After fierce resistance, during which the sloop HMS Shoreham was damaged by return fire, Torricelli was sunk. After the engagement, the destroyer HMS Khartoum was sunk by an internal explosion. As a mark of respect for the gallantry of the Torricelli crew, the Italian captain was guest of honour at a dinner at the British naval base. Galileo Galilei had also been found on 18 June, captured and taken to Aden on the same day. Galvani sank HMIS Pathan at the same time that her sisters were fighting and was sunk on the following day.[4][b]

In October 1940, the destroyers based at Massawa conducted the Attack on Convoy BN 7. The escorts of the 32 merchant ships repulsed the attack and Francesco Nullo was driven ashore and sunk by air attack the following day.[4] The leading freighter of the convoy sustained minor splinter damage. HMS Kimberley was crippled by Italian shore batteries, with three wounded among her crew and had to be towed to Aden by the cruiser HMNZS Leander.[6]

Ramb I on fire and sinking

As Italian fuel stocks at Massawa were depleted, the offensive capability of the Red Sea Flotilla declined. The vessels of the flotilla became a fleet in being, offering a threat without action. In late March 1941, the three large destroyers, Pantera, Tigre and Leone, made a night attack on Suez but Leone ran aground off Massawa and had to be scuttled by gunfire, the delay caused the operation to be cancelled. The two remaining ships joined three smaller destroyers, Nazario Sauro, Cesare Battisti and Daniele Manin on a final raid on Port Sudan in early April. Engine problems kept Battisti in port, where she was subsequently scuttled to prevent her capture by the British. The Italian ships were spotted by aircraft while en route and came under attack from land and the Swordfish bombers of HMS Eagle flying from the airfield at Port Sudan.[7] Pantera and Tigre were scuttled on the Arabian coast while Manin and Sauro were sunk by the Swordfish.[4][8]

On 8 April 1941, the light cruiser HMS Capetown was torpedoed and crippled by the Italian torpedo boat MAS 213 off Massawa and was towed to Port Sudan by Parramatta for preliminary repairs.[9] The armed merchant cruisers Ramb I, Ramb II and the colonial dispatch ship Eritrea were ordered to escape and reach Japan. Ramb II and Eritrea reached Kobe but Ramb I was intercepted and sunk by Leander. The four remaining submarines were ordered to join BETASOM the Italian submarine flotilla at Bordeaux and succeeded, despite British attempts to intercept them.[4] On 8 April 1941, Massawa fell to the British and the Red Sea Flotilla ceased to exist. Few vessels of the flotilla survived the East African Campaign.[citation needed]

### Blocking of Massawa

[edit]

Bonetti ordered that the British be denied the Massawa harbour facilities by the scuttling of more than thirty vessels in the harbour approaches, including large commercial ships, smaller coastal steamers and several naval vessels. The Italian harbour workers were to destroy their machine tools, two floating dry docks and a floating crane. The harbour was surrendered to the British on 8 April 1941, whose efforts to bring the harbour back to service were frustrated by extreme heat and humidity. Commander Joseph Stenhouse was able to re-float one oil tanker before he was killed in a sea-going tug that was sunk by a naval mine. A British civilian contractor was hired but he and his team failed to float any scuttled vessels. U.S. Navy Commander Edward Ellsberg arrived in April 1942 and began systematically to restore the harbour facilities. His team repaired the largest dry dock and pieced together enough machine tool parts to restore machinist operations. By August 1942, after re-floating several ships, Ellsberg opened access to the harbour sufficiently to enable British warships such as HMS Dido (19 August 1942) to be dry-docked and serviced.[10]

## Regia Marina order of battle

[edit]

### Destroyers

[edit]

* The Italian destroyer Francesco Nullo

* The Italian destroyer Pantera in 1935

3rd and 5th Destroyer divisions  Ship  | Flag  | Type  | Notes

|
|
|

Francesco Nullo |  Kingdom of Italy | Sauro class | 3rd Division, damaged Kimberley, destroyed RAF, 22 November 1940
Nazario Sauro |  Kingdom of Italy | Sauro class | 3rd Division, sunk off Jeddah 20°N, 30°E, Fleet Air Arm, 3 April 1941[11][c]
Cesare Battisti |  Kingdom of Italy | Sauro class | 3rd Division, bombed FAA, scuttled off Scio Aiba, 3 April 1941[11]
Daniele Manin |  Kingdom of Italy | Sauro class | 3rd Division, bombed 7:45 a.m. 3 April 1941, capsized 20°20'N, 30°10'E[11][d]
Pantera |  Kingdom of Italy | Leone class | 5th Division, scuttled off Someina[11]
Tigre |  Kingdom of Italy | Leone class | 5th Division, scuttled, Someina 3 April 1941[11]
Leone |  Kingdom of Italy | Leone class | 5th Division, ran aground 1 April 1941 16°09'N, 39°55'E scuttled[11]

### MAS (Motor torpedo boats)

[edit]

* MAS leaves its moorings

* MAS at speed

21st MAS Squadron  Ship  | Flag  | Type  | Notes

|
|
|

MAS 204  |  Kingdom of Italy | Motoscafo armato silurante | Lost due to mechanical failure
MAS 206  |  Kingdom of Italy | Motoscafo armato silurante | Lost due to mechanical failure
MAS 210  |  Kingdom of Italy | Motoscafo armato silurante | Lost due to mechanical failure
MAS 213  |  Kingdom of Italy | Motoscafo armato silurante | Scuttled 8 April 1941
MAS 216  |  Kingdom of Italy | Motoscafo armato silurante | Lost due to mechanical failure

### VIII Submarine Group

[edit]

* Galileo Galilei towed by HMS Kandahar

* Adua-class submarine

81st and 82nd Submarine squadrons  Name  | Flag  | Class  | Notes

|
|
|

Guglielmotti |  Kingdom of Italy | Brin-class submarine | Arrived Bordeaux, 6 May 1941[12]
Galileo Ferraris |  Kingdom of Italy | Archimede-class submarine | Arrived Bordeaux 9 May 1941[12]
Galileo Galilei |  Kingdom of Italy | Archimede-class submarine | Sank Norwegian James Stove (8,215 GRT) captured HMS Moonstone 19 June 1940[13]
Galvani |  Kingdom of Italy | Brin-class submarine | Sank HMIS Pathan, sunk 23 June 1940 off Persian Gulf by HMS Falmouth[13]
Perla |  Kingdom of Italy | Perla-class submarine | Arrived Bordeaux 20 May 1941[12]
Macallé |  Kingdom of Italy | Adua-class submarine | Ran aground and lost 15 June 1940[13]
Archimede |  Kingdom of Italy | Brin-class submarine | Arrived Bordeaux, 7 May 1941[12]
Torricelli |  Kingdom of Italy | Brin-class submarine | Sunk off Perim, 23 June 1940 by HMS Kandahar, Khartoum, Kingston and HMS Shoreham[13]

### Other vessels

[edit]

* Ramb II in 1937

* Eritrea surrendering, 14 September 1943

Miscellaneous vessels  Name  | Flag  | GRT  | Type  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Eritrea |  Kingdom of Italy | 2,170  | Colonial ship  | Escaped to Kobe, Japan
Vincenzo Giordano Orsini |  Kingdom of Italy | 670  | Torpedo boat  | Damaged by British artillery, scuttled 8 April 1941[11]
Giovanni Acerbi |  Kingdom of Italy | 670  | Torpedo boat  | Bombed RAF, left a hulk[11]
G. Biglieri |  Kingdom of Italy | 620  | Gunboat  | Captured
Porto Corsini |  Kingdom of Italy | 290  | Gunboat  | Scuttled
Ostia |  Kingdom of Italy | 620  | Minelayer  | Scuttled Massawa, 8 April 1941[11]
Ramb I |  Kingdom of Italy | 3,667  | Auxiliary cruiser | Escaped to Kobe, Japan[14][e]
Ramb II |  Kingdom of Italy | 3,685  | Auxiliary cruiser | Escaped to Kobe, Japan[14][f]
Ramb IV |  Kingdom of Italy | 3,676  | Hospital ship  | Captured[14][g]

## See also

[edit]

* Italian Royal Navy
* List of Italian destroyers

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Chloromethane was a cheaper substitute for freon which was tested under conditions found to be unrealistic once hostilities began.[3]
2. ^ Kindell disputes that Pathan was sunk by Torricelli.[5]
3. ^ Sunk by 813 and 824 Naval Air Squadrons FAA flying from Port Sudan, ship sank in 30 seconds.[11]
4. ^ Sank 100 nmi (190 km; 120 mi) north-east of Port Sudan[11]
5. ^ Requisitioned, sunk Action of 27 February 1941 01°N,68°30'E, 150 killed, 100 rescued[15]
6. ^ Requisitioned, scuttled, 8 September 1943, sunk USAAF, 12 January 1945[15]
7. ^ RN, hospital ship, bombed Luftwaffe 10 May 1942, 31°17'N, 29°23'E, 165 killed, 119 rescued[15]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ RMI 2007.
2. ^ Stewart 2016, p. 245.
3. ^ a b c O'Hara 2009, pp. 100–101.
4. ^ a b c d Jackson 2006, pp. 281–283.
5. ^ Kindell 2012.
6. ^ O'Hara 2009, p. 103.
7. ^ Smith 2009, pp. 85–100.
8. ^ Whitley 2000, pp. 158–161.
9. ^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 66.
10. ^ Playfair 1957, p. 442; Ellsberg 2014, pp. 16–519; SSR 1949, p. 705.
11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Brown 1995, p. 43.
12. ^ a b c d Blair 1996, p. 739.
13. ^ a b c d Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 27.
14. ^ a b c Jordan 2006, pp. 243, 535.
15. ^ a b c Jordan 2006, p. 535.

## References

[edit]

### Books

[edit]

* Blair, Clay (1996). Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunters 1939–1942. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-394-58839-1.
* Brown, David (1995). Warship Losses of World War Two. New York: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-914-7.
* Ellsberg, Edward (2014) [1946]. Under the Red Sea Sun (ePUB repr. Open Road Integrated Media, NY ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead and Co. OCLC 1311913.
* Jackson, Ashley (2006). The British Empire and the Second World War. London: Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 978-1-85285-417-1.
* Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999]. The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.
* O'Hara, Vincent P. (2009). Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-648-3.
* Playfair, I. S. O.; et al. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Early Successes Against Italy (to May 1941). History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. I (4th ed.). HMSO. ISBN 978-1-84574-065-8.
* Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-257-7.
* "Salvage in Massawa". Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. Vol. 73\. Westminster: IPC Industrial Press. 16 June 1949. p. 705\. ISSN 0037-3850.
* Smith, Peter C. (2009) [1995]. Eagle's War: Aircraft Carrier HMS Eagle 1939–1942 (2nd pbk. ed.). Manchester: Crécy Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9075795-3-3.
* Stewart, A. (2016). The First Victory: The Second World War and the East Africa Campaign (1st ed.). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20855-9.
* Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopaedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. pp. 158–161. ISBN 978-1-85409-521-3.

### Websites

[edit]

* "Italian Naval Bases; Order of Battle, Italian East Africa Naval Command". Regia Marina Italiana. 1996–2007. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2 Jan 2009.
* Kindell, Don (2012). "Sunday, 23 June". British and Other Navies in World War 2 Day-by-Day. Retrieved 29 Dec 2008.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Greene, J.; Massignani, A. (2002) [1998]. The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1940–1943 (repr. pbk. ed.). Rochester: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-190-3.
* Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-019-9.
* Hinsley, Harry; Thomas, E. E.; Ransom, C. F. G.; Knight, R. C. (1981). British Intelligence in the Second World War: Its Influence on Strategy and Operations. History of the Second World War. London: HMSO. ISBN 0-521-242908.
* Porch, Douglas (2004). The Path to Victory: The Mediterranean Theater in World War II. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. ISBN 978-0-374-20518-8.
* Roskill, S. W. (1957) [1954]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Defensive. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series: The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. I (4th impr. ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 881709135. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
* Roskill, S. W. (1962) [1956]. The Period of Balance. History of the Second World War: The War at Sea 1939–1945. Vol. II (3rd impression ed.). London: HMSO. OCLC 174453986. Retrieved 14 November 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* The Royal Italian Navy in the Red Sea Cristiano D'Adamo
* Comando Supremo: Italy at War. Events of 1941 James Heddlesten

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