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British Fleet Movements

At 0400/28 the C.-in-C. with Force A, on a course of 310° at 16 knots, was in 32° 22’ N., 27° 12’ E., roughly 205 miles from the rendezvous of the cruiser force. The latter at 0600/28, steering to the south-east at 18 knots, sighted an enemy aircraft, identified later as an R.O.43. This type, used chiefly with catapults, indicated the presence of surface ships, and accordingly VALF as soon as Ilex and Hasty joined his screen, turned at 0645 to 200°, away from the direction of probable reconnaissance.

Meanwhile the Formidable, an hour before, at 0555, in 32° 44’ N., 26° 57’ E., had flown off a number of aircraft, A/S and fighters, to search the area between Crete and Cyrenaica as far west as longitude 23° E.

An air search had started even earlier from Maleme, in Crete, where four T.B.Rs. armed with torpedoes took off at 0445 to search to the west of Crete. One of them experienced engine trouble and had to jettison its torpedo and return; the others continued in company and, sighting nothing, returned at 0845.

It was 0720 when the enemy was first sighted south of Crete by aircraft 5B of HMS Formidable, which at 0722 amplified her report of four cruisers and four destroyers in 34° 22’ N., 24° 47’ E., steering 230°. The next report was made by Formidable’s aircraft, 5F at 0739, which announced four15 cruisers and six destroyers, course 220° in 34° OS’ N., 24° 26’ E. (see Appendix D). These were part of the Italian Fleet, which at 0800 was south of Gavdo Island (Crete), steering 130°. It was disposed in three groups, termed by us Forces Z, X and Y as follows:

Force Z16 i.e. (1st Cruiser Division, 3 Zara cruisers and (first sighted 0722, 8th Cruiser Division, 2 Garibaldi cruisers). A/C B)

Force X16 i.e. 3rd Cruiser Division, 3 Trieste cruisers. (first sighted 0739, A/C F)

Force Y16 Vittorio Veneto. (first sighted 1058 by VALF)

As the force first reported by aircraft 5B at 0722 was identical in composition with the British Cruiser Force B and was only some 35 miles north-east of it, it seemed to the VALF and to the C.-in-C. that Force B (British) had been mistaken for the enemy, and the C.-in-C. asked R.A. (A) whether his aircraft knew the position of our cruisers. When the second report came in, only 25 miles from the position of the first, it seemed again that it might be referring to our own cruisers. In actual fact the two air reports referred to two separate enemy cruiser forces, some 25 miles apart. One (designated Force X in Plan 1) was some 15 miles north of VALF; the other (designated Force Z) was some 30 miles north-east of him. The uncertainty was soon resolved for at 0745 the Orion (flagship) sighted smoke astern bearing 010° and a minute later identified enemy ships, which belonged to enemy Force X. It was then 0746.