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Action with the Italian Battleship

The enemy’s motive in breaking off action and retiring to the north-west was revealed in dramatic fashion at 1058 when the Orion sighted an enemy battleship (later known to be the Vittorio Veneto), bearing 002° (Force Y in Plan 3). Her appearance “put a very different complexion on affairs”. The enemy was fast and the Gloucester’s maximum safe speed was expected to be 24 knots. It looked as if the British cruisers might be “sandwiched” between the Vittorio Veneto to the north and the Italian cruisers (Force X) to the north-west (see Fig. 1). The battleship quickly opened fire and the VALF at once altered course together to the southward in order to disengage, increasing speed to 30 knots, a speed which fortunately the Gloucester successfully achieved. It was then 1059. For ten minutes the enemy concentrated on the Orion which suffered only minor damage from a near miss. The enemy’s shooting at 32,000 yards was remarkably accurate; the Veneto fired 94 rounds in 29 salvoes out of which there were 11 mis-fires. Force B was ordered to make smoke, the wind at the time being about E.N.E., Force 2 and the smoke soon became effective, though the Gloucester, the only ship remaining visible to the enemy, was repeatedly straddled until the Hasty was able to reach a position where it was possible to cover her with smoke. The Italian battleship on the port quarter of our cruisers possessed an equal turn of speed, and at 1100 the 3rd Division of 8-in. cruisers reversed course to engage from the starboard quarter, a situation that might have become serious if the Formidable’s striking force had not at this critical moment opportunely intervened.