Battle of the Ligurian Sea: Difference between revisions

|conflict = Battle of the Ligurian Sea

|partof = the [[Battle of the Mediterranean]] of [[Second World War|World War II]]

|image = HMS Meteor (G74).jpg

|image_size = 250px

|caption = British destroyer HMS ''Meteor''

|date = 18 March 1945

|place = [[Ligurian Sea]]

|coordinates = {{Coord|43|30|N|09|00|E|display=INLINE,title}}

|map_type = Italy

|map_size = 200px

|map_caption = {{centre|The Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean, between the Italian Riviera (Liguria) and the island of Corsica}}

|map_label = Ligurian Sea

|result = British victory

|combatant1 = {{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}

|combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}

|commander1 = {{flagdeco|United Kingdom|naval}} [[Derick Hetherington]]

|commander2 = {{flagdeco|Nazi Germany|naval}} Franz Burkart{{POW}}

|strength1 = 2 destroyers

|strength2 = 1 destroyer<br>2torpedo boats

|casualties1 = 1 destroyer damaged{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}}

|casualties2 = 60 killed<br>244 captured<br>2 torpedo boats sunk<br>1 destroyer damaged{{sfn|O'Hara|2004|pp=244–247}}

|campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Mediterranean Naval WW2}}

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 offensive [[Minelayer|mine laying]] operation at night when it was intercepted by two [[Royal Navy]] destroyers; {{HMS|Lookout|G32|6}} and {{HMS|Meteor|G73|2}}. 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.

At the [[Malta Conference (1945)|Malta Conference]] (30 January – 3 February 1945), it was decided to transfer air force and army units from Italy to the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] in France and Belgium in [[Operation Goldflake]]. In February and March 1945, the I Canadian Corps was moved from Italy to the French port of [[Marseilles]]. Escorts for the troopships were provided by Flank Force (Admiral [[Robert Jaujard]]) British, French and US ships, with air cover from the [[Mediterranean Allied Coastal Air Force]] (MACAF).{{sfn|Jackson|2004|pp=161, 304}}

==Prelude==

On the night of 17 March 1945, the last three operational ships of the German 10th Flotilla ([[Korvettenkapitän]] Franz Burkart) conducted an offensive mine-laying operation north-east of Corsica. After sailing from [[Genoa]], {{sclass|Ariete|torpedo boat|1}}s {{ship|German torpedo boat|TA24||2}} (ex-Italian ''Arturo'') and {{ship|German torpedo boat|TA29||2}} (ex-Italian ''Eridano'') laid 56 [[Naval mine|mines]] south of [[Gorgona, Italy|Gorgona Island]], while the destroyer ''[[Yugoslav destroyer Dubrovnik|TA32]]'' (a ''[[Torpedoboot Ausland]]'', the ex-[[Yugoslavia]]n ''Dubrovnik'') placed 76 mines north of [[Cap Corse]]. The flotilla rendezvoused for the return to Genoa and was about {{convert|20|nmi|mi km|0|abbr=on}} north of Cape Corse, when they were detected by an Allied shore [[radar]] at [[Livorno]]. Four [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] destroyers of the [[List of squadrons and flotillas of the Royal Navy|3rd Destroyer Flotilla]] were patrolling in the area; the French {{sclass|L'Adroit|destroyer|1}} {{ship|French destroyer|Basque||2}} and the {{sclass|Bourrasque|destroyer|1}} {{ship|French destroyer|Tempête||2}}; the British {{sclass2|L and M|destroyer|1}}s {{HMS|Lookout|G32|6}} and {{HMS|Meteor|G73|2}}.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}}

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.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}} ''Lookout''{{'}}s commander, [[Derick Hetherington]], 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.{{sfn|Tucker|2011|pp=466–467}}

''Lookout'' established radar contact with the Germans at 03:00 on 18 March, sailing at {{cvt|20|kn|mph km/h|abbr=on}} just west of north. ''Lookout'' approached at high speed from ahead and opened fire at about {{cvt|5000|yd|nmi+mi+km|0|abbr=on}}. Minutes later she swung around, moving parallel to the Germans and launched [[torpedo]]es.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}} 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 {{cvt|2000|yd|nmi+mi+km|0|abbr=on}}. ''TA29'' replied, her gunners almost hitting ''Lookout'' several times. One burst of 20&nbsp;mm shells hit some smoke floats and started a small fire that was quickly extinguished.{{sfn|Tucker|2011|pp=466–467}}

''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 {{convert|12300|yd|nmi mi km|0|abbr=on}} with the two German ships retreating north. ''Meteor'' opened fire at {{convert|8000|yd|nmi+mi+km|0|abbr=on}} and hit ''TA24'' almost immediately.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}} Seeing the hit in the dark, she launched a [[salvo]] 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.{{sfn|Tucker|2011|pp=466–467}}

The Battle of the Ligurian Sea was the last surface action fought by {{lang|de|Kriegsmarine}} 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.{{sfn|Tucker|2011|pp=466–467}} 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 [[Scuttling|scuttled]] 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.{{sfn|Whitley|1991|p=123}} 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".{{sfn|Tucker|2011|p=467}}

* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|Jackson|2004}}

|first1=W. |last1=Jackson |author1-link=William Jackson (British Army officer) |first2=T. P. |last2=Gleave |author2-link=Tom Gleave |editor-last=Butler |editor-first=J. R. M. |editor-link=J. R. M. Butler |title=The Mediterranean and Middle East: Victory in the Mediterranean November 1944 to May 1945 Part III |volume=VI |series=History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series |year=2004 |orig-year=1987 |publisher=[[HMSO]] |location=London |edition=pbk. Imperial War Museum and Naval & Military Press |isbn=978-1-84574-072-6}}

* {{cite book |last=O'Hara |first=Vincent P. |title=The German Fleet at War, 1939–1945 |year=2004 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |isbn=1-59114-651-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z85Xh21qniEC}}

* {{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Spencer |title=World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia |volume=I |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-457-3}}

* {{cite book |last=Whitley |first=M. J. |title=German Destroyers of World War Two |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, Maryland |year=1991 |isbn=1-55750-302-8}}

==Further reading==

[[Category:Allied naval victories in the battle of the Mediterranean|Ligurian Sea]]

[[Category:Mediterranean convoys of World War II|Ligurian Sea]]

[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the United Kingdom|Ligurian Sea]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1945|Ligurian Sea]]

[[Category:March 1945 events in Europe]]

[[Category:1945 in France]]

[[Category:1945 in Italy]]