Second Battle of Sirte

The Second Battle of Sirte was a naval engagement in which the escorting warships of a British convoy to Malta frustrated a much more powerful Regia Marina (Italian Navy) squadron. The British convoy was composed of four merchant ships escorted by four light cruisers, one anti-aircraft cruiser, and 17 destroyers. The Italian force comprised a battleship, two heavy cruisers, one light cruiser, and eight destroyers. The battle occurred on 22 March 1942, in the Mediterranean, north of the Gulf of Sirte and southeast of Malta, during the Second World War.

Background

Malta had long been a major factor in British successes against Italian convoys to North Africa,Austin, Douglas: Malta and British strategic policy, 1925–43. Volume 13 of Cass series—military history and policy. Routledge, 2004, page 186. ISBN 978-0-7146-5545-1 and in return became the target of an increasing number of heavy Axis air raids. By early 1942, however, the Allies lost the...
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