Екінші дүниежүзілік соғыстағы "H күші": Жерорта теңізіндегі британдық әскери-теңіз күштерінің операциялары

Force H was a British naval formation during the Second World War. It was formed in late June 1940, to replace French naval power in the western Mediterranean removed by the French armistice with Nazi Germany. The force occupied an odd place within the naval chain of command. Normal British practice was to have naval stations and fleets around the world, whose commanders reported to the First Sea Lord via a flag officer. Force H was based at Gibraltar but there was already a flag officer at the base, Flag Officer Commanding, North Atlantic. The commanding officer of Force H did not report to this Flag Officer but directly to the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound.

One of the first operations that Force H took part in was connected with the reason for its formation. French naval power still existed in the Mediterranean, and the British Government viewed it as a threat to British interests. It was feared that the Vichy government of Philippe Pétain would hand the ships over to Germany, despite a vow that that would never happen. This would almost certainly tip the balance decisively against Britain in the Mediterranean. Consequently, Force H was ordered to execute Operation Catapult. The most powerful of the remaining French forces was in port at Mers el Kébir in Algeria. It consisted of the French battleships French battleship Strasbourg and French battleship Dunkerque, two older battleships, and with escorting vessels. Force H steamed to off the Algerian coast, and an envoy was sent to the French commander. Various terms were offered, including internment of the fleet in a neutral country, joining the British forces, or scuttling the fleet at its berths. However, the commander of the French forces reported only the scuttling option to his superiors, and was consequently ordered to fight the British. The reasons for the omission have been debated by many. It is often thought that the anti British bias of the French commander was to blame. The result of the action was that the remains of the French fleet escaped to Toulon, a French base on the Mediterranean coast of metropolitan France. They did so at heavy cost. The French battleship French battleship Bretagne blew up under British gunfire, killing over 1,000 French sailors. The battleship French battleship Provence was also badly damaged; Strasbourg and Dunkerque were also hit, although Strasbourg escaped with four destroyers.

After this unpleasant operation, Force H settled down to its more normal operations. These involved general naval tasks in the western basin of the Mediterranean. Prominent amongst these tasks was fighting convoys through to Malta. The early convoys came through with relatively light losses. That changed in 1941, when the Germans sent the Luftwaffes X. Fliegerkorps to Sicily; its bombers took a high toll of both warships and merchantmen. Also, from 1942 the improved combat efficiency of the Regia Aeronautica (and especially of its SM.79 torpedo bombers) and of the Regia Marina's submarines posed a far greater threat to these convoys than the 1940 Italian opposition. In November 1940, screening convoys to Malta, Force H made an important contribution to Operation MB8, and the resulting success of Operation Judgement, the attack on Taranto harbour.