Operation Harpoon (1942)

British operation during the Second World War

Operation Harpoon was one of two simultaneous Allied convoys sent to supply Malta in the Axis dominated central Mediterranean Sea in mid June 1942, during the Second World War. Operation Vigorous was a west bound convoy from Alexandria and Operation Harpoon was an east bound convoy operation from Gibraltar. Vigorous convoy was driven back by the Italian fleet after being badly damaged by Axis aircraft. Two of the six ships in the Harpoon convoy completed the journey, at the cost of several Allied warships. The naval action fought on 15 June between an Italian naval squadron and the escort of the Harpoon convoy is known as the Battle of Pantelleria (Battaglia di Mezzo Giugno [Battle of mid June]). News of the two operations had been unwittingly revealed to the Axis by the US Military Attaché in Egypt, Colonel Bonner Fellers, who had been submitting detailed military reports on British activities to Washington. The American code was later revealed by Ultra intercepts to have been broken by Italian military intelligence (Servizio Informazioni Militare).

In 1942, Axis bombing of Malta smashed the docks, ships, aircraft and airfields by the end of April 1942. Axis bombing was switched to targets preliminary to invasion: camps, barracks, warehouses and road junctions. After 18 April, German bombing suddenly stopped and Italian bombers took over, regularly bombing with small formations of aircraft. During the month, Axis aircraft flew more than 9,500 sorties against 388 by the Royal Air Force (RAF) all but 30 of which were fighter sorties. The British lost 50 aircraft, 20 shot down in combat against 37 Axis losses incurred during the dropping of of bombs, three times the March figure, on the docks, on airfields. The bombing demolished or damaged 11,450 buildings, 300 civilians were killed and 350 seriously wounded. Good shelters existed but some of the casualties were caused by delayed action bombs. As Malta was running short of supplies, Convoy MW 10 sailed from Alexandria on 21 March. The convoy was the subject of a half hearted attack by the Italian Fleet; the Italians intercepted the convoy and inflicted much damage on several escorts in the Second Battle of Sirte but the weaker British force fended off the Italian squadron. The attack on the convoy meant that the convoy reached Malta in the morning and not at night as expected, leaving the merchant ships exposed to Axis air attack. In the following 48 hours, all the merchant ships were sunk off Malta or destroyed inside the port; barely of supplies were unloaded. Rations of meat, fats and sugar were cut further and on 5 May, the bread ration was reduced to per day, enough to last until late July; pasta rations had already been stopped and there had been a poor winter potato harvest. Three destroyers, three submarines, three minesweepers, five tugs, a water carrier and a floating crane were sunk in port and more ships damaged. The island continued to function as a staging post but the Axis bombing campaign neutralised Malta as an offensive base. Two boats of the 10th Submarine Flotilla had been sunk, two were damaged in harbour and on 26 April the flotilla was ordered out because of mining by small fast craft, which were undetectable by radar and inaudible during the bombing; the surviving minesweepers were too reduced in numbers to clear the approaches. Three reconnaissance aircraft remained and only 22 bomber sorties were flown, with eleven more by Fleet Air Arm (FAA) aircraft during the month. By the start of June, only two Fairey Albacores and two Fairey Swordfish were left.

From December 1941, Luftwaffe bombing neutralised Malta, decrypts of Italian C 38m cipher messages showed more sailings and fewer losses and on 23 February 1942, an Italian convoy, led by the battleship Duilio, reached Tripoli. By the end of February, 11 ships had crossed without escort and a blackout caused by a change to the C 38m machine, in early March, made little difference to the British for lack of means. After the British broke back into C 38m, 26 Axis supply journeys had been made by May, only nine being spotted by air reconnaissance. On 14 April, five Malta aircraft were shot down and the submarine was lost. On 10 March, the cruiser was sunk by a U boat and on 10 May, three of four destroyers were sunk by the Luftwaffe. In February and March, Axis losses were 9 per cent of supplies sent, in April less than one per cent and May losses were 7 per cent. The Axis was able to reinforce North Africa sufficient for General Erwin Rommel to try to attack before the British. In late April, the British Chiefs of Staff ruled that there would be no convoy to Malta in May, because the Italian fleet could be expected to sail and convoy would need battleship and aircraft carrier cover, which was not available. An operation to fly Spitfires to Malta succeeded and anti aircraft ammunition was to be supplied by fast minelayer, with which Malta must hold on until mid June, when the situation in the Western Desert should have been clarified. If Martuba or Benghazi in Cyrenaica had been captured by the Eighth Army, a westbound convoy from Alexandria might survive without cover from battleships and aircraft carriers. It would also be known if Luftwaffe aircraft had been diverted to the Russian Front and if the crisis in the Indian Ocean had abated, sufficient for ships to escort a fast convoy from Alexandria.

Operation Hercules (Operazione C3) was an Axis plan to invade Malta and during 1942, reinforcement of the Luftwaffe in Sicily and the bombing campaign against the island led to speculation that it was the prelude to invasion. Gleanings from prisoners of war and diplomatic sources led to a certain apprehension about the meaning of troop movements in southern Italy. The absence of evidence from signals intelligence and air reconnaissance led to a conclusion that an invasion was not imminent but the need to protect the source of information meant that this was not disclosed by the British. That preparations were being made were revealed on 7 February through the decryption of Luftwaffe Enigma messages but by 23 March the invasion scare had died down and more bombing was expected. By 31 March the progress of the Axis bombing campaign led to a prediction that the attempt would be made in April but this was soon discounted. Although the bombing increased from in February, to in March and in April, Enigma decodes showed that there were still aircraft in Sicily, not the 650 aircraft originally intended, because aircraft were detained in Russia by the Soviet winter offensive. On 26 April, Enigma revealed that Fliegerkorps II was being withdrawn. By 2 May, a Luftwaffe bomber group and a fighter group had been withdrawn with more to follow, which explained the lull. Hitler was lukewarm about the operation, in case the Italian navy let down the Fallschirmjäger (parachute and glider troops) but the Axis capture of Tobruk in mid June made it appear that an invasion was redundant. Hitler and Mussolini agreed to Panzerarmee Afrika pursuing the British into Egypt for the rest of June and into July, which meant cancelling Hercules.

After the success of Operation Crusader (18 November – 30 December 1941), the Eighth Army advanced westwards to El Agheila in Libya, capturing airfields and landing grounds to provide air cover for Malta convoys. The British misjudged the speed of Axis reinforcement and expected to attack well before the Axis but Panzerarmee Afrika forestalled the Eighth Army by beginning an offensive on 21 January 1942. By 6 February, the British had been defeated, forced to retreat east of the Jebel Akhdar back to the Gazala line just west of Tobruk, where the Panzerarmee had begun its retirement seven weeks earlier. At the Battle of Gazala (26 May – 21 June), Panzerarmee Afrika attacked first again but appeared close to defeat until 11 June. The Allied Operation Julius began on the same day as the Afrika Korps broke out and by 14 June, forced the British to retreat towards Tobruk. The Axis forces pursued the British into Egypt and the Desert Air Force lost the Libyan landing grounds from which to cover Malta convoys.

+Anti submarine squadrons in Operation Julius Type Malta Egypt Albacore 830 FAA821, 826FAA Baltimore 69– Beaufort 21739 Blenheim –20313 Greek Hudson –459 RAAF Maryland –203 Spitfire 2 PRU– Sunderland –230 Swordfish(ASV) –815 FAA Wellesley –47 Wellington(torpedo) 38– Wellington(ASV) 221 det.221
Two weeks before the convoys, the carrier began operations to deliver 63 Spitfires to Malta, which increased the number to 95 serviceable fighters. Air operations for the two convoys began on 24 May, when Vickers Wellington bombers of 104 Squadron from Malta began bombing airfields and ports in Sicily and southern Italy. On 11 June, the Wellingtons were withdrawn to accommodate six Wellington torpedo bombers of 38 Squadron, Bristol Beaufort torpedo bombers of 217 Squadron and Martin Baltimore reconnaissance aircraft of 69 Squadron. Aircraft from Gibraltar, Malta and Egypt also began reconnaissance flights on 11 June, searching for the Italian fleet. Twelve Beauforts of 39 Squadron were based at Bir Amud in Egypt, near the Libyan border, five B 24 Liberator bombers of 160 Squadron and about 24 aircraft of the Halverson Detachment United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) at RAF Fayid, were also made available. Short range fighters based in Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenaica and Malta were to provide air cover and as the convoy moved out of range, protection would be taken over by Curtiss Kittyhawks of 250 Squadron equipped with long range fuel tanks, Bristol Beaufighters from 252 Squadron and 272 Squadron and Beaufighter night fighters from 227 Squadron. Air cover from Cyrenaica could not overlap with coverage from Malta leaving a gap but Wellingtons of 205 Group and the light bombers of the Desert Air Force would attack Axis airfields in North Africa. 201 (General Reconnaissance) Group would provide reconnaissance and anti submarine sorties and a small sabotage party was to land on Crete and attack Axis aircraft on the ground.

Vigorous was planned as a joint Royal Navy–RAF operation, to be conducted from the headquarters of 201 (General Reconnaissance) Group by Admiral Henry Harwood and Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, with Rear Admiral Philip Vian in command of the convoy and escorts (Force A). If a larger Italian force attacked, Vian was to protect the convoy with smoke and the escorts were to repulse the attackers with torpedoes and try to inflict early casualties against two of the Italian ships using gunfire. The success of the convoy would depend on the Italian fleet being damaged by air and submarine attack before it could close on the ships, rather than on surface action because the battleships and were still out of action. Force A comprised four Dido class 5.25 inch light cruisers and a C class anti aircraft cruiser, three 6 inch Town class cruisers and 26 destroyers, four corvettes, two minesweepers, four Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) and two rescue ships. The former battleship was pressed into service to masquerade as a contemporary battleship. Two submarine flotillas were to send nine boats to screen the convoy and to patrol areas that the Italian fleet was likely to be found.

Convoy MW4 left Gibraltar on 12 June 1942, with six merchantmen (the British Troilus, Burdwan and Orari, the Dutch Tanimbar, the American Chant and the tanker Kentucky) carrying of cargo and oil. The Harpoon convoy was escorted by Force X, the anti aircraft cruiser , nine destroyers, the fast minelayer and smaller ships. Distant cover was provided by the battleship , aircraft carriers and Eagle, cruisers , and , with several destroyers. Eagle carried 16 Sea Hurricanes of 801 Naval Air Squadron (801 NAS) and 813 NAS and four Fairey Fulmars of 807 NAS. Argus had two more Fulmars of 807 NAS and 18 Swordfish of 824 NAS.

The convoy was attacked by the Italian submarine Uarsciek at 2:52 a. m. which claimed a hit but the explosion was premature. At dawn an Italian aircraft spotted the convoy north of Cape Bougaroni, about halfway between Algiers and Bizerte. Two British fighters managed to shoot it down before it could send a sighting report. Escapade fired on a submarine but it turned out to be Westcott returning from refuelling. The Italian submarine Giada was in the vicinity and at 6:05 a. m. fired two torpedoes at Eagle, which logged an underwater explosion at 6:14 a. m. The crew of Giada heard three explosions and claimed a hit. Another Italian aircraft saw the convoy at 7:45 a. m. south west of Cape Teulada in Sardinia, close to the operational area of Aeronautica della Sardegna (Air Sardinia) which had been reinforced to 175 operational bombers and fighters, a greater force than anticipated by the British. The first air attacks were made by Italian Savoia Marchetti SM.79 torpedo bombers, which sank Tanimbar, south of Sardinia. Liverpool was damaged and towed back to Gibraltar by Antelope, under air attack (arriving on 17 June). Later on 14 June, the covering force returned to Gibraltar, short of the Strait of Sicily. The fast minelayer Welshman was detached and travelled to Malta alone, delivered ammunition, then sailed back next day to rejoin the convoy escorts.

At dawn on 15 June, near Pantelleria, the lightly defended convoy was subjected to a coordinated attack by Axis aircraft and the Italian 7th Cruiser Division ([[Divisional admiral [Vice Admiral] Alberto da Zara), Italian cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian cruiser Eugenio di Savoia and the destroyers Ascari, Alfredo Oriani, Lanzerotto Malocello, Premuda and Ugolino Vivaldi. The five fleet destroyers in the convoy escort made a smokescreen and attacked the Italian squadron but the Tribal class destroyer and the were repeatedly hit by the Italian cruisers and brought to a standstill. The cruiser Cairo also received two rounds from Italian gunfire. Italian reports claimed that the destroyers Vivaldi and Malocello closed to within of the merchantmen and hit one of the freighters at about 7:15 a. m. Vivaldi was eventually hit by a shot from the British destroyers and caught fire but was taken in tow and saved by Malocello and Premuda. Both forces broke off the engagement at about 8:00 a. m. and the Italians lost track of the convoy. The tanker Kentucky, Chant and the freighter Burdwan, already disabled by air attack, were abandoned by their escorts, which had been trying to scuttle Kentucky and Burdwan with gunfire and depth charges, when the Italian cruisers returned shortly before noon. Burdwan and Kentucky, already on fire, were sunk by gunfire from Raimondo Montecuccoli, Eugenio di Savoia and the destroyers Ascari and Oriani; Kentucky was also struck by a torpedo from Oriani. Ascari finished off Burdwan, which by then was an abandoned hulk, with two torpedoes. Chant had already been sunk by bombing and the Italian squadron found her smouldering wreck site. While scaring off the small escorting vessels of the crippled ships and according to post battle reports from both sides, Raimondo Montecuccoli hit the minesweeper at "approx. 26,000 yards". Fires broke out on Hebe, which received extensive splinter damage. Electrical cables to sweep magnetic and acoustic mines, low power wires, steering gear, echo sounding gear and voice pipes were broken, the Kelvin sounding machine, the commanding officer's cabin were damaged and a whaler was rendered unseaworthy. Partridge was recovered and taking the disabled Bedouin in tow when the Italian cruisers with two destroyers reappeared; the tow was cast off, leaving Bedouin adrift. At 2:30 p. m., Partridge managed to withdraw and run for Gibraltar but Bedouin had already been hit during the battle by at least twelve shells plus several near misses and had taken on a severe list. Bedouin was eventually sunk by an aerial torpedo from a SM.79 bomber that Bedouin shot down as it sank. Twenty eight of the Bedouin crew were killed and more than 200 were rescued and taken prisoner by the Italians; the majority by the small hospital ship Meta. The Italian squadron was attacked by mistake at 2:20 p. m. by German Ju. 88 bombers, without suffering any damage. The Italian warships witnessed the sinking of the crippled vessels of the convoy shortly after, just before sailing back to Pantelleria. Later In the evening, the surviving ships ran into a minefield off Malta. The destroyers Badsworth and Matchless and the freighter Orari struck mines and were damaged; the Polish destroyer sank after midnight. Of the six merchantmen, Orari and Troilus reached Malta, the former having lost some cargo in the mine explosion; Hebe also struck a mine and suffered further damage, requiring a month in dry dock.

The British suffered casualties of twenty eight men killed on HMS Bedouin, fifteen on HMS Liverpool, thirteen on ORP Kujawiak, nine on HMS Badsworth, two on HMS Cairo, one on HMS Partridge, three on the auxiliary minesweeper Justified, twenty three on Tanimbar, four on Chant, three on Burdwan. The ten most injured survivors of Bedouin were picked up by a CANT Z.506 Airone (Heron) seaplane after a Luftwaffe aircraft had spotted them and dropped a flare. On 16 June, Supermarina sent the Italian hospital ship Meta which spent two days rescuing survivors and was mistakenly attacked one evening at 7:00 p. m. by six Fiat CR.42 Falco fighters of the 54° Stormo, four armed with bombs; three survivors from Chant were also rescued, a total of 217 men.

Key: † sunk, # damaged, ## badly damaged.