Skerky Can Fight

The Germans and Italians planned to send four convoys to North Africa at the end of November 1942.

The first was convoy B , which left Nov. 30 at 2:30 p.m. from Naples to Bizerte , in the north of Tunisia , and consisted of 6 vessels (including 2 German), accompanied by four destroyers (torpedo boats), later it was reinforced by 3 destroyers following the destroyers.

The next group, code-named convoy “C” , formed of 3 ships, under cover of 4 destroyers, set off on the same day and also from Naples at 23:00, the goal was Tripoli .

The third convoy, code-named convoy G , consisting of the Giorgio steam tanker (Giorgio, 4887 brt.), Escorted by the destroyer Lampo and destroyer Climene , left Palermo on December 1 at 09:00 in the morning, heading to Tunisia.

The last group, marked as “H” convoy , also left Palermo an hour later, heading for Bizerte. The convoy was formed by the Italian transports Aventino (Aventino, 3794 brt. Steam) and Puccini (Puccini, 2422 brt., Motorized), as well as the German steam cargo ship KT-1 (834 brt.), Accompanied by Italian destroyers Nicoloso da Recco Camicia Nera and Folgore; and destroyers Clio and Procione . Already at sea, they were joined by the Italian passenger ferry Aspromonte (Aspromonte 976 brt.) Going from Trapani (Western Sicily). The convoy commander was the commander of the 16th destroyer division, commander Aldo Kokkia, who held a pennant on Nicoloso da Recco . The ships carried 1766 soldiers, 32 different cars, 4 tanks, 12 88 mm caliber guns and 698 tons of cargo, including 120 tons of ammunition carried by the KT-1 .

The British decryption system “ Uitra ” quickly discovered the escort escort , and their reconnaissance was confirmed by air reconnaissance. To intercept the convoys at 5:05 pm on December 1, the Q connection, under Rear Admiral Harcourt (Cecil Halliday Jepson Harcourt), left the port of Bon (now Annaba), in northeast Algeria . The compound consisted of the light cruisers Aurora (flagship commander William Gladstone Agnew William Gladstone Agnew), Argonaut (commander Eric William Longley Longley-Cook Eric) and Sirius (Cdr Patrick William Beresford Brorickford), as well as the destroyers LCD Quent Allen Herbert Percy Noble) and Australian Quiberon (Commander Hugh Waters Shelley Browning, Hugh Waters Shelley Browning).

At about 11 p.m. the Germans informed Supermarina, the Italian naval headquarters, that their plane at sunset noticed a British squadron near Cape Bon. At 23:03 a naval radio station intercepted a British radiogram. The British radiogram allowed Supermarine to catch the first signs of danger and it became clear that the escort escorted were at risk, especially the last two.

Soon British planes from Malta attacked the G convoy - the Giorgio tanker was damaged by a torpedo, taken to the Climene tugboat and taken to Trapani (the tanker was sunk on March 21, 1943 near Sicily by the British submarine Splendid ).

However, convoy "N" went too far from the coast to be able to return. Shortly before midnight, at the head of this group was the destroyer Procione with paravanes set up. On the evening of December 1, when the convoy was moving in calm and complete darkness, because the moon was covered with dense clouds, British planes appeared above it, which dropped luminous markers, thus indicating its course.

At the same time, the Italian command sent a message about the impending danger, which came from the north of the “Q” Connection, so Commander Kokkia decided to change course about three miles south - approaching the safest distance to the unmarked minefields existing in the area. At 0:01, already on December 2, the convoy turned 90 °, in the direction to the south-south-east, and 16 minutes later Kokkia ordered to return to the west-south-west course.

The consequences of the maneuver were tragic. In German KT-1 , which followed the Puccini , the order was not accepted due to the lack of radio. He did not fulfill the command and followed to the northwest. On the other hand, “ Puccini ”, when returning to its previous course, at 00:17 hit with a bow following Aspromonte ahead. Fortunately, the damage to both vessels was not significant. Thus, the convoy dispersed and at the beginning of the battle went the prescribed course of 240 °. Procione with trawls delivered, was 5400 meters south of Nicoloso da Recco . Behind the flagship, closing the extended column, were Aventino , Clio and Aspromonte . The Puccini and Folgore were together approximately 5400 meters behind Nicoloso da Recco . On the opposite side, Camicia Nera was located 2,700 meters north of Puccini . The lone KT-1 sailed 6300 meters northwest of Nicoloso da Recco . At 00:11, when the convoy was just dispersing, it was moving at a speed of 9 knots, not far from the Skerki bank off the coast of Tunisia ( ), about 40 miles north of Cape Bon. At this moment, Rear Admiral Harcourt’s Compound appeared, traveling at a 60 ° course at a speed of 20 knots, groped for his adversary with a radar.

At 00:37, the Allied ships went straight to the next separately from the KT-1 convoy, from a distance of about 1600 meters the first to open fire. The blow was struck by the next head Aurora . In transport, an explosion of ammunition cargo occurred, which literally swept a small vessel and it sank. None of his crew escaped. Argonaut and Quiberon chose the ship in the southeast (apparently, Nicoloso da Recco or Procione ) as their target , but were unsuccessful.

After that, Compound “Q” struck at the main forces of the convoy. It rounded the burning core of KT-1 and turned sequentially to the south-south-east.

Nicoloso da Recco missed the attackers in the dark of the night, but after only a minute from the start of the attack, at 0:38, he began to shoot with projectiles, other Italian ships also noticed the enemy.

At 00:39, Aurora fired several shots at the fake target heading north. Argonaut fired a torpedo through sinking German vehicles, and two minutes later went into a shootout with the Camicia Nera , which was in a good position to launch torpedoes. Aurora also transferred fire to it, taking the destroyer for a merchant ship. Camicia Nera , while protecting ships from the right flank of the convoy, also opened fire, and at 0:43 fired three torpedoes on the port side, and the next 3, at 00:45, on the other side from the starboard side. The main target of the torpedoes was Aurora (according to another version of Sirius , but probably these were two different targets), which, however, managed to avoid a strike. After that, the Italian destroyer moved north, surrounded by explosions of enemy shells, and did not participate in the battle anymore.

At 0:46, the Aurora radar spotted from the port side of Aspromonte and Aventino , after which Aurora and Argonaut began shelling Italian ships. Further down the Aspromonte , they managed to temporarily escape into the darkness.

Sirius shelled the destroyer Clio and the Folgore destroyer moving at the end of the convoy. Caught just 1,000 meters from the Allied ships and moving right on them, Folgore fired three torpedoes at 00:47 at Aurora . Just at that time, Sirius imprudently opened the spotlight to illuminate the transports. Folgore swiftly turned around and at 00:50 fired the remaining three torpedoes at it. Torpedoes passed by, although Italians reported two hits. Two minutes later, Folgore , moving southwest, was buried in a hail of shells, receiving 9 hits, most of which were 133 mm caliber, with Sirius (according to another version of Argonaut 'a). He still maintained a 27-knot course, but due to the intense flow of water, the bank quickly reached 20 °, and a fire was blazing at his stern. Nevertheless, the ship used the available shells of its 120-mm guns until the very moment of flooding at 01:16, when the destroyer rolled over the starboard side and sank, killing 126 people, including the commander, captain-lieutenant Ener Bettica .

Destroyer Clio tried to put a smokescreen, which was supposed to hide the escorted vessels, but to no avail. He periodically fired from 100-mm guns in the direction of the British searchlights and outbreaks of gun shots. At 00:50, the destroyer Quiberan left the British formation and attacked the Italian destroyer. The gunners of the latter answered, but did not achieve hits. After that, he moved away, thus avoiding damage. When the battle ensued, Procione chopped off the paravanes and headed for the connection with the flagship of the escort. After 15 minutes, at 00:53, Sirius found him on the right in the nose at a distance of just a mile and immediately shot a volley of all the guns. On the destroyer, the bow gun was swept overboard along with the calculation. Procione maneuvered frantically, trying to bring down the enemy’s aiming, and retreated southwest. He was the only Italian ship that did not fire a single shot during the battle.

At this time, Nicoloso da Recco , remaining undetected, crossed the course of the British compound right in front of the head of the cruiser, but could not realize its advantageous position. At 00:55, the destroyer opened fire from sharp corners, maneuvering to take a good position to launch torpedoes. When the British turned east, Nicoloso da Recco hesitated with a U-turn and found himself in a catch-up position.

Meanwhile, Argonaut and Sirius focused their fire on the Puccini transport. At 00:58, Argonaut fired one torpedo at it and the second at the burning Aventino . Both passed by, but at 01:02 a torpedo with Sirius hit the Aventino . With 1,100 soldiers on board, he sank within 5 minutes after receiving a torpedo on board.

At 01:06, the Puccini transport was discovered by Quiberan , who opened fire on the ship. After 6 minutes, Quentin joined him. An explosion occurred on the vessel, it was badly damaged and burned. The Puccini was left by the crew and the soldiers in the hold (in the afternoon, the Camicia Nera finished it off with a torpedo).

At 01:07, Camicia Nera attempted to renew the attack on the cruiser, but was covered by Allied fire, but without aim. 7 minutes later, he finally came out of their fire.

The Aspromonte, hiding in the darkness, was discovered after about 20 minutes with the help of lighting projectiles. Aurora shot him with the main caliber. Aspromonte went to the bottom at about 1:25 after a strong explosion.

At 01:21, the eastbound cruisers unified their guns on Clio , who had turned up in front and to the right of them. For five minutes, the destroyer was under concentrated fire, but miraculously, repeatedly, managed to avoid any damage.

All this time, Nicoloso da Recco tried in vain to enter a position for a torpedo attack. Because of his unsuccessful maneuver at the start of the battle, he was two and a quarter miles behind the enemy’s stern, and the destroyer had to go around the skeleton of the sinking Aventino . At 01:30, when the British lay back on course, the destroyer was at a distance of about 4,000 meters from Sirius , Quiberan and Quentin , and was soon able to go unnoticed at a distance of about 2,000 meters from the enemy, but when he was preparing to fire a torpedo from the front the chimney Nicoloso da Recco suddenly treacherously sparks flew out, betraying the position of the ship. After that, the destroyer was hit by four shells. Two of them got into the front ammunition cellar, in which an explosion occurred, as a result of which all sailors on the bridge were killed or injured. Among the latter was Comodore Kokkia. In total, the destroyer lost 118 people only killed.

At 1:35, the last shots rang out, and then Compound Q turned without loss onto the base in Beaune. At the same time, the severely damaged and burned out Nicoloso da Recco was forced to stop by the decision of the chief mechanic, kpt. mar. Cesare Petroncelli (Cesare Petroncelli). By the forces of the remaining quarter of the crew, under the command of the deputy commander, kmdr. por. Pietro Rivy tried to put out the fire. The wounded Kokkia, with a burned face, ordered the help of the por communications officer, also badly burned, to call for help from Trapani. mar. Alfredo Zambrini (Alfredo Zambrini) and radio operator Sergeant Mario Sforzi. The destroyers Antonio da Noli and Antonio Pigafetta came to the rescue from this port. Around 08:00 on Nicoloso da Recco, they managed to put out the fire and start the car, and soon the mentioned 2 destroyers arrived from Trapani. About 60 wounded sailors were transferred from Nicoloso da Recco to Antonio da Noli , after which the wounded destroyer began his journey accompanied by Antonio Pigafetta (according to another version in his tug), reaching the above port. The repairs at Nicoloso da Recco in Taranto lasted until July 1943.

At the same time, Camicia Nera and the destroyer Clio were the first to rescue survivors from sunken ships. Having received 158 people, the Camicia Nera in the afternoon of December 2 finished off the drifting parts of Puccini with artillery fire and both ships returned to Trapani on the same day at 22:00. In turn, Procione December 2 at 08:45 reached Tunisia. Some of the survivors were taken aboard by Antonio da Noli and Antonio Pigafetta .

Aventino sank in less than an hour, at a position of , Aspromonte at , Puccini at (sometimes the position is given ) and KT-1 at Folgore sank at

In total, the victims of Compound “Q” were 4, loaded mostly by soldiers and military equipment of a transport vessel with a total tonnage of 8026 gb. and the destroyer, and the other destroyer and destroyer were damaged. On the Folgore , 124 sailors (including 4 officers) were killed or died from wounds, on Nicoloso da Recco 118 (including 5 officers) and Procione 3 sailors. On the sunken ships killed 41 (according to other publications 39) Aspromonte crew members serving in the navy, in addition, about 200 sailors of the military and commercial fleet on KT-1 (the entire crew, numbering 53 people, was killed). Aspromonte (crew of the merchant fleet), Puccini and Aventino lost until 1527 (only 239 were saved) soldiers transported on the last two. And the total German-Italian losses, thus, reached about 2,000 sailors and soldiers (there is a figure of 2037 victims).

It would seem that the battle was over, but the opposite happened, as the German and Italian air forces entered the matter. On the morning of December 2, returning to Bon, Compound Q, about 50 miles northeast of Cape de Garde in eastern Algeria, was attacked by 12 German torpedo bombers Heinkel He.111 from I./KG26 and 4 torpedo bombers flying from Sardinia Junkers Ju. 88 of III./KG26, but the raid was ineffective.

The result was achieved in the next attack, carried out by 13 Ju.88 KG54 bombers based in Sicily. Aircraft attacked in 3 groups, respectively in 3, 4 and 6 cars. Already the first 3 bombers from I./KG54 achieved success - at 06:36 on board (publications do not specify which side) the Quentin destroyer exploded a 500-kilogram bomb, resulting in a huge hole in the hull. 4 more planes from I./KG54 dropped bombs near Quentin 's, which had already fallen feed. He sank after 4 minutes at (according to other publications ). The crew of the destroyer believed that Quentin was hit by a torpedo, and so far in most studies, this is considered the cause of death. Together with the destroyer, 11 sailors were killed. The remaining crew members were saved by Quiberon , who stopped accepting the survivors, and then was slightly damaged by the fragments of bombs that exploded near the ship, and dropped 6 Ju. 88 from the last group belonging to III./KG54. Of the rescued sailors with Quentin , one died on December 12 as a result of injuries. German planes had no casualties in this attack.

At 8:55, more than 2 hours after the sinking of Quentin , 8 Italian torpedo bomber Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero from the 130th group took off from the base of Elmas in Sardinia. 5 vehicles belonged to the 283rd squadron, but the aircraft of the squadron commander was forced to return, and the remaining 3 vehicles represented the 280th squadron. These seven aircraft attacked Compound Q in the waters north of Bizerte, but 2 British Spitfire fighters from the 242nd RAF squadron arrived to help the ships, and soon they were joined by Spitfire commander of the 322nd RAF wing. As a result of air combat, 4 Italian aircraft were damaged. Pilots of the remaining 3 vehicles announced that torpedoes hit the cruiser and cargo ship (!). The latter was a figment of their imagination, although these aircraft were mistakenly credited with drowning Quentin . In fact, he was sent to the bottom by the previously mentioned German bomber. On the British side, Spitfire from the 242nd squadron was shot down, whose pilot jumped with a parachute, but, unfortunately, was not found.

On December 13, the renewed Compound Q, this time consisting of Aurora and Argonaut , as well as the destroyers Eskimo and Quality , left Bon to intercept another convoy. On the morning of December 14, Argonaut was attacked by the Italian submarine Mocenigo , which hit him with two torpedoes from the starboard side in the bow and stern of the ship, causing the separation of both ends. At the same time, three sailors were killed. Then an attack was launched on an Italian aircraft, the bombs of which exploded near the starboard side of the ship, causing further damage. The connection stopped its exit and turned back. The damaged Argonaut was restored in Philadelphia, in the United States, until November 1943.

• Patyanin S.V.The illustrious cruiser Churchill. “Arethusa”, “Penelope”, “Galatea”, “Aurora” . - M .: Yauza, EKSMO, 2013 .-- 96 p. - (War at sea. Collection). - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-699-64806-1 .