The Battle of Skerki Bank was a World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 naval battle

Naval battle

A naval battle is a battle fought using boats, ships or other waterborne vessels. Most naval battles have occurred at sea, but a few have taken place on lakes or rivers. The earliest recorded naval battle took place in 1210 BC near Cyprus...

 which took place near Skerki Bank in the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 on the early hours of 2 December 1942 between British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Italian

Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)

The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...

 forces.

The British force consisted of the light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

s HMS Aurora

HMS Aurora (12)

HMS Aurora was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on the 27 July 1935. She was launched on the 20 August 1936, and commissioned 12 November 1937....

, HMS Argonaut

HMS Argonaut (61)

HMS Argonaut was a Dido class cruiser-References:***...

 and HMS Sirius

HMS Sirius (82)

HMS Sirius was a Dido-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Portsmouth Dockyard , with the keel being laid down on 6 April 1938. She was launched on 18 September 1940, and commissioned 6 May 1942.-History:...

 and the destroyers HMS Quentin

HMS Quentin (G78)

HMS Quentin was a Q class destroyer laid down by J. Samuel White and Company, Limited, at Cowes on the Isle of Wight on 25 September 1940, launched on 5 November 1941 and commissioned on 15 April 1942...

 and HMAS Quiberon

HMAS Quiberon (G81)

HMAS Quiberon was a Q class destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy . Although built for the Royal Navy and remaining British property until 1950, Quiberon was one of two Q class destroyers commissioned into the RAN during World War II...

. The squadron was under the command of Rear Admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 C. H. J. Harcourt. They attacked an Italian convoy bound for Tunisia and its escort of three destroyers and two torpedo boat

Torpedo boat

A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...

s. The Italian escort composed of the destroyers Da Recco

Italian destroyer Nicoloso da Recco

The Nicoloso da Recco was a built for the Royal Italian Navy in the early 1930s. Named after the Italian Renaissance seaman Nicoloso da Recco, she served during World War II in which she was the sole survivor of her destroyer class...

(flagship), Camicia Nera

Soldati class destroyer

The Soldati class were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy during World War II. The ships were named after military professions...

, Folgore

Folgore class destroyer

The Folgore Class were a group of destroyers built for the Italian Navy in the 1930s. All four ships fought in World War II and were sunk. They were a modified version of the Freccia class destroyers, but had the beam reduced to try to increase speed...

and the torpedo boats Clio

Spica class torpedo boat

The Spica-class were a class of torpedo boats of the Regia Marina during World War II. These ships were built as a result of a clause in the Washington Naval Treaty, which stated that ships with a tonnage of less than 600 tons could be built in unlimited numbers...

and Procione

Orsa class torpedo boat

The Orsa class were a group of large torpedo boats or destroyer escorts built for the Italian Navy in the late 1930s. They were an enlarged version of the , with more endurance and a greater depth charge load but less powerful machinery and a lighter gun armament. The surviving pair were rebuilt as...

was commanded by Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Aldo Cocchia. In the course of the battle the Folgore and the entire convoy were sunk; the other two destroyers received heavy damage. The British lost no ships during the battle itself, although HMS Quentin was torpedoed and sunk by German aircraft the following morning.

External links

• Convoy Battle near Skerki Bank