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The Battle of the Tarigo Convoy (sometimes referred to as the "Action off Sfax") was a naval battle of World War II, part of the Battle of the Mediterranean. It was fought on 16 April 1941, between four British and three Italian destroyers, near the Kerkennah Islands off the Tunisian coast. The battle was named after the Italian flagship, the destroyer ''Luca Tarigo''. Control of the sea between Italy and Libya was heavily disputed as both sides sought to safeguard their own convoys while interdicting those of their opponent. Axis convoys to North Africa supplied the German and Italian armies there, and British attacks were based on Malta, itself dependent upon convoys. ==The battle== In mid-April, 1941, a five ship Axis convoy sailed from Naples, en route to Tripoli. It consisted of four German troopships (''Adana'', ''Arta'', ''Aegina'' and ''Iserlohn'') and an Italian ammunition ship (''Sabaudia''). The convoy was escorted by a "''Navigatori''" class destroyer ''Luca Tarigo'' (flagship) and two ''Folgore'' class destroyers, ''Baleno'' and ''Lampo'', all commanded by Captain Pietro de Cristofaro. The convoy was delayed by bad weather, sailing in the evening of 13 April. The British had been alerted to the convoy's sailing by intercepted radio messages. On 15 April, a British Maryland reconnaissance plane sighted and shadowed the convoy. Two Italian SM.79s that were ordered to provide air cover did not arrive, due to the continuing bad weather. During the night of 15–16 April, the convoy was intercepted by the British 14th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS ''Jervis'' (flagship), HMS ''Janus'', HMS ''Nubian'', and HMS ''Mohawk'', commanded by Captain Philip Mack). At least three of these destroyers were equipped with radar.〔D'Adamo, citing Derek Howse's ''Radar at Sea''〕 The encounter took place as the Italian convoy maneuvered around the shallow waters surrounding the Kerkennah Islands. By the use of radar, the British force ambushed the Axis convoy in the dark. As the convoy passed a buoy marking sandbanks, the British attacked with surprise, opening fire at 2,000 yards and closing to as near as 50 yards. All of the Axis transports and escorts were sunk. ''Lampo'' was run aground and later salvaged. The flotilla commander, Captain de Cristofaro, on board the ''Tarigo'', had his leg shot off and later died of his wounds; he was posthumously awarded the ''Medaglia d'Oro'' (the highest Italian military decoration). While sinking, ''Tarigo'' (now under the command of the only surviving officer, Ensign Ettore Bisagno) launched two torpedoes which hit HMS ''Mohawk''. ''Mohawk'' was subsequently scuttled by HMS ''Jervis'', and settled on the sandy bottom at a depth of 12 meters. The outcome of the battle marked the end of the relatively unopposed Axis transport to Libya, which they had enjoyed since June 1940.〔Greene & Massignani, pp. 163-164〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of the Tarigo Convoy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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