June-July 1942

Following the decisive battle of Algiers the Italian navy saw action again in June 1942 as opposing cruiser patrol groups met and clashed in the Ionian Sea. The allies were keen to press the Italian navy into action, to further weaken the axis and their hold on north Africa, so when the cruisers Pensacola and Salt Lake city came across three italian cruisers and their escorts they attacked immediately.

The action took place in shocking conditions for June in the Med, and both sides had difficulties landing telling hits on the enemy. However in an effort to get a better bead on Pensacola, the cruiser Garibaldi inadvertantly opened herself up to a coordinated torpedo strike by the american destroyers. The result was predictable and the Garibaldi went down with all hands in the rough Ionian sea. In the melee both sides lost two destroyer class vessels, and the Salt Lake City suffered some damage to her superstructure. However the Italians came off worst and the allies once again asserted their dominance in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile the Germans were turning to a different tactic in the channel and north sea. In early June the disastrous loss of three surface raiders in a singla action made the Kriegsmarine wary of sorties, so the Luftwaffe decided to try out "big wing" actions with large numbers of Stuka divebombers. The first of these was tried against a convoy making its way along the channel, and included the an ocean liner full of troops, as well as munitions and supplies headed for north africa. The Luftwaffe attacked in force, but th Royal Navy escorts put up a storm of fire. Many of the divebombers were swatted out of the sky by AA fire, and although the troopship was damaged, casualties were not severe. The Luftwaffe had tried - and failed to stop the allies using the channel as their own private highway.