Piraeus. This was a troop convoy of six ships which had sailed from Egypt on 26 March with an escort of three British destroyers and a Greek flotilla leader. It was ordered to turn south at nightfall on 27 March so as to be eastward of the battle fleet at daylight 28 March. The sailing of a southbound convoy (G.A.8)4 from the Piraeus was cancelled at the same time and the authorities in the Aegean were warned to keep the area clear of all shipping. The battle fleet was to proceed to sea from Alexandria under cover of night on the evening of 27 March.
The British fleet5 was organised in four groups as follows:–
Force A Battle fleet – Warspite (Flag of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, C.-in-C.), Barham, Valiant, Formidable.
Force A Destroyers (14th flotilla) – Jervis (Captain D.14), Janus, Mohawk, Nubian.
Force B Cruisers – Orion (Flag of Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell, Vice-Admiral, Light Forces), Ajax, Perth, Gloucester.
Force B Destroyers (2nd flotilla) – Ilex (Captain D.2), Hasty, Hereward, Vendetta.
Force C Destroyers (10th flotilla) – Stuart (Captain D.10), Greyhound, Griffin, Hotspur, Havock.
Force D6 – Juno, Jaguar, Defender. Submarines Rover and Triumph.
Orders for appropriate disposition of the cruisers and destroyers were issued on 26 March as follows:
(a) Force B, consisting of 4 cruisers and 4 destroyers under Vice-Admiral, Light Forces, was to be S.W. of Gavdo Island, Crete, at daylight 28 March.
(b) Force C, consisting of 5 destroyers (Stuart, Greyhound, Griffin, Hotspur, Havock) was to join the VALF at that time.
(c) The T.S.R. squadrons (F.A.A.) in Crete and Cyrenaica were to be reinforced.
(d) The R.A.F. in Greece was requested to do its utmost with reconnaissance and bombing aircraft in the Aegean and to the west of Crete on 28 March.
(e) H.M. submarines Rover and Triumph were to patrol in the Aegean off Suda Bay and Milo respectively.
(f) Force D, consisting of 3 destroyers (Juno, Jaguar and Defender) at the Piraeus, was to be at short notice.
(g) The cruiser Carlisle was to proceed to Suda Bay, in Crete, to augment the A.A. defences there.
(h) The Greek naval forces were warned to be at short notice. This disposition was adopted with the intention of countering a possible cruiser raid into the Aegean. “It was designed to give flexibility and allowed for a quick change of plan if more intelligence came to hand.”
Of the Fleet Air Arm, 37 aircraft7 were available, viz.: A/c
(1) HMS Formidable. 13 Fulmars (803 and 806 Sqdns.), 10 Albacores (826 and 829 Sqdns.) and 4 Swordfish. 27
(2) Royal Naval Air Station, Maleme, Crete. 5 Swordfish (815 Sqdn.) 5
(3) Catapult aircraft (700 Sqdn.). 2 Swordfish in Warspite; 2 Swordfish in Valiant; 1 Walrus in Gloucester 5
The R.A.F., at the request of the C.-in-C., ordered the following aircraft to be held in readiness in Greece:
At Menidil8 aerodrome 12 Blenheims, No. 84 Sqdn. 12 Blenheims, No. 113 Sqdn.
At Paramythia9 aerodrome 6 Blenheims, No. 211 Sqdn.
These were armed with 500 lb. and 250 lb. S.A.P. Bombs. In addition, 201 Group R.A.F. undertook reconnaissance of the area of operations with Sunderland flying boats working from Malta and Alexandria.
The Italian Fleet
The effective strength of the Italian battle fleet at this period was estimated as three battleships fit for service, viz.: Vittorio Veneto, G. Cesare and A. Doria, the other three not having yet been repaired after damage sustained in the Fleet Air Arm attack on Taranto in November 1940. Of cruisers a strong force was available, namely seven 8-in. and at least nine 6-in. ships, whilst the number of Italian destroyers seems to have been at least double that of the British. In submarines the advantage was also heavily on the Italian side. With regard to air forces, the enemy, heavily reinforced by the German Luftwaffe, was in a very strong position and the area to the westward of Crete was well within bombing range of his aerodromes in Sicily, Southern Italy and the Dodecanese.
The Italian fleet10 was organised as follows:
(1) Battleships (Force Y11), Vittorio Veneto (Flag, Admiral Iachino), and four destroyers (13th flot.).
(2) 1st Cruiser Division (Force Z11), Zara, Fiume, Pola and four destroyers (9th flot.).
(3) 3rd Cruiser Division (Force X11), Trento, Trieste, Bolzano and three destroyers (12th flot.).
(4) 8th Cruiser Division, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Duea Di Abruzzi and two destroyers (6th flot.).
The Italian forces, consisting of one battleship, eight cruisers and thirteen destroyers left their various ports on 26 March and, making junction at a rendezvous east of Syracuse, proceeded to the south-east (See Italian Fleet, Plan 11).
Enemy Forces at Sea
At 1220 on 27 March, a British Flying Boat on reconnaissance reported a force of enemy cruisers12 and a destroyer off Sicily in 36° 54’ N., 17° 10’ E. steering 120°, but owing to bad visibility was unable to shadow.
On the strength of this report the C.-in-C., Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, decided to proceed to sea. Finding, however, that the original dispositions would leave the cruisers without sufficient support and the battle fleet without sufficient destroyers for a screen, he made the following alterations in his plans:
(a) The VALF with the cruisers (Force B) was to rendezvous at 0630/28 further to the eastward, S. of Gavdo Is., in 34° 20’ N., 24° 10’ E.
(b) The five destroyers of Force C were to remain with the battle fleet.
(e) The movement of T.B.R. aircraft to Cyrenaica was cancelled.
(d) R.A.F. reconnaissance was arranged for 28 March over the South Ionian Sea, the South West Aegean and south of Crete.
The British main fleet (Force A), consisting of three battleships, one aircraft carrier and nine destroyers, left Alexandria at 1900/27 and as dusk fell, shrouding its departure, steered westward on a course 300°, at 20 knots. Six hours before, the VALF, Vice-Admiral Pridham-Wippell, had left the Piraeus (Athens) at 1300/27, with four cruisers and two destroyers, having ordered the remaining two destroyers to leave Suda Bay and join his flag in 34° 20’ N., 24° 10’ E., 30 miles south of Gavdo Island, south of Crete, at 0630/28.
The three destroyers of Force D were assembled at the Piraeus on the morning of 28 March13 and after refuelling kept steam at short notice.
Instructions had already been given to the submarines Rover and Triumph and these were now amplified; they were ordered to patrol off Suda Bay and Anti Milo and wait for an enemy force or convoy expected to be entering the Aegean on 28 March. A message was also sent at 1822 to Captain Portal, Senior Officer at Suda Bay, warning him to withdraw patrols. Unfortunately that very morning his ship, the cruiser HMS York, had been attacked and hit by a new type of one-man motor explosive boat14 and was lying badly damaged and beached in Suda Bay, a mishap which seriously affected British signal communications with the Fleet Air Arm force at Maleme.
British
