Strait of Otranto, 1940: Ambush and Destruction of an Italian Convoy



In 1940, in the Mediterranean theater of World War II—the Battle of the Strait of Otranto took place. As a diversionary action during the Battle of Taranto, the Royal Navy ambushed the Italian Royal Navy, impacting Italian convoys crucial for operations in Albania and Greece…

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26 thoughts on “Strait of Otranto, 1940: Ambush and Destruction of an Italian Convoy”

  1. Cunningham a REAR ADMIRAL!!!???

    What on earth are you doing getting that wrong? In reality Cunningham was a rear admiral from 1932 to 1936.

    If you can't get basic things like that right then you need to be a great deal more careful in your research.

    Reply
  2. Thanks for condensing down the strategic tempo. Typical history sources usually chop everything up into bite size actions. Great for writers getting paid by the word, but it costs readers.

    Reply
  3. The audio mixing on this one sounds weird as well, almost like it was degraded then upgraded by interpolation after. It's crunchy, the audio spectrum is narrow, it just sounds like I'm listening on cheap headphones. I love your vids, but you gotta look at the audio settings / algo / whatever

    Reply
  4. Like Hitler, Mussolini was the thorn in the Italian Navy's side. He gave the high command the directive that the battleships were never to be placed in a position of danger. The fleet was also hindered by lack of air support and radar, as well as night fighting and actual combat experience; and while the navy did produce good commanders, never of the go hard likes of Cunningham and Collins in HMAS SYDNEY. The Italians have invariably been cast as cowards, but the actions of many of its ships and submarines as well as the force that flew against the UK in the Battle of Britain shows that by and large they were no different than other countries. Also, there was discomfit that they were fighting former allies. And the Hugh Command, very much pawns of Mussolini, were overall very poor compared to their enemies.

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  5. There are many similar stories to be had with these small Italian torpedo boat convoys, for example the Tarigo convoy, the Battle of Crete with the Sagittario convoy, the Lupo convoy, the Veloce convoy, Battle of Skerki Bank…

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  6. Have you ever considered doing a vid about, James Graham, the 1st Marquis of Montrose. And the Kings Capt General of Scotland, during the War of the 3 kingdoms.

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  7. The Italian Navy commited a despicable and cowardly crime when the submarine Delfino torpidoed and sunk the Royal Hellenic Navy cruiser Elli, the 15 August 1940, in time of peace! Elli was in the island of Tinos participating in the celebrations of the Feast of Mother of God. Nine petty officers and sailors were killed and 24 were wounded. The same submarine attempted to torpedo the passenger ships MV Elsi and MV Esperos  anchored in the port! You don't get more coward and ridiculous than that. Payday came the 28 October 1940 with the declaration of the greco-italian war.

    Reply
  8. You should do some videos on the Italian front of the Austro-Prussian War. Especially the Naval Battles would be very interesting and basically never covered similar themed channels.

    Reply

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