New Article – Cape Spada II

I have been again been privileged in that the Australian Naval History Society’s Naval Historical Review has agreed to publish the second of two articles on the Battle of Cape Spade, 19 July 1940 (see this link for the first one).

This article is the second of the series of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle of Cape Spada on Crete’s northern coast on 19 July 1940. Cape Spada was one of the first major naval engagements of the Royal Australian Navy in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, when the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), leading a force including five Royal Navy destroyers, engaged the two light cruisers of the Regia Marina’s 2nd Cruiser Division (IIa Divisione), RN Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni delle Bande Nere, sinking the former. 

This article focuses on the Italian perspective on this battle. It describes the battle in detail including a short section on the remainder of the war for the Italian light cruisers of the early two series. For the Royal Navy/Royal Australian Navy perspective I recommend this link.

I have added two video links below.