Battle of Calabria

9 July 1940, Off Punta Stilo, Calabria, Italy

Inconclusive; the Italian fleet withdrew

The first fleet action of the war in the Mediterranean, called the Battle of Punta Stilo by the Italians. Both fleets were at sea covering convoys, Admiral Cunningham's to Alexandria from Malta and Admiral Campioni's to Benghazi. Cunningham steered to get between the Italians and their base at Taranto. In the afternoon the cruisers met, then the battleships: Warspite engaged Giulio Cesare, and at about thirteen miles hit her amidships with a 15-inch shell, one of the longest-range hits ever made on a moving target. Four of Cesare's boilers were knocked out and her speed fell to 18 knots. Campioni turned away behind smoke, and his destroyers made torpedo attacks to cover him. Italian bombers attacked both fleets for hours without hitting anything, and Cunningham broke off within 25 miles of the Italian coast. No ship was sunk, but the Regia Marina avoided a full fleet action for the rest of the year.