Sinking of Roma

9 September 1943, Gulf of Asinara, off north-west Sardinia

German success; Roma sunk on the way to surrender

On the day Italy's armistice was announced, Admiral Carlo Bergamini sailed from La Spezia with Roma, Italia (the former Littorio), Vittorio Veneto, six cruisers and destroyers to hand the fleet over to the Allies. In the afternoon German Dornier bombers attacked with the Fritz X, a radio-guided armour-piercing glide bomb used here against warships for the first time. One hit Italia; two hit Roma, the second setting off her forward magazines. She broke in two and sank in minutes. 1,393 men were killed, among them Bergamini. The rest of the fleet sailed on, and on 11 September Cunningham signalled the Admiralty that the Italian battle fleet lay at anchor under the guns of the fortress of Malta. A week later a Fritz X put Warspite out of action off Salerno.

Regia Marina (Italy)

9+ ships, 1 lost

Ship	Type	Outcome
Roma Admiral Bergamini's flagship; 1,393 killed	Battleship Littorio class	Sunk
Italia Also known as Littorio As Italia; hit by a glide bomb	Battleship Littorio class	Damaged
Vittorio Veneto	Battleship Littorio class	Survived
Eugenio di Savoia	Light cruiser Duca d'Aosta class	Survived
Emanuele Filiberto Duca d'Aosta	Light cruiser Duca d'Aosta class	Survived
Raimondo Montecuccoli	Light cruiser Raimondo Montecuccoli class	Survived
Luigi di Savoia Duca degli Abruzzi	Light cruiser Duca degli Abruzzi class	Survived
Giuseppe Garibaldi	Light cruiser Duca degli Abruzzi class	Survived
Attilio Regolo Picked up Roma's survivors; interned in the Balearics	Light cruiser Capitani Romani class	Interned

Flotillas and other craft	Number	Lost
Destroyers and torpedo boats Some stayed to pick up Roma's survivors and were interned in the Balearic Islands.	about 10	0

Flotillas and other craft

Number

Lost

Destroyers and torpedo boats

Some stayed to pick up Roma's survivors and were interned in the Balearic Islands.

about 10

Luftwaffe

No ships engaged

Forts, batteries and aircraft	Strength	Outcome
Dornier Do 217 bombers of KG 100 Flying from southern France with Fritz X radio-guided glide bombs, used against warships for the first time.	Not recorded	Unhurt

Forts, batteries and aircraft

Strength

Outcome

Dornier Do 217 bombers of KG 100

Flying from southern France with Fritz X radio-guided glide bombs, used against warships for the first time.

Not recorded

Unhurt

Map

The Italian fleet sails to surrender 9–11 September 1943