Operation Grog
Operation Grog | |||||||
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Part of the Armour-piercing shell fired by HMS Malaya, in the nave of Genoa Cathedral | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
United Kingdom | Italy | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
James Somerville | Ferdinando Casardi | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
Anti-aircraft and coastal artillery | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1 Swordfish aircraft |
5 cargo ships sunk 18 damaged (British sources) 1 training ship sunk 2 ships damaged (Italian sources) 14 lighters sunk[1] 144 killed and 242 wounded Severe damage to port[2] |
Operation Grog was the name assigned to the British naval and air bombardment of Genoa and La Spezia on 9 February 1941, by the Royal Navy's Force H, consisting of the battleship HMS Malaya, aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, battlecruiser HMS Renown, and light cruiser HMS Sheffield screened by ten fleet destroyers including HMS Fearless, HMS Foxhound, HMS Foresight, HMS Fury, HMS Firedrake and HMS Jersey.[3][4]
Events
The operation was originally scheduled to start on 31 January 1941, but the ships did not leave Gibraltar until 6 February.
Four destroyers carried out an
A
Ark Royal's aircraft attacked Livorno and mined La Spezia.[5]
An attempt by the Italian fleet to intercept the British force failed, and all ships returned to Gibraltar on 11 February 1941.[5]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84832-105-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7146-5205-4.
- ^ Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS RENOWN - Renown-class 15in gun Battlecruiser". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS Fearless(H67)". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ^ a b c d "UK Battleship of WW1 and WW2:HMS Malaya (BB-6)". Retrieved 10 July 2010.
- ^ "L'operazione "Grog"". www.scmncamogli.org (in Italian). Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ^ Artieri, Giovanni (1978). Cronaca del Regno d'Italia: Dalla Vittoria alla Repubblica (in Italian). Mondadori. p. 646.
- ^ Marina Militare, Stato Maggiore (1952). La Marina italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale, Volume 3 (in Italian). Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. p. 101.
- ^ "Obituary:Commander Henry Hatfield". Daily Telegraph. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.