Battle of Cape Spada 1940
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 July 1940 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1940 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Battle of the Mediterranean | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Australia, Kingdom of Italy, United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 35.6928, 23.7206 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Cape Spada (Battaglia di Capo Spada) was a naval battle between the Royal Navy and the Regia Marina during the Battle of the Mediterranean in the second World War. It took place during the morning of 19 July 1940 off Cape Spada, the north-western extremity of Crete.
The Italian 2ª Divisione Incrociatori (2nd Cruiser Division) comprised the fast light cruisers Giovanni delle Bande Nere and Bartolomeo Colleoni. In a meeting encounter it engaged the Royal Navy's 2nd Destroyer Flotilla and the independently sailing light cruiser HMAS Sydney and destroyer HMS Havock.
During the battle Bartolomeo Colleoni was sunk and Giovanni delle Bande Nere damaged, with minor damage inflicted on Sydney. There were 555 survivors from Bartolomeo Colleoni but 121 men were killed. Capitano di vascello Umberto Novaro was mortally wounded and died on 23 July.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Cape Spada (revision 1380176173), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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- Battle of Crete 1941 · 38 km
- Battle of 42nd Street 1941 · 38 km
- Battle of Rethymno 1941 · 81 km
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Other battles of the Battle of the Mediterranean
- Action in the Strait of Otranto 1940
- Action off Cape Passero 1940
- Battle of the Espero Convoy 1940
- Battle of Cape Bon (1941) 1941
- Battle of Cape Matapan 1941
- Battle of the Duisburg Convoy 1941
- Battle of the Tarigo Convoy 1941
- First Battle of Sirte 1941
- Battle of Skerki Bank 1942
- Operation Harpoon (1942) 1942
All 19 battles of the Battle of the Mediterranean →
Browse more: battles in Greece · Europe · World War II era battles