Raid on Alexandria (1941) 1941
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 19 December 1941 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1941 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War II era (1939–1945) | derived from year |
| Location | Egypt | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Africa | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Italy, United Kingdom | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 31.1788, 29.8625 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Raid on Alexandria (Operazione EA 3) was carried out on 19 December 1941 by Royal Italian Navy (Regia Marina) divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS (Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti), who attacked and severely damaged two Royal Navy battleships at their moorings and damaged an oil tanker and a destroyer in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, using Siluro Lenta Corsa, manned torpedoes.
The attacks came at a difficult time for the Mediterranean Fleet, after the loss of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battleship Barham to U-boats, the loss of ships during the Battle of Crete and the sinking of much of Force K on an Italian minefield, the day before the human torpedo attack on Alexandria. Ships also had to be sent to the Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Raid on Alexandria (1941) (revision 1377064828), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Alexandria (1801) 1801 · 3 km
- Siege of Alexandria (1167) 1167 · 4 km
- Siege of Alexandria (47 BC) 47 BC · 6 km
- Siege of Alexandria (641) 641 · 6 km
- Capture of Alexandria (1798) 1798 · 6 km
- Battle of Alexandria (30 BC) 30 BC · 6 km
Other battles of the Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II
All 3 battles of the Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II →
Browse more: battles in Egypt · Africa · World War II era battles