Prelude
The Allied force was the British Mediterranean fleet, consisting of the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, the modernized World War I battleships HMS Barham, Valiant and Warspite (as flagship). The main fleet was accompanied by two flotillas of destroyers:
- 10th Flotilla: HMS Greyhound, Griffin and HMAS Stuart commanded by Commander Hec. Waller, RAN
- 14th Flotilla: HMS Jervis, Janus, Mohawk and Nubian commanded by Philip Mack
Also present were HMS Hotspur and Havock.
A second force, under Admiral Sir Henry Pridham-Wippell, consisted of the British light cruisers HMS Ajax, Gloucester and Orion, the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth and the British destroyers HMS Hasty, Hereward and Ilex. The Australian HMAS Vendetta had returned to Alexandria.
In addition, Allied warships attached to convoys were available: HMS Defender, Jaguar and Juno waited in the Kithira Channel and Decoy, Carlisle, Calcutta, Bonaventure and HMAS Vampire were nearby.
The Italian fleet was led by Iachino's vessel, the modern battleship Vittorio Veneto . It also included almost the entire Italian heavy cruiser force: Zara (under Vice-Admiral Carlo Cattaneo), Fiume and Pola; four destroyers of the 9th Flotilla (Alfredo Oriani, Giosué Carducci, Vincenzo Gioberti and Vittorio Alfieri ). The heavy cruisers Trieste (carrying Vice-Admiral Luigi Sansonetti), Trento and Bolzano were accompanied by three destroyers of the 12th Flotilla (Ascari, Corazziere and Carabiniere), plus the light cruisers Duca degli Abruzzi (Vice-Admiral A. Legnano) and Giuseppe Garibaldi (7th cruiser division) and two destroyers of the 16th Flotilla (namely Emanuele Pessagno and Nicoloso de Recco) from Brindisi. None of the Italian ships had radar, although several Allied ships did.
The 13th Flotilla of Italian destroyers, Alpino, Bersagliere, Fuciliere, Granatiere was also involved screening the flagship.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Cape Matapan
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