Episode 2124
Battle of the Espero Convoy
Sun, 2023-Feb-26 00:08 UTC
Length - 2:09
Direct Link
Welcome to random Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of a random Wikipedia page every day.
The random article for Sunday, 26 February 2023 is Battle of the Espero Convoy.
The Battle of the Espero Convoy (Battaglia del convoglio Espero) on 28 June 1940, was the first surface engagement between Italian and Allied warships of the Second World War. Three modern 36 kn (41 mph; 67 km/h) Italian destroyers made a run from Taranto for Tobruk in Libya to transport Blackshirt (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale) anti-tank units, in case of an armoured attack from Egypt by the British.
By coincidence, the Mediterranean Fleet was at sea to conduct a destroyer anti-submarine sweep around Crete and provide cover for three Allied convoys to Egypt, one from Turkey and two from Malta. British aircraft from Malta spotted the Italian destroyers and the 7th Cruiser Squadron turned to intercept them; a running fight took place south-west of Crete, in which the destroyers were impeded by their cargoes and an adverse sea.
The Italian destroyer Espero (capitano di vascello Enrico Baroni) was sunk while covering the escape of the destroyers Zeffiro and Ostro to Benghazi; 53 of the 225 crew and passengers were rescued, three of whom died of their wounds. The British and Australian cruisers expended a huge amount of ammunition and the Malta convoys had to be postponed until they had replenished from the 800 6-inch shells in reserve. Convoy AS 1 from Turkey arrived safely by 3 July.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:08 UTC on Sunday, 26 February 2023.
For the full current version of the article, see Battle of the Espero Convoy on Wikipedia.
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This has been Matthew Standard. Thank you for listening to random Wiki of the Day.
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