The Battle of Matapan 1941: The Trafalgar of the Mediterranean

A new assessment of one of the Royal Navy's greatest victories



Including a new look at Axis strategy, this book explores the remarkable victories of Taranto and Matapan as seen through the eyes of the men who manned the ships and flew the aircraft of the Mediterranean Fleet. In March 1941, the Royal Navy scored one of the greatest one-sided victories against the Italian Fleet the Regia Marina at Matapan, bringing to an end six months of remarkable success for the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean. When France fell and Italy declared war on Britain, Admiral Dudley Pound had wanted to evacuate the Mediterranean altogether and concentrate on home defense, but Churchill overruled him, making the Mediterranean the focus of British land operations for four years, reliant on the Royal Navy.
Read more