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1.
Trieste and Gorizia were actually anchored in the Straits of Bonifacio
to the north of Gallirjna and this was closer to the western side.
It was decided to attack from the eastern side because of intelligence
of minefields and the current. The charioteers were, however,
to be picked up on the west side by P43.
2. Undoubtedly there was greater danger in this area even than
a month earlier when the transporting submarines had passed through
it on their way to Malta.
3. One enemy source claims the Italian destroyer Partenope sank
her.
4 One of the crews taken prisoner at Tripoli escaped before the
Eighth Army arrived on 23rd January.
5. In addition to the Greek submarines.
6. Tank landing craft.
7. She had been damaged by air attack in Tripoli and had had to
land all her depth charges.
8. Mario Foscarini 6342 tons.
Assiria 2705 tons.
Moriechino 1524 tons.
Tevere 8289 tons.
Guibia 5921 tons.
9. Escorts available for the Tunisia run in January totalled 1
Destroyer, 21 Torpedo Boats and 4 Corvettes. These were in addition
to the 16 destroyers used to transport troops.
10. Also missed by Turbulent
earlier in February.
11. It was found that Rorqual
could lay minefields faster than the mines themselves could be
prepared in the depot at Malta. There was another stock of mines
in Haifa, transferred from Singapore before the outbreak of war
in the Far East, and it was hoped to increase the rate of laying
by using them as well. With the long passages involved, however,
this plan did not succeed.
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11a The cause of Turbulent’s
loss was for many years in doubt. Recent research has discounted
Captain(s) Eight’s original belief that she was mined off
Maddalena, as well as the statement in the Technical Staff Monograph
that she was sunk off Bastia by the trawler TETI II which was
an unsuccessful attack on Casiabanca.
12. Unshaken
was originally ordered home to join the 9th Flotilla at Dundee
but was recalled to reinforce the Tenth Flotilla at Malta.
13. It is of interest that the reason given was a maritime one.
The Battle of the Atlantic went very well for the U-boats in March
and it was considered essential to hold Tunisia to prevent the
Allies gaining a huge volume of shipping by opening up through
traffic in the Mediterranean.
14. An explosion was heard off Monopoli and the body of a British
sailor wearing a Davis Escape Apparatus was found by the Italians
in the sea off Monopoli on 1st May and appeared to have been in
the sea for about a week.
15. Ex-Greek Vasilevs Giorgios built at Yarrow.
16. A German Ju88 aircraft machine-gunned the survivors in the
water.
17. Percentages of ships sunk often give very different results
from percentages of tonnage sunk. Some totals are for Italian
ships and some for German, and neither include for instance Yugoslav
ships taken over, or Spanish ships on charter. Many lists are
for ships over 500 tons etc.
18. History of the Second World War. Mediterranean and Middle
East Vol IV – Playfair. HM Stationery Office, London 1966.
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