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Operation Collar
	Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
	; Relief map of the Mediterranean Sea
Date	12–29 November 1940
Location	Mediterranean Sea37°12′00″N 11°20′00″E / 37.20000°N 11.33333°E
Result	British victory

Operation Collar (12–29 November 1940) was a small, fast, three-ship convoy escorted from Gibraltar to Malta and Suda Bay in Greece during the Second World War. The convoy left Britain on 12 November 1940 and passed Gibraltar on 24 November, escorted by two cruisers, two of the ships were for Malta and one bound for Alexandria?????. Other British operations took place in the Mediterranean at the same time, partly as diversions. Operations in the Eastern Mediterranean by the Mediterranean Fleet took place as Operation MB 9, the main part of which was to escort four merchant ships to Malta, bring back for unloaded ships from the previous Malta convoy and to exchange a battleship and two cruisers with two cruisers and four corvettes sailing from Gibraltar.

The usual AN (Aegean North, Port Said to Piraeus) and AS (Aegean South, Piraeus to Port Said) convoys were covered by the main body of the Mediterranean Fleet and the two aircraft carriers with the Mediterranean Fleet attacked land targets in Libya and the Dodecanese Islands. The Italian Fleet had not been deterred by the losses of the Battle of Taranto (11/12 November) from seeking battle with the British and had had notice of the sailings from Gibraltar through its network of agents. The Italian fleet sailed towards Force H, leading to the inconclusive Battle of Cape Spartivento (Cape Teulada to the Italians) on 27 November. The two merchant ships reached Malta on 26 November and the third ship reached Suda Bay on 27? 28? November.

Background

British strategy

The disaster to the British of the Allied defeat in the Battle of France and the Armistice of 22 June 1940 with Germany had been mitigated in the Mediterranean with the Battle of Calabria on 9 July 1940 fought against the Italian Navy (Regia Marina) after the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 and the successful smaller engagements of the Mediterranean Fleet since then. The confidence of the British had increased further by the Battle of Taranto on the night 11/12 November, which put three of the six Italian battleships out of action. Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the commander of the Mediterranean Fleet became willing to contemplate more ambitious ventures during the period of Italian inferiority. A proposal for an amphibious attack on the island of Pantellaria (Operation Workshop) in the Sicilian Narrows between Sicily and Tunisia, was criticised by Cunningham, since maintaining control of it would be far harder than capturing it, given the effort needed to supply Malta. Operation Collar, a plan for the escort of three merchant ships from Britain through the Mediterranean, two to Malta and one to Alexandria, seemed to be a much more practical operation of war.^[1]

Force H was established in Gibraltar at the end of June 1940, to replace the French Marine Nationale in the western Mediterranean. The commander of Force H, Admiral James Somerville, would have the responsibility of protecting the convoy from Gibraltar to Malta and had doubts, despite the hostility towards him at the Admiralty and in Whitehall and the controversial sacking of his former commander, Admiral Dudley North. Force H was smaller than the Mediterranean Fleet and the redeployment of the big ships of the {{lang|it|Regia Marina]] to Italian west coast ports made it likely that his force would bear the brunt of Italian counter-measures. Force H had the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the battleship Royal Sovereign but Royal Sovereign was under repair in the Gibraltar shipyards, leaving Force h with one big ship against three Italian battleships. The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal had no Italian equivalent but against the French battleship Strasbourg in July, the torpedo bomber crews of Ark Royal had failed to hit and slow the ship, thought to be due to the lack of training and inexperience of the Fleet Air Arm crews.^[2]

At the eastern end of the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean Fleet was busy escorting convoys in the Mediterranean and Aegean from Port Said and Haifa, Cyprus and Piraeus and oil tankers from Haifa to Greece. Cruisers transferred troops and equipment from Egypt to Greece as the Regia Aeronautica made frequent but ineffective air attacks.^[3]

Italian strategy

During the British Operation White (15–18 November 1940) Supermarina, the headquarters of the Italian Navy had been informed of the arrival of the aircraft carrier Argus at Gibraltar on 14 November and that most of Force H had sailed on 15 November. Supermarina made preparations for an anti-convoy operation and began the operation after air reconnaissance spotted the British ships on a course of 90°, fifty miles north of the Alhucemas Islands. The battleships Vittorio Veneto and Giulio Cesare of the First Division sailed from Naples and the heavy cruisers Bolzano, Trento and Trieste of the Third Division departed from Messina, accompanied by their destroyer flotillas, rendezvousing at 10:30 a.m. on 16 November. By the late afternoon, the Italian force was 45 nmi (83 km; 52 mi) north north-east of Ustica, north of Sicily, ready to intercept the British ships. When it was clear that the British had turned for home the Italian force returned to base and Supermarina received notice that Force H was back at Gibraltar on 19 November.^[4]

British plans

Operation Collar

At the west end of the Mediterranean the freighters SS Clan Forbes (7,529 GRT) and SS Clan Fraser (7,529 GRT) for Malta and MV New Zealand Star (10,941 GRT) for Alexandria were en route from Britain to Gibraltar.^[5] Force F (Vice Admiral Lancelot Holland) HMS Manchester and Southampton carrying 1,370 Royal Air Force technicians, was to escort the merchant ships and were to be joined by the destroyer HMS Hotspur and later by the corvettes HMS Peony, Salvia, Gloxinia and Hyacinth in transit to the Mediterranean Fleet.^[6]^[a] The convoy was covered at a distance to the north by the rest of Force H known as Force B (Somerville) comprising the battlecruiser Renown, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, the cruisers HMS Sheffield and Despatch the destroyers HMS Faulknor, Firedrake, Forester, Fury, Encounter, Duncan, Wishart, Kelvin and Jaguar.^[7].^[6]

Operation MB 9

MB 9 was devised to get Force D, the slow battleship HMS Ramillies, the cruisers HMS Berwick which had turbine problems and Newcastle which had boiler trouble, from Alexandria to Gibraltar. The cruiser Coventry with the destroyers HMS Defender, Gallant, Greyhound, Griffin and Hereward were to rendezvous with the Collar convoy south of Sardinia. Force C was a covering force for the the cruiser and destroyers, with the battleships HMS Barham and Malaya and the aircraft carrier Eagle which was to attack Tripoli on 26 November, escorted by the destroyers Defender, Greyhound, Griffin and Hereward. The aircraft carrier Illustrious was to attack airfields in the Dodecanese Islands. The Mediterranean Fleet was busy protecting convoys from Port Said and Haifa to Cyprus and Piraeus, while the cruisers were transporting troops to the Aegean, under frequent attack by the Regia Aeronautica.^[8]

Force A comprised the battleships HMS Valiant and Warspite, the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and their escorting destroyers. Force E, the 7th Cruiser Squadron, comprised HMS Ajax, Orion and HMAS Sydney escorted an AN convoy (AN, Aegean North) to Suda Bay. Illustrious attacked Leros on 26 November.

Convoy MW 4, the merchant ships Memnon, Clan Macaulay, Clan Ferguson and HMS Breconshire were also at Alexandria, ready to sail for Malta, where the escorts would meet the merchant ship Cornwall from Malta, which had been repaired and the four unloaded ships of Convoy MW 3 (4–10 November). Close escort was to be provided by the destroyers HMS Hyperion, Hero, Hasty, Havock, Ilex and the Australian HMAS Vampire, Voyager and Vendetta.^[8]

Prelude

Italian fleet

When the departure of Force B from Gibraltar was reported and Force D was seen by an Italian aircraft on 25 November, the submarines Alagi, Aradam, Axum and Diaspro were sent to the south of Sardinia, Dessiè and Tembien to stations off Malta. On 25 November, Admiral Inigo Campioni sailed with the battleships Giulio Cesare and Vittorio Veneto, the 13th Destroyer Flotilla with Granatiere, Fuciliere, Bersagliere and Alpino, the 7th Destroyer Flotilla with Freccia, Saetta and Dardo, the 1st Cruiser Division with Pola, Fiume, Gorizia and the 9th Destroyer Flotilla of Vittorio Alfieri, Giosuè Carducci, Vincenzo Gioberti and Alfredo Oriani sailed from Naples, the 3rd Cruiser Division with Trieste, Trento, Bolzano and the 12th Destroyer Flotilla with Lanciere, Ascari and Carabiniere departed Messina. The 10th Torpedo Boat Flotilla with Alcione, Vega, Sagittario and Sirio sailed from Trapani for the Sicilian Narrows.^[7]

Battle

Campioni had orders to avoid a decisive encounter. The Italian destroyer Lanciere and the British cruiser HMS Berwick were seriously damaged during the exchange of fire.^[9]

Convoy

After the battle, Force H continued towards Malta until late afternoon on 27 November when, just before Cape Bon, they returned to Gibraltar. At midnight on 28 November, the convoy passed Cape Bon and set course to rendezvous with the Mediterranean Fleet (Admiral Andrew Cunningham) from Alexandria. Clan Fraser and Clan Forbes arrived at Malta on 29 November and New Zealand Star, escorted by the destroyers HMS Defender and Hereward, continued to Alexandria. This small convoy was also covered by Manchester and Southampton.^[7]

Aftermath

Analysis

In 2003 the naval historian, Richard Woodman, wrote that the British operations were based on excellent staff work, communications and the discipline of the ship crews which performed them. The smooth course of such operations could be upset by the actions of the Italians, weather and human error, which had led to the failure of Operation White in mid-November.^[10]

Malta convoys

Malta convoys, November 1940^[11]^[b]
Convoy	From	Sailed	To	Arrived	No.	Notes
MW 3	Alexandria	4 November	Malta	10 November	5
ME 3	Malta	10 November	Alexandria	13 November	4	Unloaded
MW 4	Alexandria	23 November	Malta	26 November	4
Collar	Gibraltar	25 November	Malta	26 November	2	Two ships to Malta, one to Alexandria
ME 4	Malta	26 November	Alexandria	29 November	5

Aegean convoys

Aegean convoys, November to December 1940^[12]^[c]
Convoy	From	Sailed	To	Arrived	No.
AN 6	Port Said	4 November	Piraeus	—	6 ships
AS 5	Piraeus	10 November	Port Said	15 November	8 ships
AN 7	Port Said	15 November	Piraeus	19 November	7 ships
AN 8	Port Said	2 December	Piraeus	7 December	5 ships
AS 6	Piraeus	4 December	Port Said	7 December	10 ships

Force H

Composition of Force H (Gibraltar)^[13]^[d]
Force	Battlecruiser	Aircraft carrier	6-inch cruiser	Destroyer	Notes
B	1	1	2	9^[14]	Covering Force F^[15]
F	—	—	2	1	Cruisers with troops, with four corvettes and three freighters^[15]

Mediterranean Fleet

Composition of the Mediterranean Fleet (Alexandria)^[13]^[e]
Force	Battleship	Carrier	8-inch cruiser	6-inch cruiser	AA cruiser	Destroyer	Notes
A	2	1	—	—	—	?	Sailed 25 November
C	2	1	1	2	—	4^[3]	Sailed 25 November, raided Tripoli^[3]^[f]
D	1	—	1	1	1	4	Sailed 24 November
E	—	—	—	3	—	8^[3]

Notes

^ The corvettes were found to be too slow to keep up with the convoy.^[6]
^ Data taken from Hague (2000) unless indicated.^[11]
^ Data taken from the Shorter Convoy Series of the Arnold Hague Convoy Database unless indicated.^[12]
^ Data taken from Smith (2011) unless indicated.^[13]
^ Data taken from Smith (2011) unless indicated.^[13]
^ The destroyers and Coventry continued westwards^[3]

Footnotes

^ Smith 2011, p. 259.
^ Smith 2011, pp. 260–261.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Woodman 2003, p. 96.
^ Smith 2011, pp. 266–267.
^ Jordan 2006, pp. 96, 115.
^ ^a ^b ^c Brown 2015, p. 24.
^ ^a ^b ^c Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, p. 50.
^ ^a ^b Woodman 2003, pp. 95–96.
^ Rohwer & Hümmelchen 2005, pp. 49–50.
^ Woodman 2003, p. 95.
^ ^a ^b Hague 2000, p. 192.
^ ^a ^b AHCD 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Smith 2011, p. 268.
^ Woodman 2003, p. 98.
^ ^a ^b Woodman 2003, p. 97.

References

Brown, David, ed. (2015) [1956]. The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: November 1940 – December 1941. Naval Staff Histories. Vol. II. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-98555-1. Written anonymously by G. A. Titterton and first published confidentially in 1956
Hague, Arnold (2000). The Allied Convoy System 1939–1945. London: Chatham. ISBN 1-86176-147-3.
Jordan, Roger W. (2006) [1999]. The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships (2nd ed.). London: Chatham/Lionel Leventhal. ISBN 978-1-86176-293-1.
O'Hara, Vincent (2009). Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-61251-408-6.
Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-257-3.
"Shorter Convoy Series". Convoyweb: Arnold Hague Convoy Database. 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
Smith, Peter C. (2011). Critical Conflict: The Royal Navy's Mediterranean Campaign in 1940. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Aviation. ISBN 978-1-84884-513-8. First published as Action Imminent: Three Studies of the Naval War in the Mediterranean Theatre during 1940 (1980) William Kimber, London. ISBN 978-0-7183-0277-1
Woodman, Richard (2003) [2000]. Malta Convoys 1940–1943 (pbk. repr. ed.). London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6408-6.

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