Nightmare Nostrum

Great Britain's fleet at Gibraltar welcomed the assignment last week of escorting three supply ships bound for Malta through what Italy still calls Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea") but which cartoonists now label Nightmare Nostrum. It was known that what was left of the Italian Navy after Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham's brilliant aerial-torpedo stab into its main base at Taranto (TIME, Nov. 25) had scuttled for a more remote hideaway, probably Cagliari on Sardinia's south coast or Naples on the mainland. Perhaps the British keepers of the western gate of Italy's prison, under Vice Admiral Sir James Somerville, would get a glimpse of and a crack of their own at the fugitives.

When they got south of Sardinia, the prayer of Sir James's men was answered. Their air scouts reported that two Italian battleships (of the three Italy had left in commission), surrounded by numerous cruisers and destroyers, were at sea 75 miles northeast of the advance British cruiser force, which immediately turned that way to give battle. After two hours' steaming they sighted four Italian cruisers and closed in, firing. The Italians turned tail, belching smoke. After a half-hour's chase, the British cruisers sighted the Italian battleships, one of the Cavour and one of the Littorio class, which opened with their biggest guns (12.6-in. and 15-in.). With heavy metal flying around them, the British now turned off, inviting pursuit by the speedy Italians.

But the latter had air scouts out, too. They knew that the swift, massive Renown was racing up from the British convoy. They turned off toward Sardinia, and the British resumed their pursuit of the Italian cruisers. When the Renown came up, the Italian battleships were well away toward shore. In all the smoke and scurry, the Renown could not see the effect of her shells at extreme range.

But the nimble Italians were not scot free. Fairey Swordfish torpedo planes and Blackburn Skua dive bombers went whirring after them from the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, far in the rear of the British formation. These plunged and plopped their projectiles at the escapists, while their fighter escorts took on Italian defensive aircraft. As they returned to the Ark Royal, and reconnaissance planes flew up to check the battle score, Sir James led his ships away from land, down toward Malta and their original course, well knowing what a hornets' nest the action would stir up at the Cagliari air bases.

Soon the Fascist hornets came, angry waves of Sparviero bombers, guarded by Falco chasers which British fighters rose to meet as explosives showered around the departing British warships. One bomb-fall landed all around the Ark Royal, but she emerged from cataracts of spray with all her anti-aircraft guns crackling angrily.

The British said: one of their Swordfish punctured the biggest Italian battleship; another torpedo hit the Bolzano (heavy cruiser) and a Skua's bomb hit a Condottieri (light) cruiser; fire from the Renown and the British cruisers damaged another heavy cruiser and two destroyers. Total: six strikes, which reduced Italy's serviceable battleships to two, her cruisers to 16, as against only one British ship struck, the cruiser Berwick, which lost seven men killed, nine injured when hit by two shells, but was still ready for action.

The Italians said (and took correspondents to a naval base to prove) that only their heavy cruiser Fiume was hit (by one shell--which did not explode), and the destroyer Lanciere, which was badly hurt. Their 35,000-ton Vittorio Veneto outmaneuvered the torpedo planes, dodged their projectiles. Meantime their guns and planes smacked one British battleship, three cruisers and the Ark Royal. In the air they claimed 13 British planes shot down to two Italians (the British said two Italians, one British).

For home consumption the Italian accounts made heady reading--most necessary so soon after Taranto. But certain prime facts remained: 1) the Italian Fleet had run from the British, as always; 2) it had failed to intercept another shipment of British war materiel and man power to the Middle East; 3) operating from Naples or Cagliari, it cannot defend Italy's oversea supply line to Africa as well as it could from Taranto before the British got into Crete.

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