Operation Grog

Operation Grog was the name assigned to the British naval and air bombardment of Genoa and La Spezia on 9 February 1941, by a fleet consisting of HMS Malaya, HMS Ark Royal, HMS Renown and HMS Sheffield, screened by ten fleet destroyers including HMS Fearless, HMS Foxhound, HMS Foresight, HMS Fury, HMS Firedrake and HMS Jersey.[3][4]

Operation Grog
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II

Armour-piercing shell fired by HMS Malaya, in the nave of Genoa Cathedral
DateFebruary 9, 1941
Location
Genoa, Italy
Result British victory
Belligerents
 United Kingdom  Italy
Commanders and leaders
John Collins Ferdinando Casardi
Strength

Royal Navy Force H

  • 1 Aircraft carrier
  • 1 Battleship
  • 1 Battlecruiser
  • 1 Cruiser
  • 4 destroyers
 Anti-aircraft and coastal artillery
Casualties and losses
1 Swordfish aircraft 5 ships sunk
18 damaged (British sources)
1 training ship sunk
2 ships damaged (Italian sources)
14 Lighters sunk[1]
144 killed and 242 wounded
Severe damage to port[2]

Events

The operation was originally scheduled to start on 31 January 1941, but the ships didn't leave Gibraltar until 6 February.

Four destroyers carried out an anti-submarine sweep while the heavy ships carried out a feint to deceive Italian and German observers into thinking they were supporting a convoy.[5]

Genoa harbour was bombarded on 9 February, with the force sinking four cargo ships and damaging 18.[5] A majority of Italian sources only reported heavy damage on the merchant ships Salpi and Garibaldi and the sinking of the old civilian training ship Garaventa.[6][7] Author Ermingo Bagnasco also reports the loss of fourteen lighters and the motor sailor Antonietta Madre.[1] According to the official files of the Italian Marina Militare, the Antonietta Madre was sunk during the Allied bombing of Genoa on 23 October 1942.[8]

A salvo from HMS Malaya landed between 200 and 50 yards short of the battleship Caio Duilio, undergoing repairs in dry dock north of Molo Giano; no damage was reported on the Italian battleship.[2] A targeting error by a gunnery officer on board HMS Malaya some thirteen miles offshore caused an armour-piercing round to hit Genoa Cathedral; the shell failed to explode and remains on display there.[9]

Ark Royal's aircraft attacked Livorno and mined La Spezia.[5]

An attempt by the Italian fleet to intercept the British force failed, and all ships returned to Gibraltar on 11 February.[5]

There were 144 civilian dead and 272 wounded at Genoa as result of the shelling.[2]

References
  1. Bagnasco, Ermingo (2011). The Littorio Class: Italy's Last and Largest Battleships. Seaforth Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 9781848321052.
  2. Titterton, G. A (2002). Brown, David (ed.). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: November 1940-December 1941 Volume 2 Naval Staff Histories Series. Psychology Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 9780714652054.
  3. Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS RENOWN - Renown-class 15in gun Battlecruiser". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  4. Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS Fearless(H67)". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
  5. "UK Battleship of WW1 and WW2:HMS Malaya (BB-6)". Retrieved 10 July 2010.
  6. "L'operazione "Grog"". www.scmncamogli.org (in Italian). Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  7. Artieri, Giovanni (1978). Cronaca del Regno d'Italia: Dalla Vittoria alla Repubblica (in Italian). Mondadori. p. 646.
  8. Marina Militare, Stato Maggiore (1952). La Marina italiana nella seconda guerra mondiale, Volume 3 (in Italian). Ufficio Storico della Marina Militare. p. 101.
  9. "Obituary:Commander Henry Hatfield". Daily Telegraph. 4 July 2010. Retrieved 5 July 2010.

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