The Battle of Calabria

9th July 1940: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash in the Mediterranean

Italian cruisers under fire during the Battle of Calabria on the 9th July.

In the Mediterranean, the Italians were bringing a convoy of supplies to their forces in Libya, which were hopelessly ill-equipped for the outbreak of war. Meanwhile, the British had a convoy of supplies running from Egypt to Malta. The struggle over the seaborne supply chain was …