Raid on Alexandria (1941)

Raid on Alexandria
Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of the Second World War
An Italian human torpedo
Date 19 December 1941 (1941-12-19) Location Alexandria, Kingdom of Egypt 31°10′43.71″N 29°51′44.89″E / 31.1788083°N 29.8624694°E / 31.1788083; 29.8624694 Result Italian victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
Charles Morgan	Junio Valerio Borghese Luigi Durand de la Penne
Strength
Mediterranean Fleet	1 submarine 3 human torpedoes
Casualties and losses
2 battleships disabled 1 destroyer damaged 1 tanker damaged 8 casualties	6 crewmen captured

The Raid on Alexandria (Operazione EA 3) was carried out on 19 December 1941 by Italian Navy (Regia Marina) divers of the Decima Flottiglia MAS (Decima Flottiglia Motoscafi Armati Siluranti [10th Flotilla MAS]), who attacked and sank two Royal Navy battleships at their moorings and damaged an oil tanker and a destroyer in the harbour of Alexandria, Egypt, using manned torpedoes.

The attacks came at a difficult time for the Mediterranean Fleet, after the loss of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and the battleship Barham to U-boats, the loss of ships during the Battle of Crete and the sinking of much of Force K on an Italian minefield, the day before the human torpedo attack on Alexandria. Ships also had to be sent to the Eastern Fleet.