#operationcrusader — Public Fediverse posts

Isaac Sweers was a Dutch design, of the Callenburgh class. She was towed away to Britain when the Netherlands surrendered in 1940, to be finished in a British yard. She had advanced anti-aircraft fire control systems, and an obviously highly motivated crew. She entered fighting in the #Mediterranean during #operationcrusader when she participated in the destruction of two #italiannavy light cruisers at the battle of Cape Bon on 13 December 1941.

In the spirit of #rememberanceday, I also wanted to raise awareness of an oddity of #operationcrusader - it saw almost as many @royalnavy sailors killed as #britisharmy soldiers.

The reason for this was that two of the most significant loss-of-life sinkings occurred during the operation, when HMS Barham was lost to a spread of German #uboat torpedoes, and HMS Neptune ran into a minefield north of Tripoli.

#ww2 #navalhistory #histodons @histodons #history

https://rommelsriposte.com/2012/05/14/naval-personnel-losses-during-operation-crusader/

The division would end #operationcrusader in the northern part of the Marada - Mersa el Brega position. It's lack of mobility meant it could not participate in #rommel's counteroffensive of 21 January which rolled back much of the #britisharmy's gains. /end-of-thread @histodons #histodons