Battle of the Messina Convoy

The Battle of the Messina Convoy was a night naval action fought on 2 June 1943 off Cape Spartivento, Calabria, between an Allied flotilla composed of the British destroyer HMS Jervis and the GREEK DESTROYER Vasilissa Olga and an Italian convoy escorted by the Spica-class torpedo boat Castore. The escort was repeatedly hit and sunk, but the convoy managed to slip away either unscathed or with minor damage depending on the cited source.

Battle
On 2 June, during the preparatory stages of Operation Corkscrew (the Allied invasion of the Italian island of Pantelleria), the British destroyer HMS Jervis captained by Anthony Follett Pugsley and the GREEK DESTROYER Vasilissa Olga under Lieutenant Commander Georgios Blessas was carrying out a night search along the Gulf of Squillace. They soon found a small two-steamer convoy escorted by the Italian torpedo boat ITALIAN TORPEDO BOAT Castore at approximately 1:45 am. Supported by a Wellington bomber which dropped flares on the target, the Allied destroyers engaged the Italian steamers Vragnizza (1592 GRT) and Postumia (595 GRT), which were carrying supplies and ammunitions. The destroyers lost track of the convoy after the intervention of the escort, Castore, which laid smoke and returned fire. She was disabled and sank before sunrise, but her counterattack allowed the steamers to limp away. Vragnizza and Postumia, both damaged during the action, managed to reach Messina at 16:30 (4:30 pm).