The death of the Italian “Roma” battleship in the sea.
After Italy’s withdrawal from the war on September 9, 1943, the bulk of the Italian fleet, including the battleship Roma, left the Italian city of La Spezia and went to Malta for internment. The movement of the ships was controlled by reconnaissance aircraft of the Allied aviation. At 3:33 pm the same day, an Italian squadron near the island of Sardinia was attacked by eleven German Dornier Do.217 bombers, based at the airfield in southern France. Luftwaffe aircraft attacked the new guided bombs FX-1400.
In the Roma battleship got two bombs with an interval of 10 minutes. As a result of the second hit, there was a detonation of the ammunition of the main caliber No. 2 and 1 (700 tons of ammunition). A great fire began.
At 16 o’clock 18 minutes the ship broke and sank.
Location: Mediterranean Sea
Date: 09 September 1943