Atlas of Battles

naval engagement, major, interwar and Second World War

Battle of Cape Matapan

Battle of Cape Matapan was a naval engagement fought on 27 March 1941 at Cape Matapan, in what is now Greece; it lasted 2 days. It was part of the Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II, which ran from 1940 to 1945. The recorded result: Allied victory.

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The Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto firing her 15in guns on British cruisers during a brief engagement near Gaudo Island, the afternoon before the battle of Matapan.
The Italian Battleship Vittorio Veneto firing her 15in guns on British cruisers during a brief engagement near Gaudo Island, the afternoon before the battle of Matapan.. Ministero Della Difesa-Marina, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought27 March 1941lasted 2 days
WhereCape Matapan, Greece35.350N, 22.000E
OutcomeAllied victory
BelligerentsUnited Kingdom; AustraliaagainstFascist Italy (1922-1943)
Part ofMediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II1940 to 1945

Where it sits in the Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II

Battle of the Espero Convoy, 1940Battle of Cape Spada, 1940Battle of Cape Passero, 1940Battle of Sidi Barrani, 1940Siege of Giarabub, 1940Battle of Kufra, 1941Operation Sonnenblume, 1941Battle of Cape Matapan, 1941Siege of Tobruk, 1941Battle of the Tarigo Convoy, 1941Battle of the Duisburg Convoy, 1941Battle of Cape Bon, 1941First Battle of Sirte, 1941Raid on Alexandria, 1941Second Battle of Sirte, 1942Battle of Gazala, 1942Battle of Bir Hakeim, 1942Axis capture of Tobruk, 1942Battle of Mersa Matruh, 1942Battle of Alam el Halfa, 1942Battle of Skerki Bank, 1942Battle of the Gulf of Gabes, 1943Battle of the Cigno Convoy, 1943Battle of Enfidaville, 1943Battle of the Campobasso Convoy, 1943Battle of Rhodes, 1943Battle of Leros, 1943Battle of Kos, 1943Action of 1 November 1944, 1944Battle of Ist, 1944Raid on Santorini, 1944Battle of Port Cros, 1944Battle of La Ciotat, 1944Battle of the Ligurian Sea, 194519401945Battle of Cape Matapan, 1941
34 placed engagements of the Mediterranean and Middle East Theater of World War II in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date27 March 1941
to 29 March 1941
PlaceCape Matapan, Greece
35.350N, 22.000E
KindNaval engagement, interwar and Second World War
Strength1 aircraft carrier; 3 battleships; 7 light cruisers; 17 destroyers1 battleship; 6 heavy cruisers; 2 light cruisers; 13 destroyers
Casualties and losses3 killed; 1 aircraft destroyed2,331 killed; 1,015 captured; 3 heavy cruisers sunk; 2 destroyers sunk
Commanders
  • Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Battle of Cape MatapanBattle of Cape MatapanBattle of the Espero ConvoyBattle of the Espero Convoy100 km35.350N, 22.000E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1941

Battle of Cape Matapan is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 493 in present-day Greece.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q544090, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Cape Matapan, revision 1385389113, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.