The Battle of Matapan

by S.W.C. Pack

Description of the encounter in 1941 between the Royal Navy and the Italian Fleet off Cape Matapan, Greece during WW II.

Genres: History, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

183 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[John Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is fascinating little book by someone who was actually there. It has an immediacy that cannot be achieved by an historian, writing far away and long after the event. The blow by blow account of the battle is really page turning and the supplementary technical information is most useful in explaining how the slow old British warships of World War I (Warspite, Valiant, Barham) prevailed over the fast modern Italian fleet. The critical factors were radar and an aircraft carrier (Formidable). The author's military style of writing produces some memorable phrases such as 'Fighters, when and how many? That was always the question.' S W C Pack's book should have a secure place in the permanent library of The Second World War.