HMS Ajax: How a lone British Cruiser destroyed an entire Italian Squadron, 1940 (Documentary)
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Published 2024-02-03
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🧾 Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
📚 Sources:
Written by House of History
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All Comments (21)
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There is a minor video glitch when the battle begins (I accidentally cut a sentence which should have been part of the video), but it shouldn't detract from the overall experience. Apologies! 🧾This video is not sponsored. If you enjoy my videos and want early access to my content, consider supporting House of History at www.patreon.com/HouseofHistory
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This is one of those 'I'm not locked here with you, you're locked here with me' moments. HMS Ajax has quite a history.
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Crikey, Ajax went on a rampage there. She channelled her inner Warspite and unleashed hell.
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Losing that many ships against a single opponent would have probably left lasting psychological impact.
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My late father, HHJ Gardiner, was abroad Ajax in this battle, also the River plate and Matapan. He was in many more, including convoys to Malta and Russia. I am so very proud of him.
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A little fun fact for you: There is a town in Ontario, Canada named after the Ajax. I grew up there, on a street called Exeter Rd. My best friend lived on Admiral Rd. One of the major roads is named after Commodore Harwood, and the other is named after Pay Bayly who was in charge of Camp X (spy stuff).
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The Mediterranean Theater of WWII is often underrated and not talked about enough. So I commend the guy who runs this channel in his efforts to let us all know what happened in this very important theater of the war.
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Lt Banfi, you were brought back in spite of your sacrifice, the world still needed you. Solid job manning your post until the end.
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Great you've covered this battle, barely ever gets attention and Ajax's feat gets forgotten
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Good old Ajax. In Wollongong, just up from North Gong Pub (North Wollongong Hotel), there are three streets in a group, named for Ajax, Exeter, and Achilles.
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The Leander and Arethusa class cruisers often get overlooked but they really showed their worth in the Med. The battleships, carriers and bigger cruisers like the Town's get a lot of air-time, but the destroyers and light cruisers fought ever bit as hard and made their own major impact and contributions.
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Sounds like the Italians failed to coordinate their attack (admittedly difficult in the dark), engaged the the Ajax piecemeal and was defeated in detail.
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Overall a good naval documentary. It was never boring. I would have appreciated a brief summing-up of the ramifications of this battle - how it was received in Britain, and how it influenced subsequent events in World War II.
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0:59 The Fairey Barracuda is a Torpedobpmber from 1943. In 1940, Fairey Swordfish and Albacore were in action in the Mediterranean.
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Thanks, I like this format a lot; there are lots of videos on various subjects that use WWII B&W footage that is often SO incongruent with what the narrator is saying... Your animation and the photos hit the mark for me wonderfully. Keep up the good work, preserving WW2 history. Greetings from Poland!
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Much awaited, much appreciated excellent insights as always from you.
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Great to find this, my father was on board Ajax at the time. He was 16, he joined at 14 from collage. Hard to believe that would happen today! He mentioned it briefly, but not in detail. Thanks again.
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It is usually the IJN that gets all the night fighting honour because they had a couple of lucky nights vs a novice US Navy at Guadalcanal. But the real night fighting specialists were the RN who persistently showed this in the Med. Not just with surface forces but also with carrier based aircraft. Taranto was carried out at night and by early 42 the FAA had reliable airborne radar.
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The city of Ajax Ontario Canada was named after this ship . It was to honour her involvement in the Graf Spee Incident 1939 . Also many streets are named after the Admiral & men who were serving at that time .
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"im not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!" - Ajax CO... probably
