| CONVOY 'TARIGO' (April 16, 1941)
Named after the lead Italian escort destroyer Luca Tarigo. The convoy, consisting of four German freighters and one Italian ship was en route to North Africa, when attacked near the island of Kerkennah, off the Mediterranean east of Tunisia, by the Malta based British 14th Flotilla. The Flotilla consisted of the destroyers HMS Nubian, Mohawk, Janus and Jervis. The freighters were carrying around 3,000 German troops and the Italian vessel 'Sabuadia' was loaded with munitions. All the freighters were sunk during the engagement.
A total of 1,248 German soldiers were rescued from the sea by Italian rescue ships including the hospital ship Arno. Over 1,700 perished. The British destroyer Mohawk (1,870 tons) was torpedoed and badly damaged by the Tarigo and had to be abandoned by her crew and sunk. The Luca Tarigo was also sunk.
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On weald of Kent I watched once more
Again I heard that grumbling roar
Of fighter planes; yet none were near
And all around the sky was clear
Borne on the wind a whisper came
'Though men grow old, they stay the same'
And then I knew, unseen to eye
The ageless Few were sweeping by
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