The concentration of routes around Malta, Sicily, Taranto, the Ionian Sea, and the Adriatic made the theatre unusually sensitive to fleet movement. Italian air power was present but had not yet achieved the closer navy-air integration seen later in the war. Cunningham had four operational 15-inch-gun battleships against six Italian ships before Barham arrived, although Italian readiness was uneven. Italian naval inaction during the invasion of Greece gave the Royal Navy an opening, but did not remove the underlying force-balance problem.
Notable Point · 10:00-14:25
A risky balance in the eastern Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Fleet sought reinforcement while Italy still held a paper advantage in battleships and had not committed its fleet to Greece.