At Cape Spada, Sydney intercepted Italian light cruisers that had been pursuing British destroyers. The Condottieri-family opponents were ultra-light cruisers built chiefly to defeat French destroyers, and Sydney exposed the disadvantages of that specialization against a full light cruiser. Captain John Collins altered course and used speed to be in position at dawn, turning a dangerous situation into a decisive advantage. Sydney fired 956 six-inch rounds, sank Bartolomeo Colleoni, and badly damaged the other Italian cruiser.
Chapter · 1:16:56-1:22:08
Sydney's aggressive intervention at Cape Spada
HMAS Sydney arrived where the Italian cruisers did not expect her, saving British destroyers and winning an important Mediterranean action.