Cunningham used convoy operations to seek a fight with Italian forces, bringing Warspite forward when British cruisers were out-ranged. The celebrated hit damaged Giulio Cesare's funnel and boilers, reducing speed and helping drive an Italian withdrawal. Additional British battleships then made the Italian numerical position unattractive, while destroyers and cruisers continued fighting under smoke. A large air attack over the next three hours caused no damage, cautioning against the assumption that aircraft had already displaced surface fleets in 1940.
Notable Point · 39:13-43:43
The long-range hit at Calabria
Warspite's hit on Giulio Cesare at roughly 24 kilometres illustrates how a battleship could change an engagement through range, damage, and threat.