Operation Grog

Operation Grog
	Part of the Battle of the Mediterranean of World War II
	; Armour-piercing shell fired by HMS Malaya, in the nave of Genoa Cathedral
Date	February 9, 1941
Location	Genoa, Italy44°24′40″N 8°55′58″E / 44.41111°N 8.93278°E
Result	British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
James Somerville	Ferdinando Casardi
Strength
Force H 1 Aircraft carrier; 1 Battleship; 1 Battlecruiser; 1 Light cruiser; 4 destroyers;	Anti-aircraft and coastal artillery
Casualties and losses
1 Swordfish aircraft	5 cargo ships sunk; 18 damaged (British sources); 1 training ship sunk; 2 ships damaged (Italian sources); 14 lighters sunk; 144 killed and 242 wounded; Severe damage to port

Operation Grog was the code name name for the British naval and air bombardment of Genoa and La Spezia on 9 February 1941, by Force H of the Royal Navy, consisting of the battleship HMS Malaya, the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, the battlecruiser HMS Renown and the light cruiser HMS Sheffield screened by ten fleet destroyers including HMS Fearless, Foxhound, Foresight, Fury, Firedrake and Jersey.^[3]^[4]

^ Bagnasco, Ermingo (2011). The Littorio Class: Italy's Last and Largest Battleships. Seaforth Publishing. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-84832-105-2.
^ Titterton, G. A (2002). Brown, David (ed.). The Royal Navy and the Mediterranean: November 1940 – December 1941. Naval Staff Histories Series. Vol. II. Psychology Press. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-0-7146-5205-4.
^ Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS RENOWN - Renown-class 15in gun Battlecruiser". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^ Lt Cdr Geoffrey B Mason RN (Rtd). "SERVICE HISTORIES of ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS in WORLD WAR 2:HMS Fearless(H67)". Naval-History.Net. Retrieved 9 July 2010.