In June of 1940, the Italians entered the war on the Axis side and in August Vittorio Veneto were pressed into service. From August 31st to September 2nd the battleship was used on patrol actions in the hopes of meeting up with British convoys from Gibraltar to Alexandria, Egypt. At this point in the war, the Italian Navy held a distinct advantage in firepower and overall presence in Mediterranean waters - certainly enough to threaten British movements now that France had fallen. The battleship and her accompanying forces failed to meet up with any enemy during this period which ended in October. On November 10th-11th, the British enacted their famous air raid on the Italian naval base at Taranto. The resulting attack netted three Italian battleships damaged but left Veneto Vittorio largely untouched. The vessel was named flagship of the Italian fleet when she arrived at Naples.
Her next action was in the Battle of Cape Spartivento near Sardinia during November 1940 which again pitted the Italians against the British. The Italians could field only two of their battleships, including Vittorio, along with six heavy cruisers and fourteen destroyers against a sizeable British force that featured one aircraft carrier and several other warships of varying capabilities. Results of this battle were inconclusive as each side claimed just a damaged warship.
Vittorio was present during the Battle of Cape Matapan near Greece during March 27th-29th, 1941. A combined Australian-British force, which included an aircraft carrier and three battleships, tangled with an Italian force featuring a sole battleship, six heavy cruisers, two light cruisers, and seventeen destroyers. Three torpedoes launched from HMS Formidable's Fairey Swordfish biplane bombers ended close to Vittorio though only one scored a direct hit, this above the portside outboard propeller. Sea water began flooding her compartments and this gave the vessel a noticeable list. Nevertheless, the battleship was able to make headway and retreat to safety. She underwent repairs at Taranto from late-March 1941 to July and was not activated again until August. The battle was crippling to the Italians with the loss of 2,400 men, three heavy cruisers, two destroyers, and the Vittorio left heavily damaged.
After having been repaired, Vittorio's fortunes did not improve. She was targeted by the Royal Navy attack submarine HMS Urge while in the Straights of Messina between Sicilia and Calabria. The submarine sent three total torpedoes her way with one managing to find Vittorio's portside. The hull was ripped open and flooding ensued, forcing the Italian battleship back to Taranto for repairs which kept her out of the war until the early part of 1942.
During June of 1942, Vittorio joined other Italian warships in attempting to intercept an Allied convoy targeting Alexandria. American bombers managed successful strikes on the Italian warship during a scuffle though no serious damage was reported by Vittorio. In November, the battleship made her way from Naples to Taranto and survived a torpedo attack from HMS Umbra. The Italian fleet was then moved to La Spezia for protection against Allied air raids though, on June 5th, 1943, the battleship was the recipient of Allied bombs during a raid which left her severely damaged once again. The warship was then sent to Genoa for repairs. With the Italian surrender in September of 1943, Vittorio was relocated to Malta for its surrender and unsuccessfully attacked by German warplanes while en route.
Vittorio made it to Malta and remained there until September 14th, 1943. She was directed towards Alexandria and was later moved to the Suez Canal where she was laid up until October 1946. Upon allowed entry back into Italian waters, she was handed over to the British as a war prize and stricken from the naval register on February 1st, 1948. Her hulk was then sold for scrapping between 1948 and 1950 and her naval history officially ended. Some of her guns were used as coastal batteries by Yugoslavia and survived until the 1990s.
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