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Italian auxiliary ship Olterra

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Gibraltar in World War IIItalian naval victories in the battle of the MediterraneanMAS fleetMaritime incidents in June 1940Ships built on the River TyneShips of ItalyShipwrecks of SpainSpain in World War IITankers of ItalyWorld War II merchant ships of ItalyWorld War II naval ships of ItalyWorld War II raidsWorld War II shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea
Olterra at Algeciras
Olterra at Algeciras

The auxiliary ship Olterra was a 5,000 ton Italian tanker scuttled by her own crew at Algeciras in the Bay of Gibraltar on 10 June 1940, after the entry of Italy in World War II. She was recovered in 1942 by a special unit of the Decima Flottiglia MAS to be used as an undercover base for manned torpedoes in order to attack Allied shipping at Gibraltar.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Italian auxiliary ship Olterra (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Italian auxiliary ship Olterra
Calle Jacinto Benavente, Algeciras

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Wikipedia: Italian auxiliary ship OlterraContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 36.1425 ° E -5.4355555555556 °
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Calle Jacinto Benavente
11202 Algeciras
Andalusia, Spain
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Olterra at Algeciras
Olterra at Algeciras
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First Battle of Algeciras
First Battle of Algeciras

The First Battle of Algeciras was a naval battle fought on 6 July 1801 (17 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a smaller French Navy squadron at anchor in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras in the Strait of Gibraltar. The British outnumbered their opponents, but the French position was protected by Spanish gun batteries and the complicated shoals that obscured the entrance to Algeciras Bay. The French squadron, under Contre-Amiral Charles Linois, had stopped at Algeciras en route to the major Spanish naval base at Cadiz, where they were to form a combined French and Spanish fleet for operations against Britain and its allies in the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, sought to eliminate the French squadron before it could reach Cadiz and form a force powerful enough to overwhelm Saumarez and launch attacks against British forces in the Mediterranean Sea. Sailing directly from his blockade station off Cadiz, Saumarez's squadron consisted of six ships of the line, twice the number under Linois's command. Discovering the French at anchor in Algeciras on the morning of 6 July, Saumarez launched an immediate attack on the anchorage through the complicated shoals of Algeciras Bay. Although the initial attack caused severe damage to the French ships, light winds and shallow water led to the British ship HMS Hannibal grounding under heavy fire while the French vessels were driven on shore to prevent their capture. With his intentions frustrated, Saumarez ordered his squadron to withdraw, five of his ships limping out of the bay while the battered Hannibal remained trapped. Isolated and unable to manoeuvre, Captain Solomon Ferris on Hannibal endured the enemy fire for another half an hour before surrendering his ship. Both sides had suffered severe damage and casualties, but both were also aware that the battle would inevitably be rejoined and so the aftermath of the British defeat was one of frenzied activity at Gibraltar, Algeciras and Cadiz. While the British and French squadrons conducted hasty repairs, the French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz was prepared for a rescue mission, a heavy squadron arriving at Algeciras on 12 July. As the Spanish squadron departed with Linois's ships, they were attacked again by Saumarez's squadron at the Second Battle of Algeciras and caught at night by faster and more manoeuvrable ships, which resulted in the British inflicting heavy losses on the Spanish rearguard but failing for a second time to destroy the French squadron.

Second Battle of Algeciras
Second Battle of Algeciras

The Second Battle of Algeciras (also known as the Battle of the Gut of Gibraltar) was a naval battle fought on the night of 12 July 1801 (23 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a larger squadron of ships from the Spanish Navy and French Navy in the Gut of Gibraltar. The battle followed the First Battle of Algeciras on 6 July, in which a French squadron anchored at the Spanish port of Algeciras was attacked by a larger British squadron based at nearby Gibraltar. In a heavy engagement fought in calm weather in the close confines of Algeciras Bay, the British force had been becalmed and battered, suffering heavy casualties and losing the 74-gun ship HMS Hannibal. Retiring for repairs, both sides called up reinforcements, the French receiving support first, from the Spanish fleet based at Cadiz, which sent six ships of the line to escort the French squadron to safety. Arriving at Algeciras on 9 July, the combined squadron was ready to sail again on 12 July, departing Algeciras to the westwards during the evening. The British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, having effected its own hasty repairs, set off in pursuit. Finding that his ships were falling behind, Saumarez instructed his captains to separate and attack the combined squadron as best they were able to. The fastest ship was HMS Superb under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats, which sailed through the Spanish rearguard as a moonless night fell. Superb fired on the rearmost ships, setting the 112-gun Real Carlos on fire and capturing the Saint Antoine. Unable to determine friend from foe in the darkness, Real Carlos inadvertently engaged the Spanish ship San Hermenegildo, spreading the fire to its compatriot. Both ships subsequently exploded with enormous loss of life. A second stage of the battle then developed, as HMS Venerable took the lead of the British line, attacking the rearmost French ship Formidable under Captain Amable Troude. In a furious and protracted engagement, Venerable suffered heavy damage and was driven ashore, allowing the remainder of the French force to return to Cadiz without further fighting. After the battle, Venerable was towed back to Gibraltar for repairs, while the rest of the British squadron resumed the blockade of the French and Spanish ships in Cadiz, returning the situation to that before the battle. This British victory, coming so soon after Saumarez's defeat in Algeciras harbour, did much to restore parity in the region and the heavy casualties inflicted on the Spanish contributed to a weakening of the Franco-Spanish alliance and the signing of Treaty of Amiens, which brought the war to a temporary halt early the following year. In France, despite the heavy Spanish losses, the battle was celebrated as a victory, with Troude widely praised and promoted for the defence of his ship.

Marinid Walls of Algeciras
Marinid Walls of Algeciras

The Marinid Walls of Algeciras (Spanish: Parque Arqueológico de las Murallas Meriníes de Algeciras) are city walls located in Algeciras, Spain. The walls were declared Bien de Interés Cultural in 1985.The dating of the walls is complicated. They were originally attributed to the Marinid period in the late 13th century, but recent epigraphic evidence published in 2012 has updated scholarly analysis, which now suggests that the archeological remains include pre-1342 Islamic constructions of uncertain date over which major reconstruction and remodeling was undertaken by the Castilians, approximately between the years 1344 and 1350, after their conquest of the city. The reconstruction was necessitated by the damage the walls suffered during the Castilian siege. When the Nasrids of Granada conquered the city in 1369, they demolished the walls and covered up the Castilian inscriptions that recorded their occupation of the city.The remains also include a gate known as the Puerta de Gibraltar (Gibraltar Gate) or Puerta del Fonsario (Fonsario Gate). When the Castilian masons rebuilt the gate, it appears they largely followed their Islamic-era outline, building square towers typical of that style. A bridge giving access to the gate over the moat is also decorated along its sides with interlacing brickwork circles, which resemble a Mudéjar pattern also seen in the Courtyard of the Maidens in the Mudéjar section of the Alcázar of Seville (14th century).