The Red Sea Flotilla (Flottiglia del mar rosso) was part of the Regia Marina Italia (Italian Royal Navy) based at Massawa in the colony of Italian Eritrea, part of Italian East Africa. During World War II, the Red Sea Flotilla was active against the East Indies Station of the Royal Navy from the Italian declaration of war on 10 June 1940 until the fall of Massawa on 8 April 1941. The squadron was isolated from the main Italian bases in the Mediterranean by distance and British dispositions. The British capture of Massawa and other Italian ports in the region ended the Italian naval presence in the region in April 1941. Purpose and organisation On 10 June 1940, the Red Sea Flotilla had seven destroyers in two squadrons, a squadron of five Motor Torpedo Boats (MAS, Motoscafo Armato Silurante) and eight submarines in two squadrons. The main base was at Massawa, with other bases at Assab (also in Eritrea) and Kismayu, in southern Italian Somaliland. The Red Sea Flotilla was not used aggressively by the Italians but the British viewed it as a potential threat to Allied convoys travelling East African waters between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. This was a vital route for British forces operating from Egypt. The Red Sea Flotilla was especially well situated to attack convoys headed from the Gulf of Aden through the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, after the Mediterranean was closed to Allied merchant ships, which had to take passage around the Cape of Good Hope. Actions Several attempts were made to stage offensive actions against the British Royal Navy and Allied convoys from Massawa. Some of the earliest failed when submarine air conditioning systems, intended to reduce temperatures in the warm water of the Red Sea proved dangerous under wartime operating conditions. Leakage of chloromethane refrigerants caused central nervous system poisoning in the recirculating air during submerged operations and about twelve sailors died aboard . The submarines and ran aground while their crews were intoxicated by chloromethane and the latter could not be salvaged. The submarines , and struck early; Galileo Galilei sank the Norwegian freighter James Stove off Djibouti, before British counter-measures forced the submarines to depart the area. Torricelli was spotted on 23 June, while approaching Massawa and an intensive search was conducted by four warships aided by aircraft from Aden. After fierce resistance, during which the sloop