Operation Vigorous

13–16 June 1942, Eastern Mediterranean, between Crete and Cyrenaica

Axis victory; the convoy turned back to Alexandria

The eastern half of the double convoy to Malta in June 1942 was the larger: eleven merchant ships from Haifa, Port Said and Alexandria, escorted by Rear Admiral Philip Vian with eight cruisers and 26 destroyers, among them the Australian-manned Napier, Nizam, Nestor and Norman. There was no battleship to spare, so the old disarmed Centurion went along to look like one. As the convoy passed "Bomb Alley" between Crete and Cyrenaica, German bombers from Crete sank the freighters Bhutan and Aagtekerk and the Hunt-class Airedale. When the Italian battle fleet came out of Taranto on 14 June, Vian was ordered to turn back, then towards Malta again, then back once more. In the night German S-boats torpedoed the cruiser Newcastle and sank the destroyer Hasty. RAF Beauforts stopped the Italian cruiser Trento, which the submarine Umbra then sank, and a bomb and a torpedo hit Littorio, but the Italian fleet held its course until the convoy gave up. On the way home U-205 sank the cruiser Hermione, and Nestor, disabled by bombs, had to be scuttled. Not one ship reached Malta.