The action off Cape Bougaroun (Cap Bougaroûn), or the Attack on Convoy KMF-25A was a Luftwaffe action against an Allied naval convoy off the coast of Algeria during World War II. The convoy of American, British, Greek and Dutch ships was attacked on 6 November 1943 by 25 German land-based aircraft. Six Allied vessels were sunk or damaged and six German aircraft were destroyed. German forces achieved a tactical victory, though the Allied warships involved received credit for defending their convoy and reacting to their losses quickly. The quick response led to the rescue of over 6,000 servicemen and civilians without further loss of life. Background Convoy KMF-25A consisted of 26 transports escorted by 15 warships. It sailed from Liverpool to Naples. The 26 transports carried roughly 28,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers as well as war supplies and nurses. Most, if not all of the vessels were armed with small naval and anti-aircraft guns; the American and Dutch ships had armed guards aboard who manned the weapons. The convoy was designated Task Group 60.2 and was under the command of United States Navy Captain Charles C. Hartman in his flagship . Task Group 60.2 included the British light cruiser and the destroyers USS Mervine, , , , , , and HMS Haydon with two other vessels. There were also four destroyer escorts, two Greek and two American, including and . On 27 October 1943, convoy KMF-25A left Great Britain for Egypt and ultimately to Italy. After passing Gibraltar, the ships received air support from the Royal Air Force, but these aircraft squadrons could only help so much as each was constantly being rotated out with another. The rotation left the convoy without support for several minutes at a time while the Royal Air Force sent new planes. It was during one of these periods that a force of nine Luftwaffe torpedo planes and 16 bombers intercepted the convoy. Action The convoy sailed in columns of seven to nine ships each from Mers-El-Kebir to Naples. USS Laub was alone and ahead of the fleet to provide a radar screen. USS Mervine led the warships in a circular course around the three columns. Beatty and Tillman were astern in the rear and Mervine was ahead. Just after sunset, at about 17:45 on 6 November, the convoy was sailing in overcast weather, away from Philippeville off Cape Bougaroun when USS Laub detected