failed, but the second scored a single hit each on both Vittorio Veneto and the heavy cruiser . Vittorio Veneto shot down one aircraft, but the battleship was flooded with some of water, though she got underway after ten minutes and eventually reached Taranto on 29 March. Repairs lasted until July. Littorio and Vittorio Veneto had both returned to active duty by August 1941, and on the 22nd the two ships sortied to attack a convoy. They returned to port without encountering any British forces, however. On 26 September, the two battleships attempted to intercept the Operation Halberd convoy, but they broke off the operation without attacking the convoy. While escorting a convoy to North Africa, Vittorio Veneto was torpedoed by the British submarine ; repairs lasted until Spring, 1942. Shortly thereafter, on 13 December, Littorio escorted another convoy to North Africa. This operation resulted in the First Battle of Sirte, which ended inconclusively. She provided distant cover to another convoy on 3–6 January 1942. On 21 March, Littorio sortied to attack a British convoy, which led to the Second Battle of Sirte. During the engagement, she badly damaged the destroyers and . Repairs to Vittorio Veneto were completed in time for her to join Littorio on attacks on the convoys Vigorous and Harpoon, which had departed Alexandria and Gibraltar to reinforce Malta simultaneously in mid-June. Combat was limited to the opposing light forces, and Littorio and Vittorio Veneto did not see action; the British nevertheless broke off Operation Vigorous due to the battleships' presence and heavy air attacks. While returning to port, Littorio was hit by a bomb from an American B-24 Liberator heavy bomber; the bomb struck the forward gun turret, though it did minimal damage. Before returning to port, a British Wellington bomber torpedoed the ship. The torpedo struck her starboard bow, though she returned to port. Repairs were completed and on 12 December, both ships were moved from Taranto to La Spezia in response to the Allied landings in North Africa. Roma joined the fleet shortly after the attacks on the two convoys, and joined her sisters for the move to La Spezia. There, she replaced Littorio as the fleet flagship. In June 1943, a series of Allied air raids attacked La Spezia in an attempt to neutralize the three battleships. On 5 June, Vittorio Veneto was hit by two large bombs that struck her port