opposition from German and Italian aircraft as well as Italian surface units. In December 1941, the two battleships ( and ) stationed in the eastern Mediterranean had been disabled by an attack by Italian frogmen, leaving the fleet with only cruisers and destroyers. A diversion was organised from Gibraltar, on the morning of 20 March, the battleship —with the aircraft carriers and , supported by the cruiser and eight destroyers—sailed. The next day, the squadron aborted the operation and returned to port—the carriers were unable to launch aircraft reinforcements to Malta due to defective long-range fuel tanks. The escort of convoy MW10 relied heavily on destroyers—including lighter-built destroyer escorts—to provide anti-submarine protection and included the anti-aircraft cruiser . More destroyers and another light cruiser were sent from Malta. British plan Admiral Sir Philip Vian, commanding the convoy, organised his ships into six divisions plus a close escort of five Hunt-class destroyers for the convoy . 1st Division: destroyers , , and 2nd Division: light cruisers and with the destroyer 3rd Division: destroyers and 4th Division: light cruisers (flagship) and 5th Division: destroyers , , and 6th Division: anti-aircraft cruiser and Hunt-class destroyer In case of an Italian surface attack, the first five divisions were to stand off from the convoy to face the enemy while the sixth division laid smoke across the wake of the convoy to obscure it. The first five divisions would act as a rearguard to lay smoke and delay the while Carlisle and the Hunt-class destroyers proceeded with the cargo ships to Malta. Battle At 14:30 the next day, the British were faced by a pair of heavy cruisers and escorting destroyers. Admiral Vian immediately implemented his plan; the cargo ships and escorts turned away to the south while the light cruisers and remaining destroyers laid smoke and charged the Italians. After an exchange of fire, the two Italian heavy cruisers backed off in an attempt to lure the British toward the incoming main Italian squadron, and at 16:37 they returned to attack with the battleship , a light cruiser and their screening destroyers. The battle raged for two and a half hours, with the British ships leaving the safety of their huge smoke screen to fire a few volleys and then returning to it when the Italian salvos got too close. During one of these exchanges, suffered heavy damage from a near-miss when fired at