in place Penn moved ahead, straining her engines to the limit. Ohio continued to list to port. The two ships were making no progress, and were even drifting astern with the easterly wind. Now both ships were sitting targets, and as another serious attack developed, the destroyer went to full speed to part the tow. A German bomber dived at the tanker and released its bomb just before it was shot down by Ohios gunners. The bomb hit the tanker just where the initial torpedo had hit her, effectively breaking her back, just as night was setting in. Ohio was abandoned for the night. The day after, Penn was joined by the minesweeper . The two ships towed the tanker and succeeded in making up to , overcoming the tendency to swing to port. Another attack blasted the group of ships, breaking the tow lines and immobilising Ohios rudder. Another bomb hit the fore end of her foredeck, forcing the engineers out of the engine room. Once more, Mason gave the order to abandon ship, as two more air attacks narrowly missed the tanker. A superficial examination showed that the rent that had developed in the amidships section had widened and that the ship had indeed almost certainly broken her back. The two ships around the tanker were joined by HMS Bramham and by Ledbury which had returned from her search for Manchester. Meanwhile, Rye had again begun to tow Ohio with the newly arrived Ledbury acting as a stern tug. With less pull from Ledbury, a fair speed was maintained, but steering proved impossible. A stabilising factor was needed, thus Commander Swain edged Penn to the starboard side of Ohio. Rye, joined by Bramham, slowly got under way once more, with Ledbury acting as a rudder. Another enemy air attack began just as the group of ships was moving at . At 1045 hrs the first wave of dive-bombers came low over the water. Only one oil bomb landed close to Ohios bow, showering her with burning liquid. Then came three more echelons of German planes. This time, close air support from Malta was available. 16 Spitfires, of 229 and 249 Squadrons from Malta, had sighted the enemy. The first enemy formation wavered and broke. The second formation also broke, but one section of Ju 88s succeeded in breaking free, making for the tanker. These were swiftly followed by