battleship . Eventually, Vian's flotilla participated in the destruction of Bismarck. While the main battle fleet awaited daylight, they, in a series of night attacks, harried the German ship. They failed to score a hit in the darkness, but their activities fixed the German's position and denied the crew much-needed rest before the main battle on 27 May. Afterwards, they escorted back to Scotland. Vian received a second bar to his DSO for this action. Vian was promoted to rear admiral on 8 July 1941, by special order of the First Sea Lord, Sir Dudley Pound. During July and August, 1941, Vian was involved in liaising with the Soviet Navy to assess their readiness and to investigate the practicalities of a British naval force being based at Murmansk or nearby. In the event, Vian advised against this, but in September, 1941, he commanded Force K, a naval force that supported an Anglo-Canadian raid and demolition on the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen. The intention was to clear out any German garrison (there was none), destroy the coal mines and coal stocks and evacuate the Russian miners. The troops were aboard the liner , escorted by two Royal Navy cruisers, and and three destroyers: , and and several smaller ships. The operation was successful and during Force K's return, a German convoy was intercepted and the German training cruiser was sunk. Mediterranean In October 1941, Vian was given command of the 15th Cruiser Squadron (flag in , stationed at Alexandria. The main naval tasks at this stage of the Mediterranean campaign were to ensure the survival of Malta as a British possession and military base by the protection of supply convoys while preventing Italian convoys supplying their forces in north Africa. Secondary tasks included the supply and artillery support of Allied military actions in north Africa and elsewhere, such as a successful bombardment of Derna in December. Vian's first convoy was in December 1941 and led to the First Battle of Sirte. This was, in effect, a series of skirmishes between British and Italian warships escorting desperately needed supply convoys. Overall, the fight was inconclusive, but both sides managed to deliver the supplies. There were several sorties to support the army and to intercept Italian convoys. On one such operation, in early March 1942, Vian's flagship, HMS Naiad, was torpedoed and sunk by . Vian transferred his flag to and later to