Folgore suffered 126 casualties, Nicoloso da Recco 118, Aspromonte 39, Procione three. The British ships had minor splinter damage but lost Quentin to a torpedo bomber on the return journey to Bône, with the loss of 20 men. Subsequent operations At 16:00 the 14th Destroyer Flotilla, from Force K, comprising , , and sailed from Malta, untroubled by Axis aircraft, to attack Convoy C, the merchant ships Veloce and Chisone for Tripoli, escorted by the torpedo boats , and . Near the Kerkenah Banks, Fairey Albacores of the Fleet Air Arm torpedoed Veloce, which was carrying benzene and caught fire, burning brightly. Force K sailed towards the illumination as Lupo prepared to take on survivors and the rest of the convoy hugged the coast. Jervis lit up Lupo with a searchlight and opened fire at surprising the Italian torpedo boat and destroying the bridge. The rest of the flotilla joined in and Lupo was unable to reply, all but twelve of the crew being killed. The rest of the convoy stole away into the shallow water of the Kerkenah Banks. Convoy "B", a simultaneous Axis shipping move, composed of the Italian freighters Arlesiana, Achille Lauro and Campania and the German Menes and Lisboa, was sailing that night from Naples to Tunis. The cargo ships were escorted by the torpedo boats , , and . After the convoy was overflown by Allied reconnaissance aircraft in the afternoon of 30 November, the escort was reinforced with the destroyers , Ascari and , joined later by the torpedo boat . The convoy was recalled to Trapani when the presence of Force Q in the area was discovered by German aerial surveillance at 23:30. While sailing back, Convoy "B" witnessed the destruction of Convoy "H". Numerous flares were sighted to the south, in the direction of the Axis force. At 01:00, the commander of Maestrale, the leading escort, ordered the convoy to change course to Palermo, a route further to the north, to avoid detection by Force Q. Notes Footnotes References External links Convoy Battle near Skerki Bank 1942 in Italy Allied naval victories in the battle of the Mediterranean December 1942 events Mediterranean convoys of World War II Skerki Bank