at long range, which also missed. The gunfire duel continued while the torpedoes were being launched and Perth reported "tight salvos landing around [the ship], first short, then 25 yards over". About ten minutes later, Takagi realised that the Allied ships were closing in on the invasion convoy's route and he ordered an all-out attack to prevent them from reaching the convoy. About the same time, Doorman turned slightly northwards, closing the range. At 17:08, one of Nachis 203-millimetre shells struck Exeter, detonating inside one of her boiler rooms. The shell set the ship on fire and knocked six of her eight boilers offline. The British cruiser fell out of formation and rapidly began to lose speed. The following cruisers assumed that this turn was deliberate and followed Exeter; once Waller realised that she had been crippled, he ordered Perth to circle her, laying a smokescreen to conceal her. Doorman needed some time to reorganise his forces and ordered Exeter to head back to Surabaya, escorted by the British destroyers and the surviving Dutch destroyer. The remaining ships laid copious amounts of smoke and circled around as the Japanese attempted to sink the crippled ship with torpedoes. The light cruisers were the first to fire at 17:50 and were followed by the heavy cruisers and the destroyers; a total of 98 torpedoes that all missed. Two of the British destroyers charged through the smoke in an attempt to disrupt the attacks, Electra being sunk in the manoeuvre, and the Allied cruisers took up a course parallel to Exeters. At 18:10 the American destroyers also charged out of the smoke and fired 24 of their torpedoes at Nachi and Haguro, all of which missed. By this time, Takagi could see the lighthouse at Surabaya and he decided to break contact in the gathering darkness lest any of his ships enter a minefield defending the port. At 18:12 Perth claimed a hit on Haguro, but postwar research showed that the cruiser was not damaged during the battle. Doorman was determined to continue the battle and reversed course at 18:31 and his ships were spotted on their new course at 18:46. The Japanese ships were widely dispersed after their attacks and it took Takagi some time to organise them. In the meantime, Nishimura ordered the invasion convoy to turn westward at 19:04. After a brief engagement with Jintsū, Doorman decided to disengage and