 Three of the small vessels managed to return to England : MLs 160 , <unk> and 443 . They had reached the rendezvous and waited until 10 : 00 for the destroyers to appear . Having already been attacked once , they moved further out into the Atlantic to try and avoid the German Air Force , but a Junkers 88 appeared overhead at 07 : 30 and approached them at low level for a closer look . The ships opened fire and hit the Junkers in the cockpit . The plane went into the sea . The next aircraft to appear was a <unk> and <unk> seaplane which attempted to bomb the ships , but left after being damaged by machine @-@ gun fire . The surviving MLs eventually reached England unaided the following day . 
