Battle of the Duisburg Convoy
The Battle of the Duisburg Convoy was fought on the night of 8/9 November 1941 between an Italian convoy, its escorts and four British ships. The convoy was named BETA by the Italian naval authorities and carried supplies for the Italian Army civilian colonists and the Afrika Korps in Italian Libya.
Italian tanker Minatitlán on fire and sinking in the morning of 9 November 1941
Italian destroyer RN Fulmine
Example of a Savoia-Marchetti SM.84 torpedo-bomber
Force K was the name given to three British Royal Navy groups of ships during the Second World War. The first Force K operated from West Africa in 1939, to intercept commerce raiders. The second Force K was formed in October 1941 at Malta, to operate against convoys sailing from Italy to Libya. Axis air attacks on Malta led to Force K being reduced and on 8 April 1942, the last ship of the force was withdrawn. After a convoy was run to Malta in Operation Stoneage Force K was re-established against Axis convoys.
HMS Renown was part of the first Force K
HMS Aurora in 1938
HMS Lance entering Grand Harbour, Malta
HMS Cleopatra (photographed in 1945 IWM FL 5210)