Achates held the smoke screen until Burnett arrived

Admiral Hipper hit HMS Achates at long range while the destroyer was laying smoke around the convoy. Although fatally damaged, Achates continued making smoke and kept the merchant ships hidden. Bramble and Achates were the only British ships lost in the action. Gunfire and radio reports drew Rear Admiral Burnett's cruisers toward the fight, and they approached without the Germans recognizing their arrival. Sheffield and Jamaica hit Admiral Hipper, caused flooding, and reduced her speed. Friedrich Eckoldt and Richard Beitzen then mistook Sheffield for Hipper and tried to form up on the British cruisers. Sheffield broke Eckoldt in two, while Beitzen escaped with damage.