Fiji and Gloucester returned to the Crete operations despite depleted ammunition and were lost under air attack. The figures quoted put Fiji at about 30 percent of total ammunition reserves and Gloucester at 18 percent. The panel debates whether the decision reflected pride or a determination to maintain the Army's confidence that the Navy would always bring it home. That commitment helps explain the decision without establishing that the ships were fit for the task. Cunningham's autobiography is invoked to criticize commanders who tried to carry out his intention without checking with him or confirming the ships' condition. Miscommunication and inadequate assessment of ammunition therefore sit alongside the wider argument about service culture.
Notable Point · 1:50:14-1:55:24
Crete: sending ammunition-depleted cruisers back into danger
Low ammunition, command assumptions, and the Navy's promise to support the Army help explain the avoidable cruiser losses off Crete.