The 1941 Force K was commanded from Aurora and built around two Arethusa-class light cruisers with L- and M-class destroyers. Its targets were not solely the Afrika Korps: Italian Fifth and Tenth Army supply lines also mattered. Malta-based submarines and Fleet Air Arm aircraft had already inflicted losses. The surface group was meant to turn that continuing pressure into a more immediate and disruptive form of attack against entire convoys.
Chapter · 54:48-56:39
Force K's 1941 Malta mission
Aurora, Penelope, Lance, and Lively were tasked with disrupting Axis sea supply routes to both German and Italian armies in North Africa.