Force K sailed from Malta with the light cruisers Aurora and Penelope paired with the destroyers Lance and Lively as cruiser-destroyer teams. Under moonlight Agnew reduced speed and told his gunners that accuracy mattered more than rate of fire. He then transmitted the order to engage at conspicuously high power, encouraging Italian listeners to search nearer their own coast while Lively jammed communications around the convoy. Radar brought the British force to close range, where Aurora hit with its opening salvos and the paired ships divided escort and merchant targets. The attack sank roughly 40,000 tons of Axis shipping while Force K escaped with little damage. Deception, electronic warfare, and deliberate shooting multiplied the small force's effect.
Chapter · 59:20-1:05:36
Force K dismantles the Duisburg convoy
Agnew pairs cruisers with destroyers, uses radar and deception, and prioritizes deliberate accuracy in a devastating night attack on an Axis convoy.