Force K turns Malta into a surface strike base

Force K and the 14th Destroyer Flotilla made Malta a base for surface attacks on Axis logistics. Cruisers including Aurora and Penelope joined destroyers such as Lance, Lively, Nubian, Mohawk, Jervis, and Janus. In the Tarigo convoy action, the Italians lost cargo ships and destroyers while the British paid a much smaller, though still real, cost. Supplying Malta therefore supported attacks on the Axis convoys moving in the opposite direction.